What stone-coated steel roofing does Modex install in Minneapolis?
Modern Exterior Systems (Modex) installs stone-coated steel roofing across Minneapolis. Decra, Westlake Royal Unified Steel, and Westlake Royal are the three primary brands — shingle, shake, slate, and tile aesthetic in a steel substrate with stone granule coating. 50-year warranty. Class 4 impact-resistant. $30,000 to $60,000 typical install. Best fit for hail-prone Twin Cities homes that want metal longevity without the modern metal look.
Updated May 2026 · Reviewed by Joe Dvorak, Owner, Modern Exterior Systems
Material
What is stone-coated steel roofing?
Stone-coated steel roofing is a steel substrate with a stone granule coating that mimics the appearance of asphalt shingle, cedar shake, or Spanish tile. The metal core delivers 40-50+ years of durability, while the stone coating provides traditional aesthetics and UV protection. Interlocking panels create strong wind ratings (120+ MPH typical) and clean snow shedding in Minnesota winters. It's the ideal choice for homeowners who want metal longevity without the modern metal look.
Durable steel substrate
Stone granule coating
Traditional roof appearance
Brands
The steel shake & slate roofs Modex installs
Two are true stone-coated (granular) steel — DECRA and Westlake Royal Unified Steel. EDCO Infiniti is Minnesota-made, thermally-fused steel that mimics the stone-coated look without the granule loss. Similar 50-year-plus warranties, different finish structures — we'll help you pick the right one for the home and the budget.
DECRA · volume leader
DECRA stone-coated steel
The oldest stone-coated steel brand and the largest installed base in North America. Profiles include Shake XD (cedar look), Tile (Spanish-tile look), Shingle, and Villa. Lifetime limited warranty for the original owner plus a dedicated 30-year finish warranty — the strongest pick when you're staying put and want the finish covered.
Westlake Royal Unified Steel
Westlake Royal's own stone-coated steel. Its 50-year warranty is fully transferable — the full term stays with the home through every sale, the best story for resale. Optional Cool Roof vented-batten system. Class 4 impact rated.
EDCO Infiniti
Minnesota-made (Hopkins). Its thermally-fused PVDF granules give a textured, stone-coated look without the granule loss — plus a lifetime non-prorated warranty that includes labor for the original owner, 40-year fade protection, a 200+ mph wind rating, and Class 4 impact.
Profiles
Shake, shingle, slate, or tile
Stone-coated steel is sold by profile, not just by brand. Pick the one that fits the home — shake for cedar replacements, shingle for asphalt aesthetics, slate or tile for premium and architectural homes.
Shake
Shake profile
Mimics cedar shake with dimensional texture and depth. Most common Twin Cities choice for traditional-look replacement of cedar roofs without the maintenance burden. Delivers authentic shake appearance with metal durability.
Shingle
Mimics architectural asphalt shingles for homeowners who want metal longevity without the metal aesthetic.
Tile
Mimics Spanish or Mediterranean tile. Less common in Twin Cities due to architectural style mismatch with regional homes.
Slate
Mimics natural slate at steel weight and cost, delivering premium appearance with metal durability.
Benefits
Why stone-coated steel in Minnesota?
Minnesota's freeze-thaw cycles and heavy snow loads demand roofing that won't degrade. Stone-coated steel delivers both durability and traditional aesthetics.
Lifespan
40-50+ year lifespan
Stone-coated steel lasts roughly twice as long as premium asphalt shingles. The steel substrate resists rust and freeze-thaw damage, while the stone granule coating protects against UV degradation. Minnesota homeowners benefit from a roof that won't need replacement for decades.
The Cool Roof System
How a Unified Steel cool roof works — with no moving parts
Unified Steel stone-coated steel can be installed as part of Westlake Royal's Cool Roof System: the panels sit on a vented batten grid instead of flat against the deck. As the sun heats the roof, the air in that gap warms, rises, and escapes through the ridge vent, while vented eave risers pull cooler air in at the bottom. It's a passive loop — no fans, no electronics, nothing to service.
