Metal roofs in Tampa Bay

Metal roofs were the exception around Tampa Bay until 2024. Since Milton, they have become the usual choice on the barrier islands, in South Tampa, and on any house whose owner wants to be done with the 15-year shingle clock. The reasons are the wind rating, a 40-to-50-year life, and the fact that Citizens treats metal as a 50-year roof for its documentation rules. The trade-offs are cost, the installer's skill, and noise and expansion details that a shingle crew does not know.

Call and get connected with an independent, Florida-licensed roofing contractor who installs metal in your area. Say whether you want standing seam or a panel system and whether the house has a pitched or a low-slope roof; the contractor calls you back to schedule the visit.

Standing seam or exposed fastener

• Standing seam: vertical panels joined by raised seams, fastened with hidden clips that let the metal expand; no screws through the panel, so nothing to back out or leak. The higher cost and the roof people mean when they say "metal roof" on Clearwater Beach or Davis Islands.
• Exposed-fastener panels (5V crimp, corrugated, R-panel): screwed through the panel with gasketed screws. Lower cost, traditional on old Florida houses, and a maintenance item: the gaskets age in the sun and the screws need checking every several years.
• Gauge and coating: 24-gauge steel or aluminum with a Kynar-type finish is the standard near salt water; aluminum on the islands, where steel edges rust.
• Florida Product Approval and the wind rating: every metal panel system used here carries one, and the clip spacing on the plan is what earns the 145 mph rating in Pinellas.

What the proposal should say

Panel profile, gauge, metal, and finish, by product name and Florida Product Approval number. The underlayment (a high-temperature self-adhered membrane under metal, because the panels get hotter than shingle). Clip type and spacing. How penetrations, valleys, and the eave are detailed. The permit and final inspection. Two warranties: the finish (often 30 or more years against chalk and fade) and the workmanship.

Ask who is installing it. Metal is a different trade from shingle, and a shingle crew installing its first standing-seam roof is the source of most metal-roof leaks: seams that were not hemmed, clips too far apart, penetrations sealed with caulk.

Insurance and the wind-mitigation credits

Citizens' documentation rule for "hard" roofs (tile, slate, clay, concrete, metal) starts at 50 years, against 25 for shingle. A new metal roof with a secondary water barrier and documented deck attachment earns the roof-covering and water-barrier credits on the wind-mitigation form (OIR-B1-1802). Whether the premium difference justifies the cost difference is a question for your agent with real numbers; the contractor can give you the roof-side numbers.