Wave Pattern Pricing: What Corrugated Metal Roof Costs

Ripples on your roof-corrugated metal-usually run roughly $5.50 to $12.00 per square foot installed in Nassau County, depending on thickness and finish. What I’m going to do here is break that range down into what you actually control-panel type, roof shape, and add-ons-so when someone asks you “what does a corrugated metal roof cost?” you can answer with more than a shrug.

What a corrugated metal roof really costs in Nassau County

Around here, corrugated metal pricing typically lands above decent asphalt shingles but well below standing seam, which is the “fancy” metal everyone sees on modern barn houses. That $5.50 to $12 range is installed, so it includes labor and all the pieces to finish the roof-panels, fasteners, trim, underlayment, the works. You’re not buying metal at Home Depot and slapping it up yourself, because frankly that’s how you end up with leaks and loose panels on your garage by October.

How that installed price breaks down

Materials make up maybe half-that’s your corrugated panels, the exposed-fastener screws with rubber washers, ridge cap, drip edge, and the synthetic underlayment that goes down first. Labor and overhead take the rest. The two things that move your number faster than anything else are panel gauge (thickness) and coating (galvanized, galvalume, or painted). Heavier metal and tougher coatings add dollars to each sheet, but they also add years to how long the roof lasts without rust spots or dents. Simple math: thinner metal saves up front, better metal spreads cost over more years.

Here’s the simple truth about corrugated metal pricing: corrugated is budget metal, not magic cheap metal. You’ll save compared to standing seam, and sometimes compared to premium shingles, but a good corrugated install with decent panels and proper fasteners still costs real money. I’ve walked too many customers back from the “barn tin is dirt cheap” dream to let that myth stand. You get what you pay for, just like anything else.

Step One – Panel choice and thickness: where your corrugated price starts

On a straightforward 400-square-foot porch roof in Nassau County-something simple, maybe one slope, easy access from the driveway-you’re looking at roughly $2,200 to $4,800 total, depending on which panel spec we use. The low end is basic 29-gauge galvanized with minimal trim, the high end is thicker 26-gauge painted steel with better fasteners and careful trim details. That porch is small enough that you can see the entire job from your backyard, so every choice shows up, which is why I usually nudge people toward the middle or upper part of that range if it’s visible from the house.

Panel gauge and coating tiers

Most corrugated metal around here comes in three practical tiers. Bottom rung is 29-gauge galvanized steel-thin enough to dent if you step wrong, but perfectly fine for a shed or utility building where looks don’t matter and you just need watertight cover. Middle rung is 26-gauge galvalume or painted 29-gauge-thicker or better coated, resists rust better, handles Nassau humidity and coastal salt without streaking brown in five years. Top rung is 24-gauge painted or specialty coatings, which honestly I don’t quote much for corrugated because at that price you’re close enough to standing seam that you might as well step up. Each gauge step adds maybe seventy-five cents to a dollar-fifty per square foot installed, coating upgrades add another fifty cents to a dollar, depending on color and warranty.

One windy March in Seaford I priced and installed a corrugated metal roof on a detached two-car garage for a family who’d just been quoted way more than they expected for asphalt replacement. We compared cost per square for 29-gauge corrugated steel versus mid-grade architectural shingles, and the corrugated came in about a dollar per square foot cheaper on materials, roughly even on labor because metal goes down fast but you need more precision. What made the difference-and kept that garage quiet during south-shore wind gusts-was spending a couple hundred extra on heavier trim pieces and name-brand fasteners with thick rubber washers. That little bump took them from “cheap garage roof” to “solid garage roof,” and they’ve never had a leak or a rattle since.

If you’re anywhere near the water or you get those steady south-shore winds, don’t skimp on fasteners and trim. A box of better screws costs maybe forty bucks more, good trim adds another hundred or two depending on roof size, but you’ll hear the difference the first time a storm rolls through. Cheap fasteners back out, thin trim flaps and bends, and suddenly your “savings” turn into service calls.

On that 400-square-foot porch, moving from rock-bottom 29-gauge galvanized with basic trim to solid 26-gauge painted with proper fasteners and ridge detail typically adds about $800 to $1,200 total.

Roof shape, size, and existing conditions: why your neighbor’s price isn’t yours

Most of what you’re paying for in a corrugated roof comes down to four things: metal thickness, coating quality, how cut up or complicated your roof is, and how much trim you need to finish edges and peaks. The first two we just covered. The second two-shape and trim-are where your price can jump even if you’re using the exact same panels as the guy down the block. A simple gable roof with two big slopes eats up panels fast and keeps labor low. A roof with dormers, valleys, attached porches, or weird angles means more measuring, more cuts, more custom flashings, and more time on the roof.

