Types of Aluminum Roofing: Which Style Is Right for You?
Quick answer
Aluminum roofing comes in five main styles: shingle/slate panels, shake panels, tile panels, standing seam, and corrugated sheet. The first four are premium interlocking systems that convincingly mimic slate, cedar, or clay while weighing a fraction as much; corrugated is a lower-cost utility option for barns, patios, and outbuildings.
What are the main styles of aluminum roofing?
Aluminum roofing divides into architectural interlocking profiles and utility sheet. The architectural profiles are slate/shingle (the look of slate or dimensional shingles), shake (the texture of split cedar), tile (Mediterranean clay-barrel curves), and standing seam (clean vertical panels with raised seams). The utility option is corrugated or ribbed sheet — the wavy panels seen on barns and patios. Interlock manufactures the four architectural profiles in heavy-gauge aluminum; corrugated is generally a different, budget product class.
Which aluminum roof style looks like slate, cedar, or tile?
This is aluminum's signature trick: it can look like premium materials without their weight or upkeep. Interlock's slate and cedar shingle profile reproduces the depth of natural slate or split shakes; the shake profile mirrors hand-split cedar; and the Mediterranean tile profile recreates clay barrel tile. Each is stamped and finished to read as the real material from the street, yet weighs a fraction as much, cannot rot or burn, and never needs the sealing, staining, or replacement those materials demand.
When should you choose standing seam aluminum?
Standing seam suits contemporary and farmhouse-modern homes, low-slope sections, and anyone who wants clean vertical lines with no visible fasteners. Its raised seams and smooth pans give a crisp, architectural look and shed snow and water efficiently. The trade-off is that broad flat pans can show oil-canning waviness in certain light, whereas Interlock's textured shingle, shake, and tile profiles hide it. Both are lifetime aluminum systems — the choice is aesthetic.
Is corrugated aluminum a good choice for a house?
For a home, generally no. Corrugated and ribbed aluminum sheet is an exposed-fastener utility product: economical and fine for barns, carports, sheds, and patio covers, but it relies on face screws with rubber washers that fail over time, and it lacks the appearance and lifetime warranty of an architectural system. If you want the durability of aluminum on the house itself, choose a concealed-fastener interlocking or standing seam profile; save corrugated for the outbuilding.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many types of aluminum roofing are there?
Five practical styles: slate/shingle, shake, tile, standing seam, and corrugated sheet. The first four are architectural, concealed-fastener systems for homes; corrugated is a utility sheet for outbuildings. Interlock manufactures the four architectural profiles in aluminum.
Which type of aluminum roof is best?
There is no single best — it depends on the look you want. For a traditional home, the slate or shake profile; for Mediterranean or Spanish architecture, the tile profile; for modern or farmhouse designs, standing seam. All deliver the same aluminum durability and lifetime warranty, so the decision is architectural style, not performance.
Are all these aluminum roof types the same durability?
Among Interlock's four architectural profiles, yes — all are heavy-gauge aluminum, concealed-fastener, UL 2218 Class 4 rated, and warrantied for life. Corrugated utility sheet is the outlier: same base metal, but exposed fasteners and a shorter practical life put it in a different class.
Sources
- The Aluminum Association — Aluminum in building and construction
- Metal Construction Association — Metal roofing systems and profiles
Explore Interlock Metal Roofing
Last reviewed 2026-07-12 · Reviewed by Scott Plumptree, Director of Marketing