Meet Nathan. He is the one who will price your roof.
Nathan is the sales rep here, so he is the one who turns up, measures, and gives you the number. He calls it consulting rather than selling. In two and a half minutes he covers what he gets asked most: what happens between signing and the install, how long a crew is on your house, and what makes one roof harder than another.
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Our starting price, installed. This is the Masterrib Lifetime exposed fastener panel, the most economical roof we make. Every other panel we run costs more.
What the starting price actually is
Four dollars fifty a square foot is a floor, not an average. It buys our Masterrib Lifetime panel on a straightforward roof: reasonable pitch, decent access, nothing complicated going on. It is a genuinely good roof and it carries a 40 year paint warranty, but it is the entry point to our range rather than the middle of it.
Most homes land higher, and the honest reason is that most people who call us are not shopping for the cheapest roof. They are replacing asphalt for the second or third time and want the one that ends the cycle.
What each panel costs
Every number below is a starting price, per square foot, installed. Same crews and same 40 year paint warranty on all of them. What changes is the profile and how the panel fastens.
| Panel | Starting price | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Masterrib Lifetime | $4.50per sq ft | Exposed fastener. Best value per square and where our starting price lives. Ideal on barns, shops, pole buildings and simple house roofs. |
| Masterlok Lifetime 100 | $5.49per sq ft | Our most popular home panel. One inch standing seam, concealed fastener, nothing penetrating the weather surface. |
| Masterlok Lifetime 150 | $6.19per sq ft | Inch and a half seam. Taller profile, stronger shadow line, same concealed fastener system. |
| Masterlok Lifetime 175 | $6.90per sq ft | Inch and three quarter seam. Handles low slopes and open framing where a solid deck is not there. |
| Stone coated steel | Quotedby the job | Top of the range. Steel underneath, stone chip finish on top. You are paying for the look. |
Every one of these is a floor, not an average. Pitch, tear off, complexity and access all move the final number, and we put it in writing before anything starts.
What a real roof actually comes to
Starting prices are only useful if you can turn them into a number. Below is the same 2,000 square foot roof priced across all four panels we run. This is math off our published rate, not a quote, and it assumes a simple roof with one layer of shingles coming off.
A cut up roof with valleys, dormers and multiple penetrations runs higher than this. A simple gable runs closer to it. Steep pitch adds labor. A second or third layer of shingles adds tear off and disposal. Price your own roof to skip the guessing.
The five things that move your number
- Pitch. Steeper roofs take longer and cost more to work safely.
- Tear off or go over. In many cases metal goes directly over existing shingles, sometimes in as little as a day. That saves real money when the decking allows it.
- Existing layers. Two or three layers of asphalt usually means a tear off, and that changes the job.
- Complexity. Valleys, dormers, chimneys and skylights are all detail work, and detail work is where a metal roof is won or lost.
- Access. Tight lots, long carries and landscaping you would rather we not drive over all add time.
Cost per year, not cost today
Steel roofs last 40 to 70 years. Asphalt gets 15 to 20 in this climate. That is the comparison that matters, and it is why a metal roof that costs more once is usually cheaper than two or three shingle roofs.
Our panels are also Energy Star rated. The reflective finishes cut summer heat gain, which shows up on the cooling bill every August rather than once at the end.
Where shingles still make sense
If the building is coming down in a few years, asphalt is the right call and we will tell you so. We would rather lose a job than sell somebody a roof that does not fit their situation.
If the number is the only thing in the way, say so when we are out there. Financing runs 3 to 12 years and you pick the payment, which is a better answer than putting on a roof you will be replacing again in fifteen.
If selling is anywhere in the picture
A roof is one of the very few things in a house that a buyer can put a real number on. Kitchens and paint are taste. A roof with five years left is a line item, and it comes out of your price whether you replace it before the sign goes up or credit it at closing.
That holds whether you are listing in two months or two years. The only thing that changes is who gets to enjoy it in the meantime. List soon and the roof is what separates your house from three others on the same street with the same floor plan and a shingle roof nobody wants to talk about. List in a couple of years and you get the quiet, the cooling bill and the peace of mind first, and the roof is still new when the sign goes in the yard.
It counts for the most in the middle of the market. A buyer who is stretching to make the payment does not have another ten or twelve thousand sitting behind them for a roof in year three, and their inspector will tell them exactly that. Take it off the table and you have removed the strongest number anybody had to negotiate you down with.
And if you never sell, you never buy another roof. There is no version of this where a forty year roof turns into a mistake.
Get a real number on your own roof
Averages are averages. The tool below measures your actual roof from aerial imagery and gives you a real price in about a minute. If trees block the imagery it will not work, and in that case call 574-343-9203 and we will come out and quote it free.
Price your specific roof, right now.
Why does the tool say "per square" instead of per square foot?
Do not write a check for the whole roof today.
A metal roof lasts 40 to 70 years. A monthly payment lets you get on the metal path without a five figure check up front. Prequalify in 60 seconds through Acorn Finance, see real offers from multiple lenders, and pick the one that fits.
- ✓ 60 second prequalification
- ✓ No impact on your credit score
- ✓ Multiple lenders, side by side
- ✓ Fixed rate, no prepayment penalty
One roof, ten years, done.
Shingle path: pay for the roof today, replace it around year 15, then again around year 30. Three roofs. Three disposal bills.
Metal path: finance one roof, pay it off in about ten years, own the roof outright for the thirty years after that.
What people ask before they call
What does a metal roof cost in Michiana?
Why is standing seam more than exposed fastener?
How much does it cost to put metal over existing shingles?
Is a metal roof worth the extra money over asphalt?
Do you charge for an estimate or a site visit?
What warranty comes with the price?
Can I finance a metal roof?
Does the price change depending on what town I am in?
What our customers say
★★★★★Professional, courteous, beyond hard working and thorough. They were here first thing in the morning and worked hard until the job was done. Two of my neighbors are now interested in having their roofs done because they saw the work.
Deborah G. · Goshen, IN
★★★★★Steelmaster was very easy to work with. Price was fair and the work was done very quickly. We have had no issues with their work or the roof at all. Putting the steel roof on was one of the best things we have done to the house.
Kevin M. · Elkhart County, IN