What metal actually costs here
Montgomery County metal roofing prices, from our published price book
Most roofers make you sit through a sales visit to hear a number. Ours are published. These are retail list rates for Montgomery County — per square (100 sq ft), installed:
| System | Installed rate | Service life | Best for |
|---|
| 24ga standing-seam metal | $1,445/SQ | 40–70 yrs | Low-slope sections, long clean runs, and houses you intend to keep. |
| Architectural asphalt (comparison) | $848/SQ | 25–30 yrs | Complex, dormered roofs and shorter ownership horizons. |
Custom-bent ridge, hip and valley trim is quoted per linear foot on top of the panel rate, and metal carries a permit and engineering-letter line that asphalt does not. List rates are not a quote — the real number comes off a measurement of your roof, which the free inspection produces.
When metal is the right call on a Montgomery County house — and when it is not
Metal earns its premium in three situations, and we will tell you when yours is not one of them. Low-slope and porch roofs — common on Takoma Park and Kensington victorians and on additions countywide — where asphalt was never really appropriate and has been failing on a cycle. Long, simple, uninterrupted runs — the post-war ranches of Wheaton, Olney and Aspen Hill and the farmhouses of Poolesville, Damascus and Barnesville are ideal standing-seam candidates. And houses you intend to keep: at a 40–70 year service life, metal is the cheaper roof per year, but only if you are still there to collect it. The place metal often loses: Bethesda and Chevy Chase tudors and colonials broken up by six dormers, three valleys and a chimney chase — there, custom bending climbs faster than the benefit, and we will usually show you a designer asphalt system instead.
Who issues the permit
Roof replacement anywhere in Montgomery County is permitted through the Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services. Homes in designated historic districts — Takoma Park, Kensington's old town, Battery Park in Bethesda — have an additional historic-preservation review for exterior changes visible from the street, and a standing-seam profile change usually triggers it. We pull the permit and handle the review as part of the job — you do not file anything yourself.
The parts of a metal quote people get caught by
- Gauge and coating. 24-gauge with a PVDF (Kynar-class) finish and 29-gauge with a polyester paint are both "a metal roof" on a proposal. They are not the same roof. Ask for the gauge and the coating system in writing.
- Thermal movement. Panels must hang on clips that let them grow and shrink. Face-fastened panels are cheaper to install and show it within a decade.
- Trim is where metal is won or lost. Ridge, hip, valley, rake and wall transitions are custom-bent on site. This is the line item worth reading closely on any competing quote.
- Underlayment. A 50-year panel over a 15-year felt is a 15-year roof. High-temperature synthetic or ice-and-water membrane belongs under standing seam.
Permit authority and code requirements are summarized for general guidance and can change; we confirm the current requirements for your specific parcel before work begins. Cost ranges are estimates — an on-site inspection produces the actual number.