Metal is the roof homeowners choose when they want to install once and not think about it for a long time. It stands up to sun, sheds heat, and carries strong fire resistance, which matters in the hillside and canyon areas of Los Angeles County. Orian Construction & Roofing installs and repairs standing seam and metal roofing across the county.
Metal roofing used to mean barns and warehouses. That has changed. Standing seam panels and metal tile now sit on custom homes and hillside remodels across the county, and the reasons are practical. A metal roof can last forty to seventy years, which is two or three shingle roofs in a row. It reflects a good share of the sun rather than soaking it up, which eases the load on an attic and an air conditioner through an LA summer.
The reason we bring it up most often, though, is fire. Large parts of this county sit in or near Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones, and metal carries a Class A fire rating, the top mark. In the canyons of the Santa Monica Mountains and the foothills of the Valley, that resistance is a real consideration, not a talking point. Our article on wildfire season and Class A roofs goes deeper on how roofing figures into ember resistance.
Metal is a bigger up-front cost than shingle, and it is not right for every home, so it is worth weighing against the alternatives. Our comparison of metal versus tile lays out the trade-offs, and if you are early in the process a roof replacement conversation is the place to price the options.
Metal roofing is not one look. It ranges from clean, modern panels to profiles that mimic tile or shake. Here are the systems we work with.
Vertical panels with raised, interlocking seams and no exposed fasteners. The clean, modern look most people picture when they think metal roof.
Metal formed to look like tile or wood shake, giving the fire resistance and life of metal with a traditional appearance that suits many LA homes.
Interlocking metal panels sized like shingles, a middle-ground option that installs on a range of roof pitches.
Exposed-fastener panels for utility structures, patios, and outbuildings where cost and durability matter more than a refined look.
A reflective metal roof pushes back a share of the sun rather than storing it, which can ease attic heat and cooling bills. See cool roofs.
Cool roofs →A Class A metal roof does not ignite from embers the way some materials can, a real factor for homes near brush and canyons.
Wildfire prep →A properly installed metal roof outlasts several shingle roofs, which changes the long-run math even with the higher up-front cost.
Replacement →Family owned and based on Ventura Blvd in Sherman Oaks. For homes near brush, a metal roof is one of the sturdier choices you can put over your head.
Metal roofs are low upkeep, but they are not no upkeep. The most common issues we address are loosened fasteners on older exposed-fastener panels, worn sealant at the penetrations and transitions, and damage to the finish that can lead to corrosion if it is left alone. On standing seam roofs, the panels themselves rarely fail, so the work is usually at the flashing, the ridge, and the points where the roof meets a wall or a chimney.
If your metal roof is leaking, the source is almost always one of those transitions rather than the panel field, and our leak detection finds it. A yearly look under our roof maintenance keeps the fasteners tight and the sealant sound, which is most of what a metal roof asks for over its long life.
We install and repair metal roofs for homeowners across the county from our shop on Ventura Blvd in Sherman Oaks, with particular demand in the hillside and canyon neighborhoods:
Thinking about a metal roof or need one repaired? Tell us about your home and we will come out and give you a written estimate.