Charcoal standing seam metal roof on Burlington home

Residential roofing

Metal Roofing in Burlington, ON: Installation and Repair

Metal roofing in Burlington suits owners who plan to stay for decades, houses that need snow to clear quickly, and modern builds where a crisp standing seam line is part of the design. We are Fixall Roofing, a Burlington roofing contractor, and we install and repair steel roofing on homes, garages and additions across the city and its neighbouring towns.

Whether you are converting from worn asphalt or roofing a new addition, the big choices come early. Panel style, steel gauge, paint finish and whether the old roof comes off first all shape how the roof looks, sounds and ages.

Steel is less forgiving than asphalt on install day. Panel layout, clip spacing and trim details decide whether a metal roof stays quiet and dry for 40 years or starts leaking at the first hard freeze.

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Metal Roof Installation and Repair in Burlington

Most of our metal work is residential: detached homes, garages, porches and additions where an owner wants a roof that outlasts the mortgage. Many projects are conversions, where we tear off an aging shingle roof and install steel over a fresh underlayment.

A complete install includes more than panels. We supply and fit the trims, closures and accessories that keep water and snow where they belong.

Plazas, warehouses and other low-rise buildings are handled by our commercial metal roofing team, which works with heavier structural panels and longer spans.

High-temperature synthetic underlayment rated for use under metal
Eave, rake, valley and wall trims formed in the same colour as the roof
Vented ridge with foam or profile closures to keep out insects and wind-driven snow
Rubber pipe flashings sized for each plumbing stack and vent
Snow guards where sliding snow could cause damage

Crew installing steel roof panels on Burlington bungalow

Metal Roofing Options Compared

Steel roofing comes in several forms that look and perform very differently. This table gives the short version before the details below.

Option	Look	Typical lifespan	Best fit
Standing seam	Clean vertical seams, modern or farmhouse	About 40 to 60 years	Simple roof shapes, modern homes, highest budget
Metal shingles and shakes	Copies shingle, shake or slate	About 40 to 50 years	Traditional homes with dormers and valleys
Stone-coated steel	Textured granules in shake or tile profiles	About 40 to 50 years	Owners wanting a quieter, walkable metal roof
Exposed-fastener rib panel	Agricultural ribbed sheet	About 25 to 40 years with screw upkeep	Garages, sheds and outbuildings on a tight budget

Standing Seam Metal Roofs

A standing seam metal roof runs continuous panels from eave to ridge, joined by raised seams with no exposed screws. Panels attach with hidden clips, and those clips let the steel expand and contract through Burlington's hot summers and cold snaps without tearing at fasteners.

Snap-lock panels click together and suit most homes, while mechanically seamed panels are folded shut with a seaming tool for lower slopes and harsher exposure. Panels with light striations or pencil ribs hide the waviness known as oil canning far better than dead-flat pans.

Standing seam also takes clamp-on solar mounts that grip the seam without drilling through the roof, which we cover on our solar panel roofing page.

Metal Shingles and Shakes

Metal shingles are pressed steel panels that interlock on all four sides and are fastened through a concealed flange. They are made to look like asphalt shingles, cedar shakes or slate, so they fit traditional brick and siding homes better than vertical seams.

Because each panel is small, metal shingles handle dormers, hips and valleys with less waste than long panels. The trade-off is more joints, so the interlocks and valley flashings must be installed exactly to the maker's details.

Stone-Coated Steel

Stone-coated steel bonds crushed stone granules to a Galvalume steel panel with an acrylic basecoat. DECRA is the best-known brand in this category, offering shake, shingle and tile profiles.

These panels are usually installed on wood battens, and the textured surface and air gap together quiet rain noise and give a walkable surface. Expect some loose granules in the eavestroughs for the first season, which is normal.

Steel Gauge, Coatings and Colour

Gauge runs backwards: 24 gauge steel is thicker than 26, and 29 gauge is the thinnest common roofing sheet. We recommend 24 or 26 gauge for residential standing seam, because 29 gauge dents more easily under hail and ladders and shows more oil canning.

Under the paint, the steel carries a metallic coating against rust. Z275 galvanized and AZ150 Galvalume are the two you will see on specification sheets, and Galvalume generally holds up better on open roof surfaces.

The paint is the part you see for 40 years. PVDF finishes, sold under names such as Kynar 500 and Hylar 5000, hold colour and resist chalking far longer than SMP (silicone-modified polyester) paints, which cost less and come in more colours.

