Find metal roofs that match any color of brick beautifully. Explore how they differ from the tin roofs that farms formerly preferred.
If you think metal roofs only work on barns and farmhouses, think again. Metal roofs no longer consist of just tin. They’ve come a long way since the B52s song with the lyric, “Tin roof. Rusted.”
Today’s metal roofs don’t even look like metal from a distance. Many of them resemble red clay tile roofs or the patina of an old copper roof that’s turned blue from tarnish.
Metal roofs look great when paired with brick of any shade. Since they don’t look like the tin roofs farms once favored, they go well with any stone or brick. Let’s peruse a few photos of metal roofs with brick facades, then consider how and why to choose metal over other types of roofing.
10 Pictures of Metal Roofs on Brick Houses
1. This modern stone brick luxury home features a standing seam metal roof. In a standing seam metal roof design, the installer uses hidden fasteners to offer a continuous roofscape. This grey brick house with metal roof combines two essential materials – metal and stone-shaped brick to enhance the home exterior design.
2. Corrugated metal tile roofs like this one feature the appearance of clay tiles without the weight of them. On this modern brick home the metal tile roof includes a stylish touch to the home exterior that creates a Sante Fe look without the price.
3. This photo shows how a metal roof works with this brick home’s rain gutter system, attic skylights, and snow guards to offer an ideal home for cold weather locations.
4. This brick house features a stone-coated metal roof that looks like actual stone. It complements a modular chimney and features a rain gutter along the edge of the roof.
5. Metal roofs come in a variety of styles, including metal sheets. This modern type of roofing material lasts up to 50 years, so the owner of this brick house with a black metal roof won’t need to replace their roofing for about five decades.
6. This metal and brick construction mixes a jaunty red roof with orange-brown brick. The corrugated metal shingles used in this home exterior design offer the appearance of asphalt shingles but with the long-lasting value of metal roofs. You could reverse the colors, too, covering a red brick house with a metal roof of brown or black.
7. The burgundy wine color of this corrugated metal roof offers an example of the color variety available among metal roof types. Choosing a corrugated metal roof nets you the greatest money savings since this type of metal roof costs the least but lasts just as long as the other designs.
8. This green-gray metal roof complements the white painted brick on this home. Replacing worn asphalt shingles with a darker color, a new roof of metal increases the resale value while updating the architectural style of the house.
9. Another common combination, the white brick house with metal roof, typically uses a roof in contrasting color. In this example, beige and white brick with a brown metal roof offers a sophisticated look to this rural home.
10. This white brick house metal roof combination illustrates the versatility of metal roofing. The white stone facade and red brick work well with this black metal roof that looks like typical shingle roofing from a distance.
Why Use Metal Roofing?
According to Western States Metal Roofing, metal roofs offer an environmentally friendly solution that lasts up to 50 years. Many metal roof designs use metal consisting of up to 40 percent recycled steel. The metal used in roofing offers a 100 percent recyclable roofing material.
Metal roofs not only last longer than other types of roofs, they offer a heartier material. While asphalt shingles easily break off during storms, metal roofs withstand hail, snow, and much more.
Types of Metal Roofs
Although roofers use tin rarely today, it still falls within the purview of metal roof types. In some rural areas, tin still sees use on barns and other structures. Builders use other metal materials more often, including various steel grades, copper, and aluminum.
Why Did People Stop Building with Tin?
Tin rust, just as the song lyrics say. Many alternative materials offer the benefits of metal without rusting. While many sealants and coatings exist now that did not 50 to 100 years ago, regardless of what you treat it with, it still rusts.
Builders instead turn to aluminum, stainless steel, and galvanized steel for typical metal roofing. Those desiring a more sophisticated look for their home typically choose copper. Another option, zinc, has grown in its use, but hasn’t become an everyday material like stainless steel or galvanized steel.
Most Common Types of Metal Roofing
Let’s consider in-depth the five common types of metal roofing materials. Each material offers advantages and disadvantages, but regardless of which you choose, the roof will typically last about 50 years.
- Aluminum: Those wanting to build a brick home near the ocean or another body of water type, typically pick aluminum for its corrosion resistance. The saltwater of oceans and seas can’t corrode it and it doesn’t require a sealant to achieve this anti-corrosion.
- Copper: In areas of consistent rain or other precipitation and little wildfire danger, copper offers the longest-lasting metal that creates quiet while it gets pelted with precipitation. The metal’s softness also indicates its low melting point, the reason builders should not use it in areas with frequent wildfires. This type of roof can last up to 200 years with the right care.
- Steel: Besides the stainless steel that everyone knows well, steel roofs come in three variants – Corten or weathering, galvanized, and galvalume steel.
- Tin: Its issues with developing rust mean it has not been used as a building material since World War II.
- Zinc: Although zinc offers the long-lasting metal roofing option and it resists corroding, its low melting point means it does not get used frequently in areas prone to wildfires. It features the lowest melting temperature of any of the metals, even lower than copper.
The most common of the roofing metals – steel – comprises the majority of metal roofs.
How Long Does a Metal Roof Last?
Some forms of metal roofs only last 40 years but they still provide more than double the length of the typical asphalt roof. Asphalt roofs last about 15 to 20 years.
