Drive through Westlake and you’ll see a lot of houses with a dark metal roof over the front porch, a bay window or the entry, and shingles or a shake look everywhere else. That’s a standing seam accent roof, and it’s one of my favorite ways to dress up a custom home. Here’s where it works, what has to go right, and what to think about before you ask your HOA.
I’m Blake Snow. I’ve been roofing for 30 years, I’m the third generation in a family roofing business that goes back 75 years, and our crews have completed over $80 million in roofing projects. Our Rhome office is about 18 road miles from Westlake.
Where a standing seam accent makes sense
Not every part of a house needs metal. Accents look best on the spots people actually look at:
- The front porch. A long porch roof in standing seam gives the whole front of the house a crisp line.
- Bay windows. A small metal roof over a bay draws the eye to the window and away from the plain wall around it.
- The entry. A metal roof over the front door or an arched entry makes it stand out from the street.
- Dormers and loggias. On bigger homes, matching metal on dormers, a back loggia or a covered patio ties the house together.
If you like the look and want more of it, the same panels can go on the whole roof. Our main standing seam metal roofing page covers full roofs.
Why porches and bays suit metal
There’s a practical reason accents often end up in these spots, not just looks. Porch roofs and bay roofs are often lower in slope than the main roof. Shingle makers set a minimum slope for their products, and some porch roofs are close to it. On a low roof, water moves slower and has more time to find a way in.
Standing seam handles that better. Each panel runs in one piece from the top of the roof to the bottom edge, and the seams are raised above the flat of the panel where water runs. There are no exposed screws in the panels, because they’re held down with clips hidden under the seams. On a low porch roof, that’s fewer places for a leak to start.
The part that matters most: where metal meets the rest of the house
An accent roof is small, but it has a lot of edges. It meets a brick or stone wall, it meets the shingles above it, and it often has a gutter on the low side. Most leaks I see on porch and bay roofs come from those joints, not from the roof itself.
A few things we pay attention to:
- Wall flashing. Where the porch roof runs into the wall, the flashing has to tuck behind the siding or into the brick so water runs over it, not behind it.
- Where metal meets shingles. When the main roof is shingles, the transition has to be lapped so water from the upper roof lands on top of the metal.
- Trim that matches. We match the trim at the eaves, rakes and walls to the panels, so the accent looks like one clean piece instead of a patch.
If you already have a porch roof that leaks where it meets the house, that’s usually a flashing fix, and we’re glad to come look at it. Our roof repair page has more on that.
Panels made for your roof
We run our own roll formers and a standing seam machine, so we form our standing seam panels in-house, cut to the length of each slope, and our own crew installs them. On an accent roof, that means the panels fit your porch or bay instead of being pieced together from stock lengths. Every standing seam and R-panel roof we install is 26-gauge steel, which shows less waviness in the flat of the panel. Here’s what the gauge number means, and more on why we form our own panels.
Picking the color
The accent should look like it was planned with the house, not added later. A few tips:
- Pick it against your brick or stone, in daylight. Metal colors look different in Texas sun than in a brochure.
- Think about the main roof color too. A darker metal accent over a lighter shingle can look sharp, and a close match reads as quieter and more traditional.
- Look at your windows and trim. A lot of homeowners match the accent to window frames, light fixtures or front door hardware.
Our metal roof colors and finishes page goes through the options.
Pairing it with the main roof
A standing seam accent goes well with a few main-roof choices:
- Designer and luxury shingles with deep shadow lines.
- Slate- and shake-look roofs, which give a traditional look on the main roof and let the metal stand out.
Every shingle roof we install is impact rated Class 3 or better. If you’re replacing the main roof anyway, it’s a good time to add the accent, so everything is flashed together and you deal with one crew. Our HOA and architectural review post for Southlake covers more on pairing metal with a traditional roof.
HOA approval and permits in Westlake
Most Westlake neighborhoods, including Vaquero, have architectural guidelines that cover roofing materials and colors. An accent roof is a change to the outside of the house, so check your HOA’s rules and get the committee’s approval before work starts. A metal accent over the porch is often an easier first request than a full metal roof.
The Town of Westlake also has its own rules. Contractors have to register with the Town, and permits are submitted through the Town’s online system. Ask any contractor you’re talking to how they handle that.
Hail and insurance
North Texas gets real hail, and porch roofs take it just like the main roof does. Every metal roof we install, accents included, is Class 4 impact rated under UL 2218, the highest impact rating. Some insurance companies give a credit for impact-rated roofs, and the amount varies by company, so call yours. Our Class 4 metal and insurance page explains how it works.
About the photo
The photo at the top isn’t from Westlake. It’s the standing seam conversion on a brick ranch in Denton County, between Sanger and Valley View, where we put dark standing seam on the whole house. This shot is the hip roof over the arched brick entry, and it shows how good metal looks over an entry.
Nearby towns
The same ideas fit custom homes all around here, including Southlake, Trophy Club, Keller and Roanoke. Each town has its own permit rules and every HOA has its own guidelines, so check both.
Let’s take a look
A standing seam accent over the porch, a full metal roof, or a small repair, we’d be glad to come out. Every inspection comes with a free digital photo report, and I’ll tell you plainly what fits your house.
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Call (817) 733-9228 or request an estimate, and we’ll set up a time to come out.