Salado Metal Roof Installation

Sandra had owned the Salado ranch house for eleven years. The original asphalt shingle roof was already aging when she bought it, and by 2024 she was on her third repair call. The first was a valley leak after a heavy spring storm. The second was a blown-off section of shingles after a straight-line wind event. The third was a slow drip near the chimney flashing that turned out to be two separate issues compounding each other.

She wasn't angry — she'd gotten decent service from previous contractors — but she was tired of calling. Every repair bought another year or two at best, and she was watching the cumulative cost creep toward the price of a full replacement anyway. She called Red Roan in November 2024 and asked a direct question: would metal make sense for her house, or was it marketing?

We spent forty-five minutes with her going through the honest math. Her current shingle roof was at best five years from needing full replacement regardless of patches. A standing seam metal roof, installed correctly, would still be performing at the 40-year mark on a Hill Country home. The carrying cost per year — factoring in material price, installation, and zero maintenance — was significantly lower than cycling through asphalt roofs. She decided the same week.

We talked Sandra through the material choice before the contract was signed. Standing seam vs corrugated came down to two things: longevity of the seam geometry under Texas temperature cycling, and the Hill Country aesthetic. Standing seam panels expand and contract as a single floating system — the seam does not penetrate the panel, so there is no fastener exposure for water to work through over time. It is also a cleaner, more architectural look on a ranch-style home.

For the material, we selected Galvalume steel in the natural metallic finish. Galvalume is an aluminum-zinc coated steel that handles the temperature extremes in Central Texas better than painted panels over the long term. The natural finish reflects heat rather than absorbing it — which directly affects attic temperature and in turn cooling load. Sandra noticed a reduction in her energy bills by the following summer.

Day one was full tear-off. We never overlay a metal job — the panels need a flat, sound deck and proper ventilation underneath. With the shingles off, we inspected every sheet of plywood and replaced three sections that had softened. Ice and water shield went across all eaves and both valleys. A continuous layer of 1.5-inch polyisocyanurate foam board was installed over the whole deck before the clip track — this adds an R-6 thermal break between the metal and the living space, reducing condensation and adding meaningful insulation value. Days two and three were panel installation, trim, and flashing — ridge, rakes, and all penetrations sealed with matching trim stock.

Sandra called us about six months after the job was done to say her first full summer with the metal roof had come in about 15% lower on her electricity bill compared to the prior year. That is in line with what a properly installed reflective metal roof does in Texas heat.