Metal Roof Over Existing Shingles — Kirksville, Macon & Northeast Missouri

If you have an asphalt shingle roof that is getting on in years but the deck underneath is still solid, you may not need a tear-off at all. In most cases we can lay a standing seam metal roof right over one layer of sound shingles — less mess, less cost, and you are not paying to throw away a roof that still has a good deck under it. This is the most common job we do.

The catch is that it has to actually be the right call for your roof, and we will not pretend it is when it is not. If there are two layers up there, or the deck is soft, or the shingles are curled badly enough that a flat panel will not sit right, the honest answer is a tear-off. Use the checker below for a quick read, and then we will come confirm it on the roof.

How a Metal-Over-Shingles Retrofit Actually Goes

First we look at the roof. We confirm there is only one layer, that the deck is solid, and that the shingles are lying flat enough for a panel to sit on them. We read the pitch and measure the runs. If anything makes going over the shingles a bad idea, this is where we tell you — before any work starts.

On install day we bring the roll former and the steel coil. We form each panel on site to the exact length of the run, so it runs ridge to eave with no lap seam — which matters specifically on a retrofit, because a lap seam on a roof that already has another roof under it is a leak waiting to happen. We lay solid underlayment over the shingles, set the panels with hidden fasteners, and finish the ridge, valleys, and trim.

Going over the shingles means no tear-off, so there is no pile of old roofing going to the landfill and no exposed deck sitting open for days. The job is cleaner and faster, and the old shingles stay where they are as an extra layer underneath.

When Going Over One Layer Is the Right Call

Going over the shingles is the right answer when there is one layer of roofing, the deck is solid, the shingles are lying flat, and the roof has a real pitch. That describes a lot of the roofs we look at in this area, which is why it is our most common job.

It is a good fit when you want the performance of a standing seam roof without the cost and mess of tearing off a roof that still has a good deck under it. You keep the old shingles as a base layer and put the metal roof on top.

When Tear-Off Is the Honest Answer

We will not go over shingles if there are already two layers up there — the weight and the fastener purchase are both wrong, and the second layer can hide deck damage. We will also not do it if the deck is soft or rotting, or if the shingles are curled and buckled badly enough that a flat panel will not sit right on them.

In those cases the honest answer is a tear-off and a fresh metal roof. We will tell you that when we look at it. A roof that has to come off has to come off, and going over it would just trap the problem.

What Drives the Cost When Going Over Shingles

Going over one layer costs less than a full tear-off and replace, because you are not paying for the labor and disposal of pulling the old roof off. What still drives the number is the size and complexity of the roof, the number of valleys and penetrations, the pitch, the panel profile, and the trim. We do not quote a price on a website — we come look and give you a written number for your actual roof.

And because we form the panels on site, there is no factory lead time built into the job. See What It Costs for how the full quote process works.