Material choice is usually framed as a budget question, but it is closer to a question about how long you plan to stay in the house.

How the three materials compare

Each material earns its place under different conditions.

• Architectural asphalt shingles, the sensible default. Cheapest to fit, easy to repair in isolation, and good for twenty five to thirty years

• Standing seam metal, roughly double the cost up front and paid back over fifty years. Sheds snow well and shrugs off hail that would bruise asphalt

• Tile, the longest lasting of the three, but only on a structure built to carry it

Tile is the exception worth checking first, because the structure underneath has to be built to carry the weight and many are not.

What the lifetime cost actually looks like

Spread over the years it lasts, the gap between the three narrows a long way. Asphalt is cheapest per year for anyone planning to move inside a decade. Metal only wins if you are still in the house in twenty years, or if you are selling to someone who will pay for a roof they will never have to replace.

The number that catches people out is the second replacement. A thirty year roof fitted at forty means one more roof in your lifetime. A fifty year roof means none.