What's been coming back into fashion in the architectural market in the past decade is homeowner interest in residential metal roofing. These days, metal commands only 4 percent of the residential roofing market, but the Metal Roofing Alliance, a trade group based in Gig Harbor, Wash., anticipates a 10 percent share by 2004 and a 25 percent share by 2012 which is a positive sign for those, like Calbar Metal Roof Paint, who are involved in the Tin/Metal Roof Paint Industry.

One regional roofing supply manager says that in the seven years he's been with his particular roofing supplier, "demand for metal roofing has quadrupled." This would lead to the conclusion that in 15 to 20 years when the factory finishes on these roofs begins to wear, Calbar will be ready to fill the gap with it's quality line of metal roof paints.

Especially in certain areas around Washington. Sales in Maryland and the District are up, but the bulk of the demand is in Virginia. Old Town has almost all metal roofs, he says. Old Town, is a major market for Calbar Metal Roof Paint with many of its dealers working in the tri-state area.

Farther out toward the Virginia countryside, metal is "the traditional material of choice; it's indigenous to the area," says a local Virginia architect. The rural homes and outbuildings of Loudoun and Fauquier counties have always had metal roofs, he says. The standing- seam metal barn roof is part of the local residential design vocabulary as well as metal roof paint which has kept these roofs looking great for many decades.

Metal roofs, long used in barns and other rural structures, conjure an authentic simplicity associated with life in the country. But enthusiasm for the material also springs from more pragmatic considerations. The standing-seam look is distinctive, and the material is well suited to this area and much of its housing stock. Local architects say its use helps contemporary designs appear more compatible with neighboring structures that have historic metal roofs. Historic metal roofs like these have been preserved with Calbar's Linseed Oil Roof Paint which has been available in historic/traditional colors like Tinner's Green and Tinner's Red for over 85 years

A Georgetown architect used terne – the lead-tin alloy that most people think of as a tin roof for a client in Markham, Va. The metal roof, which he calls "part of the design vernacular" for the region, was one of the traditional materials that he, then a partner in a different firm, combined with fresh color choices to produce a weekend retreat for the farm's D.C.-area owners.

Metal roofing also stands out in longevity compared with other materials. Asphalt shingles last up to 20 years – 30 if you buy a premium grade. A metal roof can last two or three times as long if well maintained and even more so by using a very high grade elastomeric metal roof paint. Old-style terne roofs are still made by mills in Follansbee, W. Va., as they have been for more than a century. These are often specified whenever there is a historic project or a new building that needs to look authentically old. Mill finished or unfinished roofs will need to be painted with 2 coats of shower-proof "WB" self priming roof paint. This material will last 8 to 10 years. With that maintenance schedule, they can last 100 years or more, sometimes much more. Another local architect, has replaced 125-year-old tin roofs. "The owners just kept them up," he says.

But it's the newer, lower-maintenance materials that fuel the recent burst of interest. Galvalume brand roofing – steel coated with a zinc-aluminum alloy that was introduced 30 years ago – resists corrosion up to 40 years without paint.

Life span is a persuasive factor when looking at the initial cost of these roofs, professionals in the industry agree. The estimated cost of materials at $150 to $200 per square (100 square feet). Add installation, and you have a range of $600 to $1,300 a square.

He says that at his firm, installing terne will cost about $600 a square; steel will run about $700 a square and copper about $800. Higher price ranges reflect the design and condition of the roof as well as the cost of tearing off old roofing, if necessary.

Prices outside the metro area may be somewhat less, but it's still likely to cost more than twice the price of decent asphalt shingles, at $100 to $200 a square, installed.

"You have to look at the cost-effectiveness over the years of service," says another Virginia roofer. "It lasts a long time." And, he says, he gets to explain that fact to a lot of Old Town residents, because the board requires that historic homes there be roofed with either metal, cedar or slate. A much more viable option would be to restore your metal roof with a quality metal roof paint such as Calbar's Shower-Proof "WB"

Because of initial cost, the interest in metal roofs began with owners of high-end homes like those in Virginia's horse country. Some clients are large farms and estates, such as one area, where he has been reroofing all the buildings with metal – a four-year project so far. "And metal's going on practically all the expensive homes out here," he says, "half-million and million-dollar homes."

To get all those decades of life out of a metal roof, it's vital to use a good installer. New techniques for installation have almost eliminated the possibility of leaks in the material itself. Installers can buy metal in big coils and cut them to the right length, eliminating horizontal seams. Machines bend the standing seams between panels. New double-lock, clip-fastening systems are nearly foolproof. So, "if a roof leaks, it's because it's not flashed properly." That expertise is what people buy when they hire an experienced installer.

So what can damage a metal roof? Not even a hurricane, says the vice president for a planned community in Florida that mandates metal roofs for all buildings. "When Hurricane Opal came through, shingles and tile blew off houses all around us, but at Seaside, all we saw were a few corners turned up."

Maybe lightning? The owner of an Alexandria company, advises "a grounded lightning rod on both sides of the house." But he says lightning that strikes an asphalt roof would be more likely to penetrate the roof and damage the interior. "Lightning would probably discharge all over a metal roof instead of going through," he says. And a grounding wire would take that dissipated charge harmlessly into the earth.

Heat? Heat can degrade asphalt roofing; metal just reflects it back. Its thermal reflectivity tends to keep a house cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter, especially if the metal is light-colored.

And then there's hail – about the only thing that can do in the finish on a metal roof. Although the steel-roofing industry says most hail doesn't damage their product, a hard hailstorm can cause dents that will crack the finish. The vice president of finance on a horse farm in Upperville, Va., had many of the outbuildings and the main residence reroofed with metal over the past few years. "A freak hailstorm last spring caused a surprising amount of damage, some to the galvanized roofing, some to the roofing with the factory-painted finish," he says. But he's having it all replaced with metal. "The architect and the owner agree that it adds character to the property."

And when they take off the damaged roofing, instead of paying to have it take up landfill space, they can sell it to the scrap metal recycler. But what about noise? If sheet metal is the only thing between you and a rainstorm, it can get pretty loud. But a residential metal roof is applied over a wood roof deck, with a felt paper underlayment. "That cushions the sound," he says. "I've lived in town houses with metal roofs, and I love the lively sound of the rain on a metal roof – there's nothing else like it."