Metal roofing in The Villages to satisfy current insurance issues?
 

I think it's time we started a movement to get The Villages to allow metal roofs along with asphalt shingled roofs. Metal roofs last a minimum of 3x longer, and the current issue with cancellations due to a roof being over 10 years old would be gone.

I think they look great (there are metal roof styles that look like shingles, look like tile, etc), and once installed are pretty much carefree for 40-50 years.

I had a metal roof in GA, and I was surprised that it was actually quieter than a shingle roof during rain and hail. I never had an issue with it.

Thoughts?

Well, IMO you’re right, but I’m wondering if there roofer in the family? IMO absolutely NO reason homeowners can’t choose metal roof. But, here only the developers can have metal roofs.

FYI, I am a big fan of metal roofs and have been considering one for our Villages home. I called the ARC and inquired about being allowed to install one under the deed restrictions in CDD1. I was told approval is on a case by case basis and that specifying the roofs cosmetic style (color, faux shingle versus seamed) in the application would help in the approval process. I then called T&D (our turn key swimming pool installer) about removing our pools solar heating system and reinstalling it on a new metal roof. They said they do NOT install solar on metal roofs. I don’t think it is because solar can’t be put on metal, but rather because metal roofs are so rare in the Villages they aren’t trained for that application and don’t have the critical mass to make it worth the effort to learn.

I believe that you can get ARC approval for the metal roofs that look like shingles, however, the last time i checked these were 2 to 3 times more expensive. This was a quick check and NOT a detailed estimate. Here is my point, our roof is just over 9 years old, in theory, we will get 5 or 6 more years out of it before replacement. At that point a new shingle roof will probably outlive both of us. So, the investment in a metal roof goes to the future buyer or whomever inherits the house.
The metal roof would be a great option for the original roof, or if you are a younger buyer/owner. I will continue to follow this, to see the possible impact on insurance rates, and installation costs.

Steel and aluminum prices are the highest they have ever been and I would hate to know what it would cost today to have them installed if they are even available. I've been in the steel business my entire adult life and have never seen anything like what is happening in the industry today. There were shortages in 1973/74 but nothing like today.

Far as cost, it is hard to understand INFLATION. Today compared to 1973-74 it takes roughly six dollars to buy what a dollar did then. Not just materials but labor is also way up. Of course the same is true of asphalt shingles. Underlayment. Our previous home had tongue and grove, selected rot resistant lumber. That material, you would need a second mortgage on the house to buy it. Someone who knows how to use it-a wooden boat builder place perhaps. Today they do not even use plywood they use chip board-glued together scraps of wood.

Also, hard to face. Average age in the villages is 70. A roof that will last 40-50 years?

We have a metal roof and we're very happy with it. Unfortunately, we're in a manufactured home and only 2 companies will insure them. High deductible, low payout for damage or destruction, and high premium.

They do exist on homes in TV however there are very few. There is one in Bridgeport at Laurel Valley and I know I have seen more (just can’t remember where). The townhouses in Spanish Springs on Avenida de las Casas have a mix of metal and shingle roofs.

And they make excellent lightning rods too.

Knowing that we’d need a new asphalt roof on our 15-year-old Mallory house fairly soon, I checked on a metal roof a year or so ago. The cost then was a multiple of an asphalt replacement. We had a solar heating system for our pool which was installed by Joe’s Solar when the house was new, which probably would have to also be replaced. I didn’t consider punching all the new nails thru a metal roof for the solar system, so I stopped my research. And now the cost of steel and probabably asphalt has probably multiplied, so I’ve stopped my research. At our age there may not be any sense in overspending for a roof for the next two owners of the house. We’re waiting for the leaks to guide us into a descision.

Metal or not, Florida insurance makes you change out every 15 years.

Also, Village of Caroline

We have a Manufacturer Home with a Membrane, Metal Roof Mix. We have a great Insurance Company with a $500 Hurricane Deductible at a reasonable rate. After all as much as I love living here and love my neighborhood and our home we did buy a tin can in the area where a hurricane is much more likely than it was in the Tri-State area that we come from. I made the decision to buy what I bought and don’t have any regret or concern at all.

We had planned to keep this home and move into a Patio Or CYV between the Morse Gate and 466 last year but medical circumstances prevented that from happening. That’s just life. Every house we had looked at was coming close to having the roof at its serviceable end. Frank D'Angelo tipped me off about the roofs in Florida as a major issue and warned me to pull a permit for any and all work we were going to do. Up north because of the terrible property taxes we routinely did not pull permits because the township would raise your taxes even higher.

My best bet is the OP will be granted the “Metal” roof approval that they seek and I think it’s a wonderful idea to do so. Thanks for a great thread OP!

I wonder if these rules that apply to metal roofs apply to Tesla roofs too. Also very expensive but looks great and powers a battery pack in the garage.

You can get a metal roof. Clear it with ARC. There is one in Hemingway.