The typical metal roof lasts about 50 years, but what makes it need early replacement? Simply, weather or other damage. Some metal roofs do suffer damage from large hail. In winter, ice dams can still form on them if the home lacks the proper insulation and heating ductwork. Quickly addressing any tear or hole in the metal sheeting with professional repairs can help the roof last longer.
Metal Looks Different Depending on the Material Used
From a distance, a roof made of metal can look like new copper, patinated copper, a Santa Fe-style clay roof, etc. Unless you choose a metal roof that you intend to look like a metal roof, it won’t resemble metal. As strange as it seems, today’s designs resemble other types of roofing materials.
Metal Roof Colors for Brick House
Unlike asphalt tiles, you can paint a metal roof, if using steel or zinc. The typical colors of metal roofing sheets include gray, brown, black, bright red, and dark blue. Red stainless or galvanized roofing in red replaced the red tin roofs from days past of rural use. If a metal roof does not come in the desired paint color, you can have steel or zinc roofs painted. Although most people choose darker colors like navy blue, brown, red, or orange-brown, some homeowners choose a white roof. When painting metal roofs, professional roofing installers typically use a sealant on the paint job, after applying a waterproof paint.
If you choose a copper roof, decide whether you will hire someone to polish the material because regular cleaning provides the only way to avoid it tarnishing to that deep green that copper jewelry turns. This means that you need to ensure that your color of bricks looks good with both the pinkish copper color and the dark green of its tarnished patina.
Good for the Environment
As mentioned, metal roofing offers a recyclable material. A homeowner can change their mind about a metal roof without creating waste. Unlike removing an asphalt roof, the roofer can reuse the metal sheeting used in a metal roof. Nothing goes to waste.
Because the metal offers a recyclable material, if you decide to re-roof using a different material, the original roof doesn’t go to waste. The roofer can take it to a recycling center. For centuries, builders have used copper roofs to create a long-lasting roof that can weather the elements and still look great. Some call copper the “grandfather of metal roofing” for how long it has been utilized as a roofing material. Like zinc, copper offers a 100% recyclable roofing material which makes it an ideal green building material.
Metal Roofs Work Well with Insulation
Installing a metal roof doesn’t change the home’s need for insulation. The homeowner won’t need to add more insulation or remove any. This type of roof works with the same soffits and vents the home already features.
Metal only lasts longer. The attic or crawlspace of your home still needs the same amount of insulation and the same insulation pattern. If you choose this material for your roof, you’ll need to still heat the attic area evenly. That means that the uppermost area of the interior roof pitch and the lowest point of the roof’s interior needs to remain the same temperature during winter to avoid ice dams forming on the outer edge of the roof.
Caveats to Using Copper
While copper offers the softest of the metals which makes a lovely sound barrier, steel or aluminum works best in areas where hail occurs frequently. The softness of copper causes it to incur damage easily from larger hail. It dents easily and can tear.
When choosing this type of roofing, consider a metal liner beneath the copper. This can add strength. This isn’t a common feature and something that you must request if you decide to have a copper roof installed.
Pros & Cons of Using Aluminum Roofing
Aluminum makes a good choice in coastal climates, too. Salt corrosion resistance tops the list of why. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t react to the weather. It simply reacts in a good way. Aluminum reacts with oxygen in the environment to create a layer of aluminum oxide that adds a layer of protection naturally. The chemical reaction that naturally occurs seals the aluminum roof’s inner layers, further preventing it from corroding.
Most homeowners choose to paint an aluminum roof because the natural patina that develops from the oxygen reaction does not provide an aesthetically appealing color. A professional roofer can paint an aluminum roof any color for a homeowner and further protect the metal roof with sealant.
Copper and aluminum cost quite a bit more than steel but both provide a tougher material in certain situations. Aluminum costs less than copper.
For those who want a thick roof to block noise, steel offers the thickest option. Aluminum and copper come in thin sheets.
Aluminum roofing offers a higher strength-to-weight ratio than steel, but the panels often offer too thin coverage for the area in which they’re used. Avoid using aluminum in areas with frequent hail or high winds. This roofing material also performs poorly in areas prone to environmental stress. It damages easily. Other metal materials perform much better in such areas.
Pros & Cons of Using Zinc Roofing
Zinc continually looks amazing because its natural patina hides scratches to its surface. Those who don’t like the chalky look it can take on after time, can have it cleaned annually at the time of their roof inspection. This maintenance can help it last even longer than typical and unlike the other types of metal roof, it can last more than 100 years.
Commercial builders favor zinc because it costs less to make than steel or copper, which makes it cost less when purchased as a building material although it isn’t the cheapest metal roof choice. Its low melting point and other natural properties make it easy to form and manipulate into various shapes. Zinc offers a 100% recyclable building material making it top the list for green building materials. For sale in most local markets, its cheapness and versatility plus its recyclability make it a builder’s favorite.
Making the Metal Roofing Decision
Whether you own a brick ranch with metal roof or you want to re-roof your brick colonial or Victorian home with a metal roof, you can find a metal roof type that looks great but may end up paying more than you’d like. Copper aesthetically looks the best with traditional brick designs, but it costs the most. Those desiring an ecologically sound construction, also called a green building, prefer zinc. It offers a low melting point though, so it doesn’t work well in areas with frequent wildfire outbreaks. It also costs more than corrugated steel. Homeowners choose steel most frequently since it costs the least and a professional roofer can paint it any color then seal it to help it last longer.