Roofing FAQ

Both work here; they fail differently. A quality architectural shingle rated Class 3 or 4 for impact is the better value for most homes and handles our freeze-thaw cycles fine if the ventilation and ice-and-water shield underneath are done right. Standing-seam metal costs roughly double up front but sheds snow instead of holding it, has no seams for ice to work under, and realistically outlives two shingle roofs. If you're on a steep pitch, in the Rattlesnake or up Pattee Canyon where snow sits, or you simply don't want to think about the roof again, metal earns its price. On a low-pitch ranch downtown, shingle usually wins.

Missoula-area residential roofs are typically designed for a ground snow load in the 40–50 lb per square foot range, but what matters is the specific structure, its age, and whether anything has been modified. Wet spring snow weighs far more per inch than the dry stuff in January, which is why the collapses around here happen in March, not December. If your roof is sagging, your interior doors have suddenly started sticking, or you hear new creaking, stop reading and call — that's a same-day inspection, not a maybe.

Ice dams aren't a roofing-material problem — they're a heat problem. Warm air leaking into the attic melts snow on the upper roof, the water runs down to the cold eave, refreezes, and builds a ridge that backs water up under the shingles. Chasing it with heat cable alone treats the symptom. We fix the cause first: air-seal and insulate the attic plane, correct soffit-to-ridge ventilation so the deck stays cold, and run ice-and-water shield well past the wall line on any reroof. Heat cable then becomes a backup, not the whole plan.

Often yes, when the damage comes from a covered event like hail, wind, or a fallen limb — coverage varies by policy and insurer, and ordinary age-related wear typically isn't covered. Hail damage in particular is easy to miss from the ground: bruised shingle mats and dented soft metals show up long before a leak does, and claim deadlines run out. We document the roof on-site with dated photos and a written condition report you can hand straight to your adjuster, and our field supervisor will walk the roof with the adjuster if that helps.

Standing-seam metal on a typical Missoula home usually lands between $18,000 and $30,000 depending on square footage, pitch, and how complicated the roofline is; exposed-fastener panel is meaningfully less, roughly $12,000 to $19,000. Adding snow retention — the bars and cleats that keep a sheet of snow from releasing onto a walkway or a car all at once — runs $900 to $2,800 and is worth budgeting for on any metal roof over an entry. Exact numbers come after we're on the roof, not over the phone.

Most full replacements inside Missoula city limits and in the surrounding county need a building permit; we pull it as part of the job. As for timing — yes, we work through the winter on metal and on emergency repairs, but asphalt shingle really wants temperatures above roughly 40°F to seal properly. A shingle roof installed in a January cold snap can be hand-sealed, but planning a shingle replacement for late spring through October gets you a better roof. If your roof won't make it that long, we'll say so and we'll tarp it in the meantime.

Sometimes, and it's a real way to save money — roughly $10,000 to $16,000 versus a full tear-off and metal install. It depends on how many layers are already up there, whether the deck underneath is sound, and what the local code allows. The honest catch is that going over the top means nobody has laid eyes on the decking, so if there's rot from an old leak it stays hidden. We only recommend it after an inspection says the deck is dry and solid.

Every job carries our own workmanship warranty on top of whatever material warranty the shingle or metal system manufacturer provides — and on metal those manufacturer warranties commonly run 40 years or more on the finish. Terms differ by material and are written into the proposal before work starts, not handed to you afterward. If something we installed leaks, we come back.