La Palma, CA
Is a metal roof worth it here?
The metal itself almost never fails. The fasteners, the panel movement and the detailing at the edges are what decide how the roof ages.
Describe the metal roofing job
Three questions, then the address. Up to three La Palma contractors who do this work.
Your request is in.
We are matching it now against roofing contractors working in La Palma and the surrounding area.
- Today, usually within the hour. The first contractor calls or texts the number you gave us. ASAP requests go out first.
- Up to three of them, no more. We cap it at three so you can compare without your phone melting.
- They come and look. Estimates are given after somebody has been on the roof, not over the phone.
- You decide, or you do not. There is nothing to cancel and nothing to pay us.
If you do not hear anything today, check your voicemail and spam folder — contractors often call from a mobile number.
Before you let anybody on the roof
The things worth pinning down on a metal roofing job. A contractor who has not raised them has not looked properly.
- How the panels are allowed to expand and contract
- Panel gauge and the coating warranty
- Whether the crew installs metal regularly or occasionally
- How valleys, ridges and penetrations are detailed
- Standing seam or exposed fastener, and why
Ask to see a standing-seam job they finished more than three years ago. The edges and the valleys will tell you everything.
Noise is the question everybody asks. Over a solid deck with underlayment, a metal roof is not meaningfully louder than shingle. Over open purlins it very much is.
Standing seam hides its fasteners under the seam. Exposed-fastener panel is cheaper and relies on hundreds of neoprene washers that have to be revisited every decade or so.
Locally
The second problem is the marine layer keeping the north slope damp. It is why two identical houses on the same street can be ten years apart on the same roof, depending on which way they face.
About metal roofing here
Do I have to hire anyone?
Not at all. Plenty of people use this to find out what a job costs and then do nothing for a year. That is a perfectly reasonable outcome.
What time of year is best to re-roof in La Palma?
Here, the long dry run from May to October is the easy window. November through March is when the phone rings hardest, which means less flexibility on dates and less room on price.
I have solar panels. What happens to them?
Panels have to be detached and reset. Budget for it separately and coordinate the two trades. Never put a new solar array on a roof with under ten years left.
Is moss on the roof a problem?
Yes, eventually. Moss holds water against the shingle and lifts the edges as it thickens. Zinc or copper strip at the ridge suppresses it. Pressure washing an asphalt roof strips the granules and does more harm than the moss did.
What is it going to cost?
No cost, no obligation, and never more than three contractors.