New Metal Pole Barn roofing over my kitchen/dining area... what color?

Hey all,
Decided to go ahead and spend the extra cash and cover my whole low-slope flat roof in metal pole-barn sheets instead of replacing the cracking old rubber roll thats on there now.

They have a few diffrent colors and wanted to know what the best idea would be...

They have basic Galvinized, painted white, green, red, and a few other colors.

Now, I live an hour south of Chicago, I know any light color will help with the heat I have in the home from the black rubber thats on there now. There are a few trees over the roof so branches do fall sometimes and we have a lot of squirrels. So, will the painted (white, red, green and so on) scratch and rust? Or is the painted better then the galvenized? Or what?

No one can see the roof area so I dont care what it looks like, I just care what is better quality and longer lasting.

Thanks all for the help!

 

Galvanized will need painting later on - generally in 5-10 yrs. The painted metal usually comes with a lifetime finish guarantee. I don't know much about the warranty but they usually fade in 10-20 yrs. The lighter colors would be less likely to show fading and the darker colors might be less likely to show dirt and grime from the trees. If the paint gets scratched thru to the metal, then those areas could rust.

 

Pole bard metal/steel roofing is very durable and many come with a 50 year warranty. Minor scratches will do no damage to the finish and even major scrapes will not rust. Check with the manufacture for how low of a slope the roof can handle. There are seams to contend with.

As for color, A dark color will melt snow off in even the coldest of days. My 4/12 pitch roof sheds snow as soon as the sun comes out. It is hot in the summer though. If snow is not an issue due to climate or pitch I suggest going with a light color.