Aren’t Metal Roofs Noisy?
“….Not so. They [metal roofs] may even be quieter than other roof types” – BobVila.com
“…metal roofing is often quieter than an asphalt shingle roof. When installed with solid sheathing, a metal roof on your home will actually silence noise from rain, hail and bad weather better than other roofing materials.” – The Metal Roofing Alliance, Metalroofing.com
“We find it quieter than our previous shake roof.” – Metal Roof Customer, Facebook.com
“A study was conducted by The Acoustic Group at the University of Luleå, Sweden, to determine the amount of sound emitted when rain falls on various roofing materials. The study concluded that metal did not register a significantly higher sound level than shingle. In fact, the sound differential between shingle and metal was less than the sound of a whisper (6dB)” – Atas.com
It’s All In The Details
As you may have figured out – it’s a 
myth that metal roofs are noisy – at least when referring to metal roofs installed on a typical residential home.
Although, if you install metal roofing material without any plywood sheathing or underlayment, then yes, a metal roof will sound just like what you’d hear when rain hits an old barn roof. Fortunately, that’s NOT how roofers install residential metal roofs today.
Today, a typical installation would include a solid plywood sheeted deck or filled in skip sheathing, plus a high quality underlayment before installing the metal roofing product. Alternately, in some cases, metal roofs can be installed right over the old asphalt shingles. These protective base layers act as sound insulation and have a quieting effect on rain landing on your roof.
Some homeowners don’t think the sound is a bad thing and actually feel the sound of rain on a metal roof can be quite soothing and enjoyable. Either way, a typically installed residential metal roof is no noisier than other roofing materials.
