eli5 why roofs aren’t made out of metal or something more durable than shingles?

Question

Shingles need to be replaced every 10-30 year depending on wear and their type. It just seems so uneconomical and such a pain.

I get that metal conducts heat more easily, but couldn’t you just let a thin layer of moss grow on your metal roof and call it a day? Even if they dry out in the summer, I doubt metal + thin layer of dirt would conduct heat more than black shingles

In: 15

Answer 1

I don’t like the way metal looks. I live in the Midwest and they make the house look like a unfinished Morton pole barn. Plus lots of inexperienced homeowners try it themselves and don’t install them right. My hillbilly in-laws did there own and it looks awful. All wavy and doesn’t lay evenly.