Quick Summary: The ballpark cost of restoring a commercial metal roof is $3 – $10 per square foot. The price depends on the details of the project. Do you want coating or spray foam + coating? Do you want a 10, 15, or 20-year warranty? Is there any metal that needs removed and replaced before the install can begin? How far away is the roofing contractor?
Hopefully, from the summary, you can see where we’re headed with this article. The bottom line is that performing a complete tear-off on a metal roof is expensive. Restoration is much more cost-effective (and it’s better for the environment.)
So, what restoration options do you have?
Since we’ve been a company starting in 1979, we’ve been restoring commercial metal roofs by installing a fluid-applied roofing system over the existing metal.
The two fluid-applied roofing systems are:
- Silicone roof coating systems
- Spray polyurethane foam
How much do they cost?
- The average cost to renew a commercial metal roof with a silicone roof coating system is about $3 – $7 per square foot.
- The average cost to renew a commercial metal roof with a spray foam roofing system is about $5 – $10 per square foot.
Now that you know the average costs for each roofing system, you may wonder what other factors affect the price of a commercial metal roofing project?
They are:
- Type of repair required before the new install
- Distance from roofing contractor
- Job Extras/Details
- Warranty length
- Raw material prices
Type of repair
- Completely tearing off the metal roof and replacing it with a new one can cost upwards of $15-$25 per square foot
- Install a roof coating system over the existing metal roof costs around $3 – $7 per square foot
- Install a spray foam roofing system over the existing metal roof costs around $5 – $10 per square foot
Avoiding the complete tear-off is the main reason for the price difference. Imagine the labor hours required to remove everything and install a new metal roof.
Imagine the safety setup required to safely remove and replace the roof.
Since a metal roof is very heavy, the landfill costs will be outrageous.
And think about business interruption. The project will take forever, and you may be without a roof for some time.
Wouldn’t it be much easier all the way around to just leave the roof as is, make a few repairs (if needed), install a primer (if needed), and just spray a solution right over top of the roof?
Both spray foam and roof coating systems are designed to be sprayed over an existing roofing system.
Distance from roofing contractor
Gas, labor hours driving to your roof, and hotel stays contribute to the project’s cost. Yes, eliminating these costs would be awesome if the contractor was next door to you, but that’s highly unlikely.
The one thing you never want to do is to choose a contractor just because they are closer than someone else.
The quality of the install is the most important aspect of any roofing project.
Job extras
Are you getting new drains, gutters, and downspouts installed? This will add to your project’s cost.
Are there areas of the roof that are hard to access? If a crane or lift is involved, these can increase the project’s cost.
Is your metal roof considered “steep slope?” A steep-slope metal roof might require additional safety measures and more labor hours than a non-steep-slope roof.
Is there damaged metal? These areas must be removed and replaced before any product can be installed.
Warranty length
The warranty length for a coating-only job or a spray foam and coatings job is always determined by the thickness of the coating.
- A 10-year warranty gets a 20-mil thickness of coating
- A 15-year warranty gets a 25-mil thickness of coating
- A 20-year warranty gets a 30-mil thickness of coating
More coating = longer warranty = more cost.
Raw Material Prices
The companies installing the roofing system most likely differ from those manufacturing the installed products.
West Roofing Systems doesn’t manufacture spray foam or silicone coatings. Just like the local residential roofer doesn’t make the shingles they install.
Things that happen in the economy can raise or lower the cost of roofing materials.
And it can be substantial.
It wouldn’t be too far a stretch to say that the cost of roofing materials has almost doubled in the past 3-4 years.
Raw material prices are sporadic. A job completed in April could’ve had lower material costs than a job completed in June.
What should you do next?
If your metal roof is in bad shape, contact a company that installs a spray foam or coating system.
Get someone on your roof to determine your eligibility for a coating system. If cost is your #1 concern, you’ll want to lean towards a coating system.
If it’s not eligible, then go the spray foam route.
Thank you for reading. I hope you learned at least one thing new today!
Here’s a video of a spray foam roofing system over an existing metal roof:
