As a first-time homeowner who's just gone through this decision myself, here's my quick two cents:
- I initially loved the idea of a metal roof—durability and all—but the noise factor was a big concern for us too.
- Ended up visiting a neighbor who had metal installed with proper insulation (spray foam underneath), and honestly, it wasn't bad at all. Pretty muffled actually, even during heavier rain.
- But yeah... hail is another story. Neighbor mentioned one storm sounded like popcorn popping overhead. Not unbearable, but definitely noticeable.
- We stuck with shingles in the end (budget reasons mostly), but upgraded attic insulation helped cut down noise significantly. Way quieter than before.
- If you do go metal eventually, definitely don't skip on insulation or some sound barrier layer. Seems worth every penny from what I've seen.
Good luck with whatever you choose—roof shopping is surprisingly stressful, haha.
Totally agree about insulation being key. My folks had metal roofing put on their cabin—no spray foam, just a thin insulation layer—and rainstorms got pretty loud. Weirdly relaxing if you're into white noise, but hail was intense enough to wake you up at night...
"Weirdly relaxing if you're into white noise, but hail was intense enough to wake you up at night..."
Haha, relaxing until it's not, right? Curious though—anyone tried metal roofs with proper spray foam insulation? Does it really make that much difference for noise, or is it mostly hype?
Had metal roofs on two houses now—one without insulation, one with spray foam. Quick thoughts:
- Without insulation: rain was loud, hail was deafening. Kinda cozy at first, but got old fast.
- With spray foam insulation: huge difference. Rain noise is muffled nicely, hail still noticeable but way less jarring.
- Don't expect total silence though...metal roofs will always have some noise, insulation just takes the edge off.
Honestly, if you like the sound of rain, you'll probably enjoy it. But if you're sensitive to noise or easily woken up, definitely worth investing in good insulation.
I've installed quite a few metal roofs over the years, and your experience lines up pretty closely with what I've seen. One thing I've noticed is that people's tolerance for noise varies a ton. Had one homeowner who absolutely loved the sound of rain on metal—said it reminded her of camping trips as a kid. Another client, though, called me back after the first storm asking if there was anything we could do to quiet things down because it kept waking up their baby.
Spray foam insulation definitely helps, but you're right, it won't completely silence things. Have you tried adding any attic insulation or acoustic barriers in addition to spray foam? I've seen some folks put in extra fiberglass batting or even acoustic panels in the attic space, and they swear it makes a noticeable difference. Might be worth looking into if you're still bothered by the noise.
Funny enough, I had shingles on my own house for years and switched to metal about three years ago. At first, I thought I'd made a huge mistake because the first big storm sounded like someone was dropping marbles on my roof. But after adding some insulation and getting used to it, now I barely notice it. Actually kinda miss it when I'm traveling and staying somewhere with shingles—rain just doesn't sound the same anymore.
Curious if anyone else has experimented with other insulation methods besides spray foam? Always looking to learn new tricks from people's experiences...
