Metal Roof Installation Work, From Bare Deck to Ridge Cap
Each step below happens on every full metal roof, whatever panel goes on top. Most of what decides whether a roof leaks in year ten is hidden under the panels by the end of day one.
Tearing Off Shingles and Checking the Deck
The crew strips the shingles, the old felt and the nails, then walks the deck. Soft plywood, delaminated OSB and boards split around old nail holes get marked and replaced. If the house has old board sheathing with gaps between the boards, note that for metal panels the 2018 code accepts solid or spaced sheathing. Some panel makers still want a solid deck, and metal shingles need one, so ask what the maker of the chosen panel calls for. If you're thinking of skipping the tear-off, the recover rules are on the metal roof over shingles page.
Underlayment and Same-Day Dry-In
Underlayment is the layer that keeps water out if anything gets past the steel, and it's also what the house relies on between tear-off and panels. The 2018 code splits on design wind speed. Under 140 mph, underlayment for metal panels follows the panel maker's instructions. At 140 mph and above, the code names ASTM D226 Type II or ASTM D4869 Type III or IV. If the quote names a synthetic sheet, ask whether it's rated for the heat under dark steel, and ask the crew to dry in every section it opens before leaving for the day.
Laying Out and Fastening the Panels
The first panel sets the line for every other one, so a careful crew squares it to the eave and snaps chalk lines up the roof before fastening. They also plan the layout so the last panel at each rake isn't a thin sliver. Under the 2018 code, panels are fastened following the maker's instructions. Without instructions, steel roofs take galvanized fasteners, and stainless steel is allowed on any metal roof. Clips or screws go at the spacing the maker's tested assembly calls for, closer together at the eaves, rakes and corners. Uplift testing is explained on the FORTIFIED roof page.
Flashing, Trim and a Vented Ridge
The code requires flashing wherever the roof meets a wall, changes slope or direction, or is cut through by an opening. Metal flashing has to be at least 0.019 inch thick, the thickness of 26-gauge galvanized sheet. On a re-roof, old flashings, vents and edge metal that are rusted or damaged must be replaced, not reused. Everything that touches has to be compatible, which matters when copper or aluminum flashing sits next to coated steel. At the top, a vented ridge with foam or mesh closures lets attic air out and keeps wasps and wind-driven rain from getting in.
New Houses and Room Additions
On new construction, the roof framing and sheathing are built for metal from the start, and the dry-in can happen the same day the sheathing goes down. An addition is harder. The new roof has to meet the old one, or a wall, at a joint that's flashed and lapped so water runs over the seam and not into it. Ask whether the addition's pitch suits the panel you've picked. Lapped panels need more slope than some shallow shed-roof additions have.
Why Jackson homeowners call Jackson Metal Roofing Pros
- One independent metal roofer gets your request, not a call list
- A free measure, deck check and written estimate
- Ask for panel system, gauge and paint finish in writing
- The roofing permit is part of the scope: ask who pulls it
- No charge to the property owner for the referral
Metal Roof Installation Pricing From National Cost Guides
HomeGuide's national figures put a metal roof at $5 to $16 per square foot installed, or $7,500 to $40,000 for an average house. Labor alone runs $4 to $8 a square foot. That's the overall range across all panel types. Each type's own range is on its page: standing seam, metal shingles and corrugated and R-panel. No source publishes a Jackson-only price. The add-ons below are where two quotes for the same house tend to drift apart:
Tear-off
HomeGuide puts removal of the old roof at $1 to $3 per square foot.Decking
Replacing deck runs $2 to $5 per square foot, so get a per-sheet price written in.Underlayment
Synthetic underlayment adds $0.10 to $0.90 per square foot.Pitch
Roofs steeper than 6:12 need more labor, equipment and safety gear.Trim count
Chimneys, skylights, dormers and wall joints each need custom-bent flashing.
Metal Roof Installation Rules in Jackson: Code, Permit and License
Jackson's Code of Ordinances, Section 26-60, adopts the 2018 International Residential Code and the 2018 International Building Code, each with amendments. Mississippi doesn't have a mandatory statewide residential code. A 2014 law, Senate Bill 2378, required uniform codes but let counties and cities opt out, so the city's adoption is what applies inside Jackson.
The city lists roofing permits among the permits it issues. The property owner or a licensed contractor has to get the permit before work starts and schedule the inspections. Applications go to the Building Permits Division through the city's online portal. The city warns that unpermitted work can bring enforcement, delays or corrective work, and it notes that permits can come up in an insurance claim. A job isn't complete until it has final approval. Ask who will pull the permit and ask for the sign-off when the job is done.
State law adds a licensing layer. Under Mississippi's Residential Builders and Remodelers law, a remodeler is anyone paid to improve an existing house when the improvements cost more than $10,000. Ask for the roofer's license number and look it up with the Mississippi State Board of Contractors.
Metal Roof Installation in Jackson's Rain and Humidity
NOAA's 1991-2020 normals give Jackson 57.35 inches of rain a year, with measurable rain on about 110 days and an inch or more on about 18 of them. April is the wettest month at 5.84 inches and September the driest at 3.48. Early fall, around the driest month, is the easiest time for a tear-off, but a spring job is fine with a crew that opens only as much roof as it can dry in the same day.
Humidity is the less obvious problem. On summer nights, warm, damp attic air reaches the underside of steel that has cooled after sunset, and water can condense on it. The underlayment keeps that moisture off the deck, and a working vent path from the soffits to the ridge carries it out of the attic. Before you sign, ask how the attic will be vented. Ask whether the soffit intake is open or painted shut, and whether old gable or box vents will stay or be closed off.