How to install metal roofing to reduce the noise factor?

Metal roofing has a bunch of things to recommend it in my climate:
1. Our UV index has been climbing, and asphalt shingles *really* don't last well.
2. Our droughts have been more extreme when they happen, so catching rainwater is a target, and metal roofing is recommended for that.
3. It's hard to know what toxins might be in some of the alternatives that I've read about.
4. It's even harder to know how recyclable many of the alternatives are.

However, everything I read about metal roofs that's being up-front and honest, says that they're noisy. I understand why. Even on our old shingle roof, if we have really heavy rain in the night it can wake me. So I figured Permies was the place to ask. There has to be some ways to fix or reduce this problem, and I need to explore that now before the roof needs replacing, as I'm pretty sure the answer will be - noise dampening needs to be part of the installation!

So what do my fellow permies think? What crazy ideas can we come up with, that might help stop metal roofs from becoming snare drums in rainstorms?

In MN had an aluminum roof.   Insulation ranged from 12” to 36”.   It was loud in a heavy rain.  That said, my wife and I loved the sound.  Then again, we once lived next to a railroad yard, and we loved that noise as well.

To the best of my knowledge, based on the bit of insulation that I need to stuff back up, in the garage, our insulation is 6" or 8" thick. The roof is loud - sometimes, so loud we can't hear anything else - no stereo, no tv, etc, even talking. But like John and his wife, we don't actually mind it. In fact, I often enjoy it, and it gives me an excuse to get off the phone, at times.

John F Dean wrote:... It was loud in a heavy rain.  That said, my wife and I loved the sound...

Alas, both my son and I tend to be on the noise sensitive side. I like the sound of rain, but we can get some really heavy downpours which may be a problem.

That said, my son is hoping to put solar panels on the roof. Is that going to reduce the noise?

We moved into our present home (2-story, 1915-build) with ailing asphalt shingles.  A few storms after the move and we qualified by insurance for a new roof.  That was about 2 decades ago and the roof we had installed was a steel, painted roof with interlocking panels.  I can't recall for sure at the moment about whether they added extra insulation before adding the roof panels, but I know they did not remove the shingles.  What I can say from having multiple steel buildings on our property, all with non-insulated roofs, is that a non-insulated roof is REALLY noisy with rain (hail is deafening!).  With that as background, I can honestly say that our home roof is nearly silent in a rain storm and really only moderately audible under hail.  Since you are in the PNW where rainshowers appear with the regularity of the sun rising in the morning, I would recommend finding someone in your area who has a metal-roof-on-insulated-wooden-subroof home and see if you can't schedule a visit during a good shower.  We are nearly certain that we will not have to replace this roof in our lifetime in the house and that it could last a good few decades after we depart.  I highly recommend metal roofs as replacements for asphalt whenever asked.  Good luck on your decision, Jay!

Edit;  Forgive me for copy/paste from AI, but this answers a question for me on why a metal roof on shingles is quieter than metal alone:

"A metal roof installed directly over existing shingles is quieter because the old shingle layer acts as a built-in sound barrier. It absorbs impact energy, prevents the metal from vibrating like a drum, and adds a thick layer of mass that deadens the sound of rain.Why Installing Over Shingles Muffles the SoundVibration Dampening: Metal alone (especially if installed over open-frame rafters) vibrates and amplifies sound like a drum. The underlying shingles press flush against the metal, restricting this vibration.Impact Cushioning: The coarse, granulated texture of asphalt shingles creates a physical cushion that softens the initial strike of raindrops.Mass & Density: The combined mass of the metal, old shingles, underlayment, and roof decking creates a thicker barrier that sound waves must penetrate, making the interior much quieter."

" prevents the metal from vibrating like a drum, "  that part makes me think a way to stop the noise might be to keep it from vibrating. The roofing on this rental has standing seams (and you put the screws through the STANDING SEAMS! NOT the flat parts! That's how you keep them from leaking!!) and normally you'd only put screws in every 4th one or so space 24 inches or so apart. Wonder what it would if you put screws at 12 inch spacing on every standing seam, and make it so it can't vibrate? The basic asphalt felt you put under a roof might be enough to dampen the bounce against the roof. Might be interesting to try. Screws are cheaper than anything else you can do to a roof.

Anyone got a shed with standing seams that could be tried on? Go up and add a bunch of screws, see what it does to the sound. Lots of us are interested in knowing.

I put a clicklock style standing seam metal roof on my new-to-me 1950s house, over a new 5/8" plywood roof deck. I like the clicklock as it is DIY friendly, unlike the crimped standing seam. Just needed basic tinsnips and a homemade bender to make the locking bend at the bottom.

We insulated the attic with rockwool to the depth of the ceiling joists; 5.5" or 7.25 depending in area. Carefully cut to fit all the weird little pockets the trusses and blocking create.

Then we blew 16"+ of cellulose on top of that. This should be at least R55, before accounting for the rockwool. Around R80 combined.

We can barely hear a heavy rain after this. Downstairs, through the insulated floor, it is entirely inaudible.



In my tinyhouse, the roof was originally only insulated to R22 with rockwool. 3/4" subfloor OSB for the ceiling helped keep the noise reasonable. Through-fastened steel roofing.

I redid it a few years ago to around R50 rockwool with a clicklock roof, and it is noticeably quieter. Definitely still louder than the house.

At no point was it loud enough to annoy me..

Pearl Sutton wrote:... The basic asphalt felt you put under a roof might be enough to dampen the bounce against the roof. Might be interesting to try. ...

I would say that old shingles are much thicker than a single layer of asphalt felt, and that even the felt comes in different thicknesses. I have heard that mass more than anything else, absorbs sound, so if shingles had to be removed, I would go for several layers of the thickest felt I could get, unless someone tells me they tried that and it didn't work.

Jay Angler wrote:

Pearl Sutton wrote:... The basic asphalt felt you put under a roof might be enough to dampen the bounce against the roof. Might be interesting to try. ...

I would say that old shingles are much thicker than a single layer of asphalt felt, and that even the felt comes in different thicknesses. I have heard that mass more than anything else, absorbs sound, so if shingles had to be removed, I would go for several layers of the thickest felt I could get, unless someone tells me they tried that and it didn't work.

Ah, I thought you were talking putting a whole new roof structure etc on.

D Nikolls wrote: I put a clicklock style standing seam metal roof on my new-to-me 1950s house, over a new 5/8" plywood roof deck. I like the clicklock as it is DIY friendly, unlike the crimped standing seam. Just needed basic tinsnips and a homemade bender to make the locking bend at the bottom.

I had to look them up. Yes the DIY type is the type I have used. hadn't heard it called clicklock.  The basic cheap stuff from the big box stores, with ridges, that you put on.  I know about the really old style and/or expensive type, never used it or dealt with it.

I am often building metal roofs on my small farm.
The noise is music to me!
But insulation in various forms is available, one is a twin layer of fibreglass or earthwool and sisalation which sits directly against the
roof sheet, it prevents condensation and reduces the music level.