Updated September 29, 2026

How to use this comparison

Every roofing material on this page works somewhere. The question is which one suits your roof, your structure and how long you plan to stay, so this comparison looks at cost, lifespan, weight, maintenance and how each behaves under snow load.

Asphalt shingles

The default for pitched roofs in the Capital Region, and for good reason. They handle freeze-thaw well, they are straightforward to repair, and they suit complicated roof shapes without the cost escalating.

There are two grades worth knowing about. Three-tab shingles are flat, uniform and the cheaper option. Architectural (sometimes called dimensional or laminate) shingles are thicker, layered, and carry better wind ratings and longer warranties. Most new residential work here is architectural, and the price difference is modest relative to the whole job.

Shingles are light, which matters on older structures, and maintenance is straightforward because individual shingles can be replaced. Where they do less well is on low slopes. Below about a 2:12 pitch they are not appropriate, and that is where a membrane belongs instead.

Metal roofing

Two broadly different products get called metal roofing.

Standing seam has concealed fasteners and raised seams running up the slope. It is the premium option, it sheds snow readily, and it typically outlasts a shingle roof by a wide margin.

Exposed fastener panels screw through the face of the panel into the structure. They cost less and go up faster. The trade-off is that every fastener has a rubber washer, and those washers are the part that ages, so the roof needs re-fastening at some point in its life.

Metal expands and contracts more than shingles, which is why the detailing matters so much. It also suits simple roof shapes best; a lot of dormers, valleys and penetrations means a lot of hand-formed flashing, and the cost climbs quickly.

Metal carries snow load well and sheds it readily rather than holding it. If it sheds snow onto a doorway, a walkway or a driveway, plan for snow guards.

Flat roofs: EPDM and TPO

Flat and low-slope roofs need a membrane, not shingles.

EPDM is a synthetic rubber sheet, usually black, with seams joined by adhesive or seam tape. It is long-established, forgiving to install and straightforward to repair.

TPO is a thermoplastic sheet, usually white, with heat-welded seams. The weld produces a strong, consistent joint, and the reflective white surface can reduce cooling load in summer.

Both are sound systems. On a flat roof, far more failures come from ponding water, blocked drains, poor seam work and bad detailing at parapets and penetrations than from which membrane was chosen. See flat roofing, EPDM and TPO.

Slate

Slate is the longest-lived roofing material in common use, and there is a good deal of it on older houses in Albany, Troy and the Schenectady Stockade.

It is also heavy. Slate weight is the first thing to check, because it needs a structure designed to carry it, and requires specific technique to repair. Individual slates crack or slip, and nails corrode over decades, which is why an old slate roof often needs attention long before the slate itself is worn out. Replacing slate is expensive; repairing it well is usually the better economics on a roof that is otherwise sound. We do not currently take on slate work ourselves, so if you have a slate roof you will want a specialist for it.

Which material suits this climate

The things that actually decide how a roof performs through a Capital Region winter are mostly not the covering:

• Ice and water shield at the eaves, which is what protects you when an ice dam backs water up under the covering
• Ventilation and insulation, which decide whether you get ice dams at all
• Flashing quality, which is where most leaks begin regardless of material
• Pitch, which determines what is appropriate in the first place
• Snow load, which matters most on low-slope roofs and where one roof sheds onto another

A well-detailed architectural shingle roof outperforms a poorly detailed metal one every winter.

Comparison at a glance

Published lifespan figures for all of these vary widely, and they assume correct installation and ventilation. Treat any single number you read as a rough guide rather than a promise.

Choosing

In practice the choice narrows quickly once you account for pitch, roof shape, structure and how long you intend to stay. Tell us about the roof and we will tell you honestly which options are genuinely worth pricing, including the one that costs us the least to install.

Related: asphalt shingles, metal roofing, roof replacement.