Up to 53%
solar energy reflected
CRRC-rated cool colors reflect as much as 53% of the sun's solar energy — versus roughly 10% for a typical asphalt shingle.
0
moving parts
Vented battens, a ridge vent, and vented eave risers move air on their own — no fans, no electrical, nothing to maintain or replace.
Air gap
under every panel
The batten system holds the steel off the deck, so warm air rises out the ridge and cooler air is drawn in at the eaves.
Longer
roof life
Lower deck temperatures mean less thermal expansion and contraction over the years — one of the reasons stone-coated steel outlasts asphalt.
The honest Minnesota read
Cool-roof reflectance does the most work in summer — it won't lower a Minnesota heating bill in January. What carries year-round here is the vented assembly itself: a steel roof that runs cooler and breathes stays dimensionally stable through our freeze-thaw swings and lasts. I'll tell you straight whether the cool-roof battens are worth the upgrade on your home, or whether a standard stone-coated steel install is the better value.
Warranties compared
Stone-coated steel warranties — and how EDCO steel compares
Unified Steel and DECRA are true stone-coated (granular) steel. EDCO's steel and aluminum shake lines get compared to them for good reason — its Infiniti Textured Shake uses thermally-fused PVDF granules to mimic the stone-coated look, while resisting the granule loss traditional stone-coated can experience. Here's how all three warranties actually stack up, straight from the manufacturer documents.
Unified Steel (Westlake Royal)
Stone-coated (granular) steel
- Headline term
- 50-year limited — fully transferable
- Wind & hail
- Withstands 120 mph; no penetration from hail under 2.5"
- Finish & color
- Coating appearance covered, but color fade and color change are explicitly excluded
- Labor coverage
- Material + labor years 1–20; replacement material only years 21–50
- Transfer
- Automatic to every future owner — the full 50-year term stays with the home
- The catch
- It's a structural + hail-penetration warranty, not a color-fade warranty
DECRA Metal Roofing
Stone-coated (granular) steel
- Headline term
- Lifetime (leaks, wind, hail) + separate 30-year finish
- Wind & hail
- Withstands 120 mph; no penetration from hail under 2.5"
- Finish & color
- Dedicated 30-year finish warranty (prorated after year 15)
- Labor coverage
- Leaks/wind/hail: material + labor years 1–20, then materials-only prorated. Finish: full years 1–15.
- Transfer
- Transferable in the first 20 years only — and on transfer the lifetime steps down to a 50-year term
- The catch
- Requires mandatory binding arbitration + a class-action waiver (opt out within 45 days)
EDCO (ArrowLine, Generations, Infiniti)
Painted / thermal-fused steel & aluminum — the Infiniti Textured Shake mimics the stone-coated look
- Headline term
- Lifetime, non-prorated for the original owner + 30–40-year color
- Wind & hail
- EDCO rates Infiniti to 200+ mph wind (vs 120 for the stone-coated lines); Class 4 impact (UL 2218); warrants the metal against rust and hail perforation
- Finish & color
- Measured no-fade: 30 years (ArrowLine) to 40 years (Generations & Infiniti) — won't fade beyond 5 NBS units (ASTM). Infiniti's PVDF granules are thermally fused, built to resist the granule loss traditional stone-coated can see.
- Labor coverage
- Lifetime, non-prorated, material + labor for the original owner (capped at installed price); $100 service fee per claim
- Transfer
- Transferable ($100 fee) but PRORATES after a sale — EDCO pays 100% years 1–10, sliding to just 5% in years 21–50
- The catch
- Look varies by line — ArrowLine is smoother; the Infiniti Textured Shake comes closest to stone-coated. Needs 4:12+ pitch; transferred coverage shrinks after year 20.
