Not sure if this is the right place to post this but I was wondering if anyone had any experience with standing seam metal roofs, particularly cost. I have been getting bids all over the board and they seem high honestly. Has anyone had any experience in the Minnesota area with this? Thanks.

Standing seam roofs come in many flavors. 

The type of metal, thickness, treatment, etc makes a big difference in price.  Do you plan to use screws or hidden fasteners?  What have you been pricing?

True standing seam metal roofs are usually expensive in relation to most residential roofing. This is because they are normally heavier gauage metal (24 or 26 ga.), require a lot of accessory parts and a lot of skilled labor to install. The exposed fastener metals are usually lighter gauge (