How Much Does It Cost to Put a Metal Roof on a Double Wide?

Ballpark? You’re looking at $8,500 to $18,000 to put a metal roof on a double wide here in Brooklyn, and that range is honest-real jobs I’ve done over the last decade, written up in black ink, not guesswork. That’s covering materials, labor, tear-off or overlay, and the stuff that makes Brooklyn tricky: parking permits, crane rental if you need it, narrow driveways, and the age of whatever roof is up there now. The wide swing comes down to the choices you make and the surprises hiding under those old shingles, so let’s walk through the numbers exactly the way I’d sketch them on your kitchen table.

What Does a Metal Roof on a Brooklyn Double Wide Actually Cost?

On most Brooklyn double wides I see, the starting price sits around $8,500 if you’re doing an overlay-meaning we keep the old asphalt shingles in place and screw the new metal panels directly on top. That price assumes your existing roof is flat enough, dry underneath, and still has decent plywood. You’re probably choosing standing-seam or corrugated panels in a basic color, and the crew can walk the panels through a normal driveway without calling in a crane. Bump the number to $12,000 to $14,000 if we need to rip everything off first, haul it to a dumpster, and deal with soft spots in the decking. If your double wide sits behind another house-say, tucked in a side yard in Sunset Park or Marine Park-and we can’t get a lift truck back there, add another $1,500 to $2,500 for hand-carrying panels and working off staging instead of one smooth pour from the truck.

Now, here’s the part most folks don’t realize until I’m standing on their roof: double wides usually measure 24 to 28 feet wide and 42 to 56 feet long, which puts you somewhere around 1,000 to 1,500 square feet of actual roof surface once we account for pitch. A steeper pitch means more metal, more cuts, more trim, and honestly more time up there fighting gravity. Flat or low-slope roofs come in cheaper-closer to that $8,500 floor-but they also need really tight seam work because water sits longer before it runs off, and I won’t cut corners on sealant or fasteners just to save you a few hundred bucks up front.

Let’s say you live in Canarsie or East New York, and your double wide shares a narrow lot with a two-family or a rowhouse in front. Parking a boom truck on the street might need a permit from the city, and in some neighborhoods that’s a two-week lead time and $200 to $300 in fees. If the only way back to your home is a driveway barely wide enough for a wheelbarrow, we’re schlepping twelve-foot panels by hand, which slows the job and raises labor. I’ve done jobs where the driveway was so tight we had to stage materials in the front yard overnight and move them panel by panel each morning before the neighbor’s car blocked the path again. That kind of logistical puzzle can add a full day to the schedule, and days cost money.

What Your Money Actually Buys on a Brooklyn Metal Roof Estimate

Here’s what a typical mid-range estimate-say $12,000-breaks down into for a double wide in Brooklyn. Materials usually eat up $4,000 to $5,500 of that total: metal panels, underlayment, ridge cap, drip edge, gable trim, fasteners, and sealant. Labor runs another $4,000 to $5,000, covering the crew’s time to tear off the old roof if needed, prep the deck, install the underlayment, screw down the panels, flash the valleys and ridges, and clean up the site. The rest-$1,500 to $2,500-goes to disposal fees for the old shingles, permits if required, equipment rental, and transport. If you’re in a tight spot and need a crane or lift for even half a day, tack on another $800 to $1,200 right there.

What Actually Drives the Cost Higher or Lower

Size is obvious, but it’s not just square footage-it’s how that footage is shaped. A simple rectangular double wide with two gentle slopes and no valleys is about as easy as metal roofing gets. Add dormers, skylights, or a porch overhang that ties into the main roofline, and suddenly we’re cutting custom flashing, bending trim on site, and spending an extra day making sure water can’t sneak behind the metal. Complexity costs, plain and simple.