The honest read
All three are steel (or aluminum) roofs that mimic shake or slate and outlast asphalt by decades. If you're the original owner planning to stay, EDCO makes the strongest case here — a lifetime, non-prorated warranty that includes labor, a measured 30-to-40-year no-fade guarantee, a 200-plus-mph wind rating, and an Infiniti texture that looks stone-coated without the granule loss. DECRA also gives the original owner a lifetime term plus a clean 30-year finish, with the tradeoff of mandatory arbitration. The catch for both EDCO and DECRA: coverage prorates once you sell. Unified Steel is the weakest on color (it's excluded) but the strongest on resale — it's the only one whose full term transfers to every future owner with no proration. So: staying put — EDCO or DECRA; planning to sell — Unified Steel's clean transfer wins. I'll walk your home and match the warranty to your timeline.
Pricing
Stone-coated steel cost ranges
Switch between per-square-foot and full-house pricing. Both include material, labor, tear-off, underlayment, flashing, and permits.
Stone-coated steel
$7–$14 / sqft
Installed, Minneapolis metro
Includes
Material and labor
Full tear-off and decking inspection
Synthetic underlayment and ice-and-water shield
New flashing at every penetration
50-year manufacturer warranty registered in your name
Class 4 impact and 120+ MPH wind rated
Lifetime workmanship (current owner)
Best fit
When stone-coated steel makes sense
Stone-coated steel isn't for every Twin Cities home. It earns its $30K–$60K premium when the owner plans to stay, insurance hail premiums are creeping up, or the original roof is cedar shake the city no longer permits to be replaced in kind. Here's the short list of when we recommend it.
Owner expects to stay 15+ years and wants a once-and-done roof
Home was originally cedar shake and the homeowner wants the look without the maintenance
Insurance has flagged the property for hail exposure and Class 4 impact rating drops the premium
Resale plan factors in a 50-year roof as a documented selling point
Comparisons
Stone-coated steel vs the alternatives
How stone-coated steel stacks up against standing seam metal, synthetic slate, and premium asphalt — by cost, warranty, and aesthetic.
vs Standing seam metal
Standing seam runs $40K–$90K+ with a modern continuous- panel look and hidden fasteners. Stone-coated steel runs $30K–$60K with a shake, shingle, or tile look. Both carry 50-year warranties. The choice is aesthetic, not durability.
vs Synthetic slate / shake
Stone-coated steel $30K–$60K versus synthetic slate or shake (DaVinci, CeDUR) at $35K–$90K+. Both carry 50-year warranties and Class 4 impact ratings. Steel handles freeze-thaw cycles better; synthetic polymer handles UV slightly better. Pick by aesthetic preference.
vs Premium asphalt shingles
Premium asphalt (CertainTeed Presidential Shake TL, Malarkey Vista) runs $20K–$45K with a 30-year service life. Stone-coated steel doubles the life at $30K–$60K — roughly the same total cost when you amortize over two roofs versus one.
The questions Twin Cities homeowners ask about stone-coated steel
Brand comparisons, curb-appeal expectations, Minnesota winter performance, pitch requirements — the five we hear on most estimates.
Get a written stone-coated steel quote within 48 hours
Free inspection on your Twin Cities home. We'll measure the roof, walk you through Decra, Westlake Royal Unified Steel, and EDCO side by side, and email a line-item quote within 48 hours. No door-knocking, no same-day-close pressure.
Reviewed by Joe Dvorak, Owner, Modern Exterior Systems · Updated May 2026
Modex is a women-owned roofing contractor in Eden Prairie, MN. We install Decra, Westlake Royal Unified Steel, and EDCO Infiniti stone-coated steel across the Twin Cities metro — shake, shingle, slate, and tile profiles. CertainTeed ShingleMaster · Malarkey Emerald Pro · Atlas Pro+ Silver Select. BBB A+ · NRCA Member #1016569 · MN License #BC762305.