Fade warranties set a maximum colour change over a stated number of years.
Chalk warranties set a minimum chalk rating, which measures the powder that forms as paint breaks down.
Canadian makers such as Ideal Roofing and Vicwest publish both PVDF and SMP options, so compare the actual limits, not just the year count.

Snow Shedding and Snow Guards

Snow on a steel roof tends to let go all at once, often in a sheet that can bend eavestroughs, crush shrubs and bury a walkway. That fast shedding is a benefit for the roof and a hazard for whatever sits below.

We plan snow guards wherever sliding snow would land on an entrance, a driveway, a deck, a lower roof, a gas meter or an air conditioner. Pad-style guards are fastened in staggered rows, while rail systems clamp to standing seams with hardware such as S-5 clamps that need no holes in the panel.

The number of rows depends on the pitch and the length of the slope. Long, steep runs above a door need more holding power than a short porch roof.

Snow guards on metal roof over Burlington entrance

Can Metal Go Over Existing Shingles?

Some metal systems can be installed over one layer of shingles on wood strapping. The strapping creates an air space that helps ventilation, and the steel itself adds little weight compared with a second layer of asphalt.

We still recommend a tear-off on most homes. Covering old shingles hides rotten decking and failed flashings, lumps in the old roof can show through flat standing seam panels, and some panel makers require a smooth, solid deck for their warranty.

Tear-off also lets us install ice and water membrane at the eaves and a high-temperature underlayment across the deck. Burlington's permit exemption covers replacing shingles with the same material, so a change from shingles to metal may need a building permit; confirm with the City of Burlington before work starts.

Metal Roof Repairs

Most metal roof leaks come from small parts rather than the steel itself. These are the repairs we handle most.

Backed-out fasteners: daily heating and cooling works screws loose on exposed-fastener panels, so we replace them with oversized screws.
Failed washers: the rubber washer under each screw dries and cracks in the sun, letting water follow the screw into the deck.
Dried sealant at trims: sealant at ridge closures, wall trims and laps shrinks over time and needs renewal with a compatible product.
Oil canning: waviness from over-tight fastening or an uneven deck is mostly cosmetic, but loose clips behind it need fixing.
Damaged panels: dented or creased panels are replaced with matching profile and colour from the original maker where it is still made.
Mixed metals: copper or lead touching steel causes galvanic corrosion, so we separate or replace them.

Metal Roof Cost in Burlington

In the Burlington, Hamilton and Halton market, most residential steel roofs fall in roughly the $10 to $20 per square foot range installed, with standing seam at the upper end. For a typical detached home, the metal roof cost often lands around $25,000 to $45,000 or more, depending on the profile and the shape of the roof.

That is usually two to three times the price of architectural shingles. The case for metal rests on lifespan, because one well-built steel roof can outlast two shingle roofs, and our metal roof vs shingles guide sets the two side by side over 40 years.

Price drivers include the panel style, steel gauge and paint system, the number of valleys, dormers and penetrations, tear-off and deck repair, and how many snow guards the roof needs. A written quote follows an on-site assessment.

Metal Roofing FAQs

Are metal roofs loud in the rain?

Not when steel is installed over solid decking with underlayment and an insulated attic below, which is how residential metal roofs go on. The loud metal roofs people remember are usually bare panels over open framing on barns and sheds. If a room under a low-slope or vaulted ceiling still needs quieting, see our roof soundproofing options.

Do metal roofs attract lightning?

No, lightning strikes the tallest and most conductive path in an area, and the roofing material does not change the odds of a strike. If a strike does happen, steel is non-combustible and spreads the energy across its surface rather than igniting. A metal roof is not a lightning protection system, so homes that want one need a separately designed system installed to CSA B72.

Will a metal roof make my house hotter?

Usually the opposite, especially with lighter or cool-pigment finishes that reflect much of the sun's heat. Steel also sheds heat quickly after sunset, and the battens or strapping used on some systems add an air gap above the deck. Attic ventilation and insulation still do most of the work of keeping rooms comfortable.

Request a quote

Get a Metal Roofing Quote

Tell us the style you have in mind, or ask us to help choose one. We measure the roof, check the deck and attic, and send a written quote that names the panel, gauge, paint system and every trim and accessory included.

Our phone is answered 24/7, and quote requests sent below go straight to our team.

Get a Quote Call 289-816-1772

Phones answered 24/7, including emergencies.

1We call you back to confirm the details.
2We inspect the roof and attic and take photos.
3You get a written scope and price. No pressure.