Condition matters more than most people think. Back in early March on a job in Canarsie, I pulled up to a double wide where the homeowner swore the roof was “fine except for a couple leaks.” We peeled back the first shingle row and found plywood so soft you could poke your finger through it in three spots. Ice dams had been forming along the eaves every winter for years, and meltwater had been seeping under the shingles and rotting the deck from the edges inward. We ended up replacing about 40 percent of the sheathing before we could even think about laying metal, and that added $1,800 in materials and another day of labor. If you only remember one thing from this section, make it this: get someone up there to check the deck before you sign anything, because a cheap overlay quote won’t mean much if your roof can’t hold the new panels.

[Front access?], [Parking for truck?], [Age of existing roof?], [Overlay or tear-off?]

For double wides tucked behind other buildings, like a lot of what we see in Brooklyn, I always walk the property first-front yard, driveway, side alley, back gate-because the path to your roof changes the price faster than anything else. One fall in East New York, I did a metal conversion on a double wide that sat behind a two-family brick house, only reachable through a shared driveway so narrow my guys had to angle their shoulders to carry the twelve-foot panels sideways. The homeowner was terrified crane access would blow the budget, so I designed the whole job around panel lengths we could hand-carry in sections and still keep the seams tight and watertight. We saved her about $1,400 by skipping the crane, but it took us an extra half-day of careful choreography to move everything without scratching her neighbor’s fence or denting the siding. That’s the kind of trade-off you make in Brooklyn-money or time, and sometimes a little of both.

Breaking Down the Estimate Line by Line

Let’s put real numbers to this. I’m going to walk you through three realistic scenarios for a 1,200-square-foot double wide roof in Brooklyn, so you can see exactly where your money goes depending on the choices you make and the condition we find when we start.

Budget Option: Overlay with Corrugated Panels

Total cost: around $8,500 to $9,800. Materials run about $3,200-that’s 29-gauge corrugated steel panels in a standard color like gray or brown, synthetic underlayment rated for high wind, trim pieces, screws with EPDM washers, and sealant. Labor is roughly $3,800, which covers a two- or three-person crew for two full days: one day to prep, lay underlayment, and start paneling, and a second day to finish the install, flash the ridges and gables, and clean up. You’ll pay another $800 to $1,200 for a dumpster if there’s any old flashing or debris to haul, plus maybe $500 for parking permits and small equipment rental. This price assumes the existing shingles are in decent shape, the deck is solid, and we have reasonable truck access to the side or back of your property.

I’ll be honest-this is the floor, and it works if your roof is relatively new underneath and you’re okay with exposed-fastener panels that show screw heads. The seams aren’t hidden, so over time you’ll need to check those fasteners every few years to make sure the rubber washers haven’t dried out. But for a homeowner on a tight budget who just needs a watertight, durable roof that’ll outlast asphalt by twenty years, this is a solid play.

Mid-Range Option: Tear-Off with Standing-Seam Panels

Total cost: around $12,000 to $14,500. Materials jump to about $5,000 because standing-seam panels cost more per square foot-you’re looking at concealed-clip systems where the fasteners hide under the next panel, creating a cleaner look and better weather seal. Underlayment goes up a grade to something like Grace Ice & Water Shield along the eaves and valleys, which adds maybe $300. Labor climbs to $5,500 or so, because we’re tearing off the old shingles, inspecting and repairing any soft spots in the plywood, installing the underlayment carefully, and then snapping those standing-seam panels into place with hidden clips. Disposal, permits, and equipment rental add another $1,500 to $2,000, especially if we need a small crane or lift to get panels onto the roof without dragging them through your yard.

In late spring in Marine Park, I helped a retired couple who had wildly different quotes for exactly this kind of job-one contractor at $9,000 and another at $24,000. We sat at their kitchen table and I walked them through a room-by-room measurement of their double wide, explained panel profiles and fastening systems in plain English, and showed them exactly where the low-bid guy was cutting corners: cheaper screws that rust in three years, no ice-and-water shield, and a “warranty” that turned out to be one year on labor only. The couple ended up choosing the mid-range bid at $13,200, and three years later they’ve had zero leaks and zero callbacks. That’s what you get when the estimate actually reflects the work.

