Metal roof repair, whoever installed it
Metal Roof Repair in Dallas-Fort Worth: Leaks, Loose Screws and Storm Damage
Most metal roof leaks start at a detail, not in the open panel: a screw that has backed out, a cracked pipe boot, a lifted ridge cap or a flashing joint that has pulled apart. Permanent Metal Roofing Systems traces the water to the place it actually gets in, repairs that detail with metal bent in our own shop, and tells you plainly when a roof has reached the point where replacing it is the smarter spend.
- 20+ years of experience
- Lifetime limited warranty
- Free written estimates
Where do metal roofs usually leak?
Almost always where something interrupts the panel. Metal sheds water well across a clean run of roof, so leaks gather where the roof is cut through, ends, or meets another surface. These are the spots we check first.
| Leak point | What typically fails | How we usually repair it |
|---|---|---|
| Exposed screws (PBR, corrugated) | Sun-cracked rubber washers; screws loosened by panel movement | New gasketed screws, a size up where holes have worn |
| Side and end laps | Dried-out sealant tape or missing stitch screws | Clean, reseal and stitch the lap closed |
| Standing seam seams | A seam never fully engaged, a leg bent by foot traffic or hail, open panel ends | Re-seam the joint or replace a creased panel |
| Pipe boots and vents | A split rubber cone, or a boot set across a rib where it cannot seal | A high-temperature boot sealed on a flat part of the panel |
| Ridge and hip caps | Crushed or missing closures, loose fasteners, a wind-lifted edge | Reset on new closures, or form a new cap |
| Walls, chimneys, valleys, eaves | Counterflashing out of the mortar, caulk in place of a lapped flashing, unhooked eave hems | Re-form the flashing so each joint laps with gravity |
Flashing accounts for more of these calls than panels do, which is why we bend replacement pieces in house to the exact pitch of your roof. Our pages on metal roof flashing and eave flashing show how each piece is meant to lap.
Why do screws back out on an exposed-fastener metal roof?
The metal moves; the screw is fixed in place. Exposed-fastener roofs such as PBR and corrugated are screwed straight through the panel face, and each panel expands in the afternoon heat and contracts overnight. Over hundreds of those cycles every screw gets rocked in its hole until it loosens or wears the hole oval.
Texas weather speeds that up. North Texas usually racks up around 20 triple-digit days each summer, and the UV index routinely climbs to 9 or 10, which ages the rubber washer under each screw head. Industry guidance expects these roofs to need fastener work within ten to fifteen years.
We walk every row, replace screws whose washers have failed, step up a size where a hole has worn, and drive each one square, tight enough to compress the washer but not flatten it. Caulk over a loose screw tends to let go once the metal moves again.
Tired of chasing screws? A concealed-fastener standing seam roof has none through the panel face. For shops, barns and porches where exposed fasteners still fit, see our corrugated and PBR roofs.
Is it oil canning or real damage?
Waviness across the flat of a panel is usually oil canning, a cosmetic feature of light-gauge sheet that has been cold formed, and it does not leak. Damage looks sharper: creases, split seams, popped clips, dents scattered across a slope, or screws pulled through the metal.
| What you see | What it usually is | Leak risk |
|---|---|---|
| Soft waves that show in morning or evening light and fade by midday | Oil canning | None on its own |
| Round dimples spread across several slopes | Hail | Low in the open panel; seams, boots and flashing still need a look |
| A seam leg folded flat, or a seam that has opened | Foot traffic, wind or a large hailstone on the seam | High |
| Rust streaks running down from screw heads | Failed washers or the wrong fastener | High |
| Trim lifted at the ridge, rake or eave | Wind | High, and the next storm can peel it further |
Oil canning shifts with temperature and sun angle; a dent stays put. Not sure which you have? Send us photos, or read our guide to oil canning in metal roofs.
Should you repair or replace a metal roof?
Repair when the problem is local and the metal is sound. Replace when the same failure shows up all over the roof, or the panels themselves are worn out.
Repair usually makes sense when
- The leaks trace to one or two details, such as a boot, a wall flashing or a ridge cap
- Panels lie flat and the finish is intact, with rust limited to scratches or screw heads
- The deck under the leak is dry and solid
Replacement starts to win when
- Screws are failing on every slope and the holes have worn oversize
- Red rust has eaten through panels, or the paint has chalked down to bare metal
- Hail has damaged seams across whole slopes, which is an insurance question first
- The same areas keep leaking after more than one repair
When replacement looks like the better use of your money, we write it up beside the repair option so you can compare. Hail-damaged roofs follow a different path; start with our guide to hail damage and insurance claims.
Do you repair metal roofs PMRS did not install?
Yes. We repair standing seam, PBR, corrugated and metal shingle roofs put on by other companies, when the roof is safe to work on and the failed parts can be matched or rebuilt.
Matching is where in-house fabrication pays off. We bend ridge caps, flashing and trim to the profile already on your roof instead of forcing a stock part to fit. Paint is harder, because a weathered roof will not match new metal on day one, so we choose the nearest match on our color chart and can show you a sample first.
