Whether to have metal roofs in Northern Climates is a topic that comes up frequently. The feature of having snow and ice slide on down to the ground throughout the Winter and keep less weight on the roof is attractive. The longevity of metal roofs is also a plus that draws people towards them. They can be a louder option in a Summer’s rain which can be soothing to some and annoying to others.
I advise a number of things around metal roofs. First is to not have any doors under any eaves in a Northern climate where ice and snow are a thing. When the heavy, sharp snow and ice come tumbling down, we want it to land on the ground and not on people. Care in what plantings are along the eaves too is something to navigate so that they aren’t routinely crushed each Winter. Although there are add on items like snow brakes that theoretically protect one from sliding snow and ice at an eave, they can fail. Better I think it best to use gables over all doors when a metal roof is afoot per the pictured project below. We added all five of the gables to the pictured renovation below so as to keep things safe for people and vehicles. Of course on the lakeside, the gables help with the view too! Also, it is far better to use concealed fastener style standing seam metal roofs as pictured below versus exposed fastener style. The exposed fastener style is much less expensive but opens one up to thousands of possible failure points at each fastener.