On older garages and sheds-from Bethpage to Oceanside-you also have to account for what’s under the old roof. If we’re tearing off busted asphalt and finding rotten plywood or missing blocking, that’s extra material and labor before the first corrugated panel even goes down. I budget tear-off at maybe seventy-five cents to a dollar-fifty per square foot, and deck repairs can add another couple hundred to a grand depending on how bad it is. Newer construction or a clean tear-off with solid decking? You’re on the low end. Old shore garage with soft spots and questionable framing? Budget toward the high end.

During a sticky July in Uniondale I re-roofed a flat-to-low-slope addition where the owner had bought what he called “cheap barn metal” online, thinking all corrugated panels were the same and he’d save a pile of money. He did save on the metal-problem was, the panels were so thin they flexed when you walked on them, and the fasteners he bought were generic drywall screws without proper washers. By the time I got called in to fix the leaks, we had to pull half the panels, add more purlins to stiffen things up, and use real roofing screws with EPDM washers. That “cheap” metal ended up costing more in labor and fixes than if he’d just bought mid-grade panels and done it right the first time. The lesson I still tell from that job: metal thickness, coating, and panel length all change the real installed cost, not just the sticker price on the pallet.

If you stand in your driveway and count how many separate roof sections you see-main house, garage, bump-outs, dormers, porches-you’re basically counting labor multipliers. Each section needs its own starter, its own ridge cap, and usually some kind of valley or flashing where it meets another section. A single-plane garage might cost $6 per square foot installed because it’s quick and clean; a multi-section roof with three dormers and an attached porch might hit $10 or $11 even with the same panels, because half the job is trim work and careful measurement. Complexity costs, every time.

Coastal premiums and tougher environments for corrugated metal

Back on that Bayville fish market I mentioned earlier, I got a firsthand look at what salt air and seagulls do to corrugated metal over time. The building sat maybe two blocks from the water, and the old roof-cheap galvanized that had been up for probably fifteen years-was streaked with rust, dented where birds had pecked at it looking for bugs or just being obnoxious, and starting to lift at the fasteners because the coastal wind is relentless. The owner wanted corrugated again because it matched the look and worked with his simple gable, so we spent a morning at his counter pricing galvanized versus galvalume versus painted panels.

Galvanized would’ve been the cheapest up front but would rust again in ten to twelve years that close to salt water-not worth it. Galvalume, which is steel coated with a zinc-aluminum alloy, costs maybe a dollar to a dollar-fifty more per square foot installed but holds up to salt and moisture way better. Painted panels over galvalume or galvanized substrate add another fifty cents to a dollar, depending on color and warranty, but you get rust protection plus a clean look that doesn’t streak brown. We went with painted galvalume in a light gray, and the price landed around $9.50 per square foot installed for that small commercial roof. That’s toward the top of the corrugated range, but it made sense for a coastal building where the roof is constantly taking a beating from weather and wildlife.

Other Nassau spots near the water-Freeport, Long Beach, Atlantic Beach-see the same thing. If you’re within a mile or two of the ocean or the bay, salt creeps into everything, wind hits harder, and humidity stays higher. Corrugated metal can absolutely handle it, but you need to budget for better coatings, heavier gauge if you’re in a wind zone, and fasteners that won’t corrode. Compared to an inland garage in, say, Garden City or Westbury, a coastal corrugated roof might run a dollar to two dollars more per square foot just because you’re speccing materials that last instead of materials that rust.

If you can smell salt on the breeze from your roof, budget toward the top of the range.

Should you put corrugated metal on the shed, the garage, or the main house?

I’ve installed corrugated metal on backyard sheds, working garages, detached workshops, covered porches, and even a couple of main-house roofs where the homeowner wanted that industrial-farmhouse vibe. The way I help people decide which spec to use is pretty simple: how visible is the roof, and how long do you want it to last without maintenance? Shed or utility building you barely look at? Basic 29-gauge galvanized is fine-you’re talking $5.50 to $7 per square foot installed, and it’ll keep rain out for fifteen years with zero fuss. Working garage or porch you see from the driveway or back deck? Step up to 26-gauge painted or galvalume-that’s $7.50 to $10 per square foot, looks cleaner, lasts longer, and you won’t regret it when you’re staring at it every morning. Main house where the roof is a big part of your curb appeal? Go 24-gauge painted with quality trim and careful details-$10 to $12 per square foot-or honestly consider whether standing seam makes more sense, because at that price you’re close. Garage/shed money: $5.50 to $7.50 per square foot, Main house money: $9 to $12 per square foot.

To figure out what you’ll actually spend, measure your roof-length times width, add ten percent for waste and edge cuts-then count how many roof planes and trim pieces you’ll need from the driveway test I mentioned earlier. Decide which category your project falls into: throwaway shed, solid garage, or main house showpiece. Then when you call TWI Roofing or any other contractor, ask which panel thickness and coating they’re quoting so you can see where you land in the range. Most honest installers will walk you through those choices at your kitchen table, red pen in hand, and show you exactly what each bump in spec does to your total. That’s how you go from “what does a corrugated metal roof cost?” to “here’s my number, and here’s why.”