We went back through every standing seam order Metal Formers has invoiced since January 2022. That’s 2,339 orders and about 1.4 million linear feet of panel. Five colors make up 85% of them.

Color Share of orders Share of footage
Matte Black 37.9% 31.4%
Burnished Slate 17.0% 12.6%
Dark Bronze 15.2% 14.4%
Deep Black 9.6% 13.0%
Charcoal 5.7% 5.4%

Matte Black

More than a third of everything we run is Matte Black. We see it on porch roofs over white brick, on bay windows and awnings, and on full roofs for modern farmhouses. The flat finish keeps it from flashing in the sun the way a glossier black can.

Burnished Slate

Burnished Slate is our second most ordered color. It’s a dark gray with a warm undertone, so it sits well next to both brick and stone. It’s a common pick for builders on new construction, and it’s the color we sell most often in a low gloss finish.

Dark Bronze

Dark Bronze is a deep brown that works with cedar, stone and earth-tone siding. It’s close to Burnished Slate in order count, but it goes on slightly bigger jobs on average, so it ends up with more total footage.

Deep Black

Deep Black shows up on fewer orders than Matte Black, but its share of footage is higher than its share of orders. People tend to pick it for larger roofs. If you’re deciding between the two blacks, get a sample of each and look at them outside. The difference in sheen is easier to see in daylight than on a screen.

Charcoal

Charcoal, a dark gray, rounds out the top five at about 6% of orders.

Seeing them on real houses

Our Roofs by Color page has photos of finished jobs sorted by color, all built with panels from our Mt. Juliet shop. When you’ve narrowed it down, request a sample and hold the steel up against your brick or siding. Questions about a color we didn’t list? Call the shop at 615-961-8470.