Metal roof types compared
The four metal roof types differ most in how the panels attach to the house. Two hide every fastener, one depends on the profile, and one leaves rows of screws in plain sight.
The costs below are national installed ranges from HomeGuide's metal roof cost guide, dated November 21, 2025. Use them to compare systems, not as a quote for your house.
| System | Look and fasteners | Typical gauge and cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standing seam | Smooth vertical panels with raised seams; clips and screws hidden under each seam | 24 or 26 gauge steel, or .032 in. aluminum; $9 to $16 per sq ft | Long ownership, a clean modern look, low-pitch roofs |
| Metal shingles | Steel or aluminum pressed into shingle, slate, shake or barrel tile shapes; interlocking, fasteners mostly hidden | 26 gauge steel or .024 in. aluminum; $6 to $14 per sq ft | HOAs that want a shingle or tile look |
| Stone-coated steel | Steel covered in bonded stone granules for a textured tile, shake or shingle look; fastening varies by profile | Gauge rarely published; $7 to $13 per sq ft | A tile or shake look without tile's weight |
| Exposed fastener | Ribbed panels such as 5V crimp, PBR and corrugated, screwed through the face with sealing washers | 29, 26 or 24 gauge steel; $5 to $12 per sq ft | Tight budgets, porches, an old Florida look |
Roof pitch narrows the choice before looks do. The Florida Building Code lets standing seam go as flat as 1/4 inch of rise per foot. Metal shingles need at least 3 inches per foot, and lapped screw-down panels need 3 inches too, or 1/2 inch with sealant in the laps.
Standing seam panels
Standing seam panels are long, flat sheets joined at seams that stand 1 to 2 inches tall on the Florida-approved panels we checked. Snap-lock seams click shut. Mechanically seamed panels are folded closed with a seaming tool.
Clips or a slotted nail strip under each seam hold the panel down, so no screw goes through the face. It is also the priciest of the four: JA Edwards, an Orlando roofer, publishes $18,000 to $35,000 for standing seam on a typical home.
It is the most common system on our list, too. Sixteen of the 18 Orlando roofers we rank install it. Our standing seam metal roof guide covers panel widths, 24 vs 26 gauge and paint finishes.
Metal shingles
Metal shingles are steel or aluminum stamped to look like asphalt shingles, slate, cedar shake or clay barrel tile. The panels interlock, and most hide their fasteners where the next row covers them. Metlok (a sponsor of this site), for one, fastens along a concealed top edge.
Smooth-finish versions from Metlok, ProVia, EDCO and Classic Metal Roofing Systems have no granule surface. That makes them a different product from stone-coated steel. Our metal shingles guide for Orlando compares the makers, profiles and prices.
Stone-coated steel
Stone-coated steel starts as steel with an aluminum-zinc coating. DECRA then adds acrylic primer and an acrylic base coat, embeds ceramic-coated stone granules and seals them under an acrylic glaze. From the street it reads as tile, shake or shingle.
Weight is the selling point next to real tile. DECRA puts a typical roof of its panels at 3,700 to 4,500 pounds, against 18,000 to 45,000 pounds for clay or concrete tile.
Some profiles sit on a grid of wood battens and others fasten straight to the deck. The stone-coated steel roof guide covers makers, installation and cost.
Exposed-fastener panels
Exposed-fastener roofs use wide ribbed sheets screwed straight through the face, each screw sealed by a washer. The 5V crimp profile is the classic here; Gulf Coast Supply, a Florida panel maker, calls it the "old Florida" look.
It is the cheapest metal roof, but every screw is a spot to watch. Panel makers McElroy and MBCI both say to inspect at least once a year and replace loose or rusted screws. The exposed fastener metal roof guide covers 5V, PBR and Ultra Rib.
Steel, aluminum and paint finishes
Most residential metal roofing is steel with a metallic coating. Florida's code sets the minimum coating at AZ50 Galvalume or G-90 galvanized. Englert describes Galvalume as about 55% aluminum, 43.5% zinc and 1.5% silicon.
Aluminum costs more than coated steel, and HomeGuide notes it is often recommended near the coast. Englert says aluminum may be preferred where salt exposure is heavy, which matters more in Cocoa Beach than in Orlando.
Paint goes on top. Classic and ProVia both name Kynar 500 PVDF finishes, which resist chalking and fading. None of the 18 roofers on our list names copper or zinc among its metal systems.
Which metal roof fits an Orlando house
Picking among the four metal roof types comes down to three questions. What does your HOA allow, what can you spend, and how much storm and heat protection do you want?
If your HOA wants a shingle or tile look
If your community has an HOA, read its architectural guidelines before you fall for standing seam. Metal shingles and stone-coated steel exist for exactly this case.
JA Edwards' metal roofing page says metal shingles pass HOA review more easily, since they look like the roofs most neighborhoods already have. Universal Roof & Contracting (a sponsor of this site) says the same about stone-coated steel.
If budget comes first
Exposed-fastener panels are the low end, at $5 to $12 per square foot per HomeGuide. In Orlando, JA Edwards publishes $12,000 to $22,000 for metal shingles or stone-coated steel and $18,000 to $35,000 for standing seam. See metal roof cost in Orlando for more local numbers.
If storms and heat worry you
Orlando averages a 92.0°F July high and about 51 inches of rain a year (NOAA 1991–2020 normals). More than half of that rain falls from June through September. Hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30.
Florida's code requires metal panels and metal shingles to pass wind uplift tests before they're approved, so every system here can be storm-rated. Our take: ask more about the crew than the brand, and favor concealed fasteners if you won't inspect screws every year.
For heat, pick a light or reflective color; the EPA says cool roofs can cut peak cooling demand 11% to 27%. Lightning is not a reason to avoid metal. The National Weather Service says metal makes no difference to where lightning strikes.
When you're ready to compare installers, our list of the best metal roofers in Orlando shows which of the metal roof types each one installs.
Sources: HomeGuide, Metal Roof Cost (Nov 21, 2025); JA Edwards of America, Metal Roofing Orlando; Florida Building Code 2023, Chapter 15; Tri County Metals, FL36904 evaluation report; ProVia, The Science of Metal Roofing; Classic Metal Roofing Systems, Oxford Shingle; Classic Metal Roofing Systems, ClickLock Standing Seam; Metlok, Products; DECRA, Functional Components; DECRA, Metal Roofing Myths; DECRA, Battens vs. Direct-to-Deck; Gulf Coast Supply, 5V Crimp; McElroy Metal, Operation and Maintenance Manual; MBCI, Preventing Roof Damage from Rusted Fasteners; Englert, Galvalume vs. Galvanized; Universal Roof & Contracting, Metal Roofing Orlando; NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, Orlando International Airport; NOAA National Hurricane Center, Climatology; EPA, Using Cool Roofs; National Weather Service, Lightning Myths
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