Premium Option: Full Tear-Off, Structural Fixes, and Upgraded Metal

Total cost: around $16,000 to $18,000, sometimes higher if the surprises multiply. Materials can hit $6,000 to $7,000 if you’re going with thicker 24-gauge panels, a premium color with a long fade warranty, and all the high-end underlayment and trim. Labor balloons to $7,000 or more because we’re not just roofing-we’re replacing sections of plywood, sistering in new rafters if we find rot, upgrading ventilation with ridge vents and soffit baffles, and making sure every seam is perfect. Add another $2,000 to $3,000 for disposal, crane rental, extended permit timelines, and possibly a structural engineer’s sign-off if the city inspector asks for it.

This is the level you hit when the roof has been leaking for years and the damage has spread beyond the surface. It’s not fun to hear, but it’s also not optional-you can’t screw a $15,000 metal roof onto rotten wood and expect it to hold. I’d rather tell you up front and fix it right than watch you call me back in two years because a panel pulled loose in a windstorm.

Where People Get Burned and How to Avoid It

The biggest mistake I see is homeowners choosing the cheapest quote without asking what’s actually in it. A $7,000 bid for a metal roof sounds amazing until you realize it’s an overlay with no underlayment, bargain-bin panels from a supplier with no warranty, and a crew that’ll be gone before the first rainstorm. You get what you pay for, and in Brooklyn where wind off the bay and freeze-thaw cycles punish shoddy work, cutting corners up front means expensive fixes later.

During a bitter January in Canarsie, I handled an emergency metal overlay for a double wide where ice dams had been forming along the eaves for years. The homeowner had hired a “handyman” the previous winter to slap some cheap metal over the old shingles for $6,500, no prep work, no ice-and-water shield, no proper drip edge. By the time I got the call, meltwater was running sideways under the panels and soaking the soffit and insulation. We ended up tearing the whole thing off, replacing soggy plywood, and installing a high-temp underlayment with an extended drip edge to move water farther from the siding. Total bill was north of $14,000, and it could’ve been avoided if he’d spent $12,000 the first time with someone who knew what Brooklyn winters do to a roof.

Red Flags to Watch For

If a contractor won’t give you a written estimate with line items, walk away. If they want half the money up front before ordering materials, that’s a red flag-10 to 20 percent as a deposit is normal, but half means they’re either broke or planning to vanish. If they promise a metal roof in one day on a double wide, they’re either skipping steps or running a crew so big they can’t supervise quality. A proper tear-off and install takes two to three full days for a small crew, sometimes four if access is tough or the weather doesn’t cooperate. Speed is great, but not at the expense of watertight seams and secure fasteners.

What to Do Next Before You Call for Quotes

Before you pick up the phone, grab a tape measure and walk around your double wide. Measure the length and width, eyeball the pitch-does it look flat, or do you need a ladder to feel safe getting close? Check the gutters and downspouts for rust or separation, because if water isn’t draining right now, a new metal roof won’t fix the gutter problem. Look for soft spots along the eaves, sagging sections, or places where the old shingles are cupping or missing entirely. Take photos of anything that looks weird, and when a contractor like Metal Roof Masters comes out to give you an estimate, show them the pictures and ask how they’d address each one.

Ask every contractor the same set of questions: Are you tearing off or overlaying, and why? What gauge and profile of metal are you quoting? What underlayment goes down first? How do you handle valleys, ridges, and flashing around vents? What’s the warranty on materials and labor, and who honors it if something goes wrong in five years? If they can’t answer in plain English without dodging or getting defensive, keep looking.

That $8,500 to $18,000 range I gave you at the top probably looks different now-you understand it’s not just a number, it’s a map of choices, conditions, and Brooklyn-specific realities. The right price for your double wide is the one that matches what’s actually on your roof and what you need it to do for the next thirty years, and that’s worth taking the time to figure out before you sign anything.