LESLIE: Now we’re going to head over to Tennessee and chat with Kenny about a roofing question. How can we help you?
KENNY: Hi. We live in the northeast corner of Tennessee. Get a lot of rain and snow and wind and …
TOM: OK.
KENNY: … we’re looking at replacing 15-year-old asphalt shingles on our roof within the next year or so.
LESLIE: (overlapping voices) OK.
TOM: (overlapping voices) OK.
KENNY: Our question is a lot of people in our area have been replacing their shingles with metal roofing.
TOM: Mm-hmm.
KENNY: And we’re wondering what the advantages would be or if we need to just stick with what we’ve got.
TOM: Well, metal roofing is really what’s called investment-grade roofing. It lasts a lifetime.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm.
TOM: It’s very, very expensive; I’ll just tell you that. But it’s beautiful. It also can be more energy-efficient for your home because there are low-e coatings in the paint that actually reflects the sunlight; so in an area like Tennessee it will keep it a lot cooler in the summer.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm. And it can be cost-effective in the way that because the metal roof itself is so lightweight, you’re not going to have to remove the existing shingle underneath it; you can go right on top of that. Where if you were to go with another asphalt shingle, depending on layers and depending on how long you’re going to be in the house, you would have to get rid of everything that was there.
KENNY: Right.
TOM: Now, on the flip side, there’s nothing wrong with the asphalt shingles. If you’re concerned about storm-resistance, you can put in a shingle that’s wind-resistant. Owens Corning makes a shingle that can stand up to 130 mile-per-hour wind.
KENNY: OK.
LESLIE: Now, do you happen to know what the lifespan is of the roof you already have up there? Because I know some of the asphalt shingles are 20, 30, 40, lifetime.
KENNY: These were 20-year.
LESLIE: OK.
KENNY: And they’ve held up fairly well. We have had a couple of winters that blew off several of them, you know, that we had to replace; so it’s kind of unsightly in those areas because of the fading of the color.
TOM: Alright. Well, it doesn’t sound like it’s an emergency at this stage.
KENNY: No.
TOM: You know, if you like the look of metal roofing and you want to make the investment, it’s great stuff. But if you’re just concerned about shingles and keeping them from blowing away, then I would use a better-quality shingle that’s designed to stand up that way.
KENNY: Well, thank you very much.
LESLIE: You know what? Before we let you go, just check out a website. It’s called MetalRoofing.com and that’s by the Metal Roofing Alliance and you can see their different installers, what it can look like, the different colors out available, learn about their energy efficiency. So, just – you might want to visit there real fast before you make your decision.
KENNY: I’ll do that and thank you so much.
TOM: You’re welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT. 888-666-3974.
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