Two cautions. If another installer’s workmanship warranty still covers your roof, call them first, since some warranties end when someone else works on it. And a repair on a roof we did not install is covered by the terms written on your repair estimate. On standing seam roofs we install, our Lifetime Non-Prorated Limited Warranty takes care of labor and material and is transferable one time when the home sells. Acts of God, hail, tornadoes, fire and flood among them, are excluded and go to your insurer.
What should you do when a storm damages your metal roof?
Stop the water, photograph everything, and hold off on permanent repairs until your insurer has seen the damage. The Texas Department of Insurance tells homeowners to take reasonable steps against further damage and keep the receipts, and its home insurance guide warns that a company might deny a claim if permanent repairs are made before it sees the damage.
Wind is the other threat. Haltom City homes took straight-line gusts estimated near 105 mph in March 2025, and gusts approached 80 mph during the May 28, 2024 storm. Wind gets under an unhooked eave, a loose rake trim or the end of an exposed-fastener panel and peels from there. We can secure loose pieces as a temporary repair, photograph what we find and write up the permanent fix.
Call (469) 466-2421: a person in our office answers, and messages get a callback the same business day. If you file a claim, Texas law makes the deductible yours to pay, and we do not waive it.
What does a PMRS repair inspection include?
A look at the whole roof and the attic under it, not just the spot above your ceiling stain, followed by photos and a written estimate.
- Inside first: ceiling stains, wet insulation and daylight around attic penetrations
- Every penetration: pipe boots, vents, skylights and chimney flashing
- Seams and clips on standing seam; screws, washers and laps on exposed-fastener panels
- Ridge, hip, valley, eave and rake details, including closures and unhooked panel hems
- The metal itself: chalking, rust at cut edges, and mismatched metals such as steel screws in an aluminum roof
- A water test on one area at a time when the source is not obvious
- Marked-up photos and a written estimate that lists each repair as its own line
Metal roof repair across Dallas, Fort Worth and the suburbs
Our crews work out of Mesquite and repair metal roofs across the Metroplex, from Rockwall, Forney and Garland to Dallas, Plano and Arlington. The full list is on our service areas page.
Shops and barns on acreage often carry long PBR runs, where screws and laps wear first; standing seam houses more often need boots, wall flashing and ridges looked at. Low-slope buildings are covered under commercial metal roofing.
Metal roof repair in Fort Worth runs on the same schedule as a Dallas job, even though the city sits about 48 miles from our Mesquite office. Since 2000, Tarrant County has recorded about 126 days with severe hail, so storm checks are routine on that side of the Metroplex.
Metal roof repair questions
How much does a metal roof repair cost?
It depends on what failed and how much of the roof it touches, so we give you a free, written, itemized estimate after we inspect and measure. The biggest factors are roof height and pitch, how many details are involved, whether trim or panels must be formed to match, the finish, and any soft decking under the leak.
Can I fix a leaking metal roof with sealant?
Sealant can buy time on a small gap, but it is rarely a lasting fix. Most leaks come from a washer, boot or flashing that has failed or shifted, and caulk over it tends to crack once the metal moves. Walking on metal panels is also risky for you and the roof.
Do you repair leaks on standing seam roofs?
Yes. On standing seam the usual culprits are an open seam or panel end, a pipe boot set across a rib, or a wall, chimney or ridge flashing that was never lapped correctly. We re-seam, reset or re-form the part instead of hiding it under sealant.
How long does a metal roof repair take?
Many repairs to a single boot, cap or flashing are finished in one visit. Replacing panels or forming custom trim adds a fabrication step, so the crew returns once the parts are bent. Your estimate says which kind you have.
Will a repair affect the warranty on my roof?
It can if another company installed the roof and its workmanship warranty is still active, so check with that company first. On a roof we installed, call us before anyone else works on it. Finish warranties from the coil coater carry their own conditions too.
How often should pipe boots on a metal roof be replaced?
There is no fixed schedule, because it depends on the boot material and how much sun it sees. Rubber boots tend to dry out and split in Texas heat, so we check every boot during an inspection and replace cracked ones with high-temperature boots sealed to a flat part of the panel.
Can you match the color of my old metal roof?
Usually close, rarely perfect. Weathered paint has shifted, so we choose the nearest current color and form trim to your existing profile. On a slope people see, we may suggest replacing a full run of panels so the color change falls at a natural break.
Tell us where the water is showing up
Describe the leak, the roof type and its rough age, and add photos if you have them. We will call to set up an inspection.
Get Your Free Metal Roof Estimate
Tell us about your roof. Our Mesquite office calls back the same business day to set up a free measurement and an itemized written estimate.
Prefer to talk now? Call (469) 466-2421.
A small leak now is a deck repair later
Call (469) 466-2421 to talk with the people who bend our flashing and repair metal roofs across Dallas-Fort Worth.