Aerial view of a metal-roofed barn on pasture in Marion County, FL

Metal Roofing in Ocala, FL

Standing seam and exposed-fastener panel systems for homes, barns and shops. The longest-lived roof you can put on a Florida house.

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Metal is the longest-lived roof you can put on a Florida house, and in Marion County it has stopped being a barn-only choice. Standing seam on new custom homes, exposed-fastener panel on farmhouses, shops and manufactured homes, and metal replacing shingle on a lot of older homes whose owners are tired of re-roofing every fifteen years. It sheds wind-driven rain, it does not care about UV the way asphalt does, and it does not grow algae on the north slope.

The trade-off is up-front cost and the fact that metal is much less forgiving of a sloppy installer. Panel choice, fastener spacing, underlayment, clip type and how the eave, ridge and penetrations are detailed decide whether a metal roof is a fifty-year roof or a fifteen-year headache. We install both standing seam and exposed-fastener systems and we will tell you plainly which one your building actually needs.

Ribbed metal roof on a small barndominium in Alachua County, FL
Metal roof on a small barndominium, Alachua County

Standing seam

Concealed clips, raised seams

Exposed fastener

5V crimp, R-panel / PBR, "ag panel"

How it is fastened
Panels lock over hidden clips screwed to the deck. No screws through the weather surface.
Screws with rubber washers go straight through the panel into the deck or purlins, on a set grid.
Long-term weak point
Very few. Seams are the only field joints and they are raised above the water line.
The washers. Sun and thermal movement wear them, screws back out, and every screw is a potential leak that needs re-sealing or replacing over the life of the roof.
Thermal movement
Clips let the panel expand and contract freely. Long runs are fine.
The panel is pinned at every screw. Long runs work the fastener holes oval over time.
Look
Clean vertical lines, flat or striated pans. What you see on new custom homes.
5V is the classic "Florida Cracker" tin roof look. R-panel reads as agricultural or commercial.
Cost
Higher. More material, more labor, more skill.
Lower. Fast to install, less expensive panel.
Best fit
Homes you intend to keep. Anything where you never want to think about the roof again.
Barns, shops, sheds, lean-tos, porch roofs, and budget-driven re-roofs where periodic fastener maintenance is acceptable.

Which one you want: Standing seam on the house if the budget allows. Exposed fastener on the barn and the shop. If exposed fastener goes on the house, plan on a fastener inspection every several years and do not let anybody install it with the screws in the flat of the panel where the water runs.

What decides a metal roof quote

Costs lessCosts more
Panel system
Exposed-fastener 29-gauge ag panel Standing seam, 24-gauge, mechanically seamed

Gauge is thickness; lower number is heavier. 26 gauge is a sensible residential minimum. 29 gauge is barn material.

Paint finish
Polyester / SMP paint PVDF (Kynar-type) paint

PVDF finishes hold color and resist chalking far longer in Florida sun. On a roof you can see from the street, it matters.

Substrate
Galvanized steel Galvalume or aluminum

Galvalume is the Florida standard for steel. Aluminum is the answer near salt or standing water; we are inland, so it is rarely needed in Marion County except for specific corrosion situations.

Roof complexity
Long simple gable, few penetrations Hips, valleys, dormers, chimneys, skylights

Every hip and valley on a standing seam roof is hand-formed metalwork. A cut-up roof can double the labor.

Existing roof
Clean tear-off to sound deck Tear-off plus deck repair, or a metal-over-shingle with purlins where allowed

Metal over existing shingle is permitted in some situations by code and product approval, and not in others. It is not a shortcut we take by default.

Ventilation and condensation
Vented attic, standard ridge vent Cathedral or unvented assemblies needing a vented deck or special underlayment

Metal sweats on the underside when the attic is humid. Underlayment and ventilation are chosen to handle it.

Metal and Florida wind, insurance and heat

Every metal panel installed on a Florida roof has to carry a Florida Product Approval (or Miami-Dade NOA) that specifies the clip or fastener spacing for a given design wind pressure. Marion County's ultimate design wind speed for an ordinary home is in the 130 mph range under the current Florida Building Code, and the installation has to follow the tested pattern for that pressure at the eaves, corners and field of the roof. Corners and edges see the highest uplift, which is why fastener spacing tightens up there.

For insurance, a metal roof gets the same current-code covering credit on a wind mitigation form as any new roof, plus a secondary water resistance credit if the deck is sealed underneath. Some carriers price metal more favorably for hail and fire; some do not distinguish. The reliable effect is on the roof-age clock, and a metal roof pushes that a long way out.

On heat: a light-colored or reflective-pigment metal roof reflects a large share of solar energy that a dark asphalt shingle absorbs, and the attic runs cooler for it. It is not magic and it does not replace insulation, but on a west-facing slope in Ocala in August it is noticeable.

Usually goes with

Related roofing services

Roof replacement in progress: whole roof dried in with synthetic underlayment, new architectural shingles going on from the eave up

Roof Replacement

Tear-off to final inspection: a new roof system built to the current Florida Building Code, not just new shingles over old problems.

Roof replacement in Ocala →
Aerial view of a white TPO flat roof with rooftop HVAC units on a Florida retail plaza

Commercial Roofing

Low-slope and metal roof systems for shops, offices, churches, barns and warehouses across Marion County.

Commercial roofing in Ocala →
Close detail of a new architectural shingle roof with a hip ridge, white fascia and gutter on a Florida home

Shingle Roofing

Architectural asphalt shingles installed to Florida high-wind nailing patterns, with the underlayment and sealing the code now requires.

Shingle roofing in Ocala →

Questions we get asked

Metal Roofing questions

Is a metal roof louder in the rain?
On a house with a solid deck, underlayment and an insulated attic, no meaningful difference from shingle. The "tin roof in the rain" sound comes from panels screwed to open purlins over an uninsulated space, like a pole barn. That is not how a residential roof is built.
Does a metal roof attract lightning?
No. Lightning strikes the highest object regardless of material. A metal roof is actually safer if struck, because it conducts the charge to ground and does not burn.
Can I put metal over my existing shingles?
Sometimes. Code and the panel's product approval both have to allow it, the existing roof has to be a single layer in sound condition, and the deck has to be verified. It saves tear-off cost but hides the deck. We will look and tell you whether your roof qualifies and whether we would recommend it.
How long does a metal roof last in Florida?
Considerably longer than asphalt shingle, and the panel itself is rarely what fails. What ends a metal roof early is the finish chalking and rusting on a cheap paint system, exposed fasteners backing out and leaking, or poor detailing at penetrations and edges. A well-installed standing seam roof with a PVDF finish is a roof most owners never replace.
Will my HOA allow a metal roof?
Increasingly yes, especially standing seam in muted colors, but it is decided by your association's architectural rules. The Villages and the Summerfield 55+ communities each have their own approved lists. We supply the product data and samples; you file the request.

Where we work

Metal roofing across Marion County

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