I went with aluminum panels last time—less rust risk than steel, and way less hassle than chasing every little seam with sealant.
That’s been my experience too. I helped my uncle redo his shed roof a couple years back, right on the coast, and he picked aluminum for the same reason. We still sealed the main seams, but honestly, it’s held up way better than the old galvanized stuff ever did. Only thing is, we noticed a couple small dents after a hailstorm—nothing major, just cosmetic. Still, I’d take that over rust streaks any day.
We still sealed the main seams, but honestly, it’s held up way better than the old galvanized stuff ever did.
Yeah, same here—aluminum just seems to shrug off the salt air. I’ll take a few dings over chasing rust patches every spring. It’s not perfect, but definitely less stress in the long run.
Aluminum’s been a game changer for me too, but I’ll admit, the first time I saw a golf-ball-sized dent from a falling branch, I just stood there and stared at it like it was some kind of modern art. Still beats the yearly ritual of scraping rust off the old galvanized panels, though. Salt air is relentless—had a neighbor who swore by “marine paint” on his steel roof, but after two winters, it looked like a Jackson Pollock painting up there.
I do still run a bead of sealant along the seams every couple years, just in case. Not sure if it’s overkill or just old habits dying hard. The only thing that bugs me is how loud aluminum gets in a good rainstorm... but honestly, I’d rather listen to that than the sound of water dripping through my ceiling.
That rain-on-aluminum soundtrack is something else, right? I swear, the first time we had a real downpour after switching from asphalt shingles, I thought someone was throwing handfuls of gravel at the house. But yeah, I’ll take that over the slow drip of doom any day.
I hear you on the sealant. I still do it too, even though everyone says the factory coatings are “good for decades.” Maybe it’s just leftover paranoia from years of patching up rusty seams on my old steel roof. Salt air doesn’t mess around—my neighbor tried that marine paint trick too, and it looked great for about six months. After that, it started peeling in weird patterns and honestly made his roof look like a failed art project.
One thing I’ve noticed with aluminum is you really have to watch out for galvanic corrosion if you’ve got any steel fasteners or brackets touching it. Had a buddy lose half his gutter system because he mixed metals without thinking about it. Now I’m borderline obsessive about using compatible hardware and gaskets.
If you ever get tired of the noise, there are some underlayments out there that help muffle it a bit. Not perfect, but better than nothing. I actually kind of like the sound now—it’s like nature’s white noise machine.
Honestly, if I could go back in time, I might’ve looked into coated steel or even one of those fancy zinc roofs, but aluminum’s been solid so far. No rust streaks down the siding anymore, which is a win in my book. Still can’t stop branches from falling, though...
That rain-on-metal sound is wild, isn’t it? I get why people love it, but I’ve always wondered if anyone’s tried a green roof near the coast. Plants help with noise and insulation, and you don’t have to stress about corrosion. Has anyone looked into living roofs in salty air, or is that just asking for trouble?
