A lot of the best-looking new roofs in Southlake are standing seam metal, or have standing seam somewhere on them. But on a custom home in a deed-restricted neighborhood, the roof you want and the roof you can put on aren’t always the same thing until the architectural committee says yes. Here’s how I’d go about it.
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 22 road miles from Southlake, and we work all over northeast Tarrant County.
Start with your HOA’s written rules
Before you fall in love with a color, get a copy of your HOA’s deed restrictions and architectural guidelines and read the roofing section. Every neighborhood is different. Some spell out approved materials. Some list colors. Some just say the committee has to approve any change to the outside of the house. A few things to look for:
- Is metal allowed at all, or only on certain parts of the house?
- Are colors limited to a list or a range, like “earth tones”?
- What does the committee need to see with your request, and how long does review take?
- Does it cover accent roofs over porches and bays the same way as the main roof?
If the rules aren’t clear, ask the committee before you submit. It’s a lot easier than getting a “no” and starting over.
Why standing seam often goes over well
Committees usually care about how a roof looks from the street and whether it fits the neighborhood. Standing seam has a few things going for it there:
- No exposed screws. The panels are held down with clips hidden under the seams, so you see clean, straight lines and no rows of screw heads. That’s a different look than the exposed-fastener panels a lot of people picture when they hear “metal roof.” Our standing seam vs. R-panel post explains the difference.
- Thicker steel. Every standing seam and R-panel roof we install is 26-gauge steel, which shows less waviness in the flat part of the panel. Here’s what the gauge number means.
- 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. More on that in why we form our own panels.
Color and trim: where most of the decision happens
On a luxury home, the color and the trim details are what people notice. A few tips:
- Look at samples on your house, in daylight. Metal colors look different in Texas sun than in a brochure. We bring samples so you can see them against your brick or stone.
- Match the trim to the panels at the eaves, rakes and ridges, so the roof reads as one clean piece.
- Think about the whole outside. If you’re also changing siding, paint or windows, pick the colors together.
Our metal roof colors and finishes page goes through the options. We’ll get you the product sheets and color samples your architectural committee wants to see.
If your HOA says no to visible metal panels
Some neighborhoods want a traditional look, and that’s fine. You still have options in steel:
- Stone-coated steel looks like shake, tile or shingles, with the strength of steel.
- Metal shingles and metal tile hide their fasteners and look at home on traditional houses.
- Designer and luxury shingles give you deep shadow lines and a custom look, and every shingle roof we install is impact rated Class 3 or better.
Another route a lot of homeowners take: designer or slate-look shingles on the main roof, with standing seam as an accent over the front porch, a bay window or the entry. You get the metal look where it counts, and it’s often an easier first request for a committee.
Hail and insurance
Northeast Tarrant County gets real hail. Our Southlake page notes that Tarrant County had more than 500 NOAA hail reports from 2016 through mid-2026, including 5-inch hail in June 2023. Every metal roof we install is Class 4 impact rated under UL 2218, the highest impact rating. Some insurance companies give a credit for that, so call yours. Our Class 4 metal and insurance page explains how it works.
Permits in Southlake
HOA approval isn’t the only sign-off. The City of Southlake requires a building permit to replace a roof. Its roof replacement guidelines say the contractor has to be registered with the city, the permit is filed online, the permit card has to be posted where it’s visible from the road, and a final inspection is required when the job is done. The city also tells homeowners to check references and be careful with anyone who wants payment up front. I agree with that.
Nearby towns with the same questions
The same advice fits most of the custom-home neighborhoods around here, including Westlake, Colleyville, Trophy Club and Keller. Each town has its own permit rules and every HOA has its own guidelines, so check both.
The photo at the top of this post isn’t from Southlake. It’s the standing seam wing of a large ranch estate we roofed in Clay County, where the main roof is composite shake and the porches, low-slope sections and a board-and-batten wing are standing seam. It’s a good example of metal and a traditional-looking roof working together on one house.
Let’s take a look
A full standing seam roof, an accent roof over the porch, or a repair, we’d be glad to come out. Every inspection comes with a free digital photo report, and I’ll tell you plainly which roof fits your house and your neighborhood.
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Call (817) 733-9228 or request an estimate, and we’ll set up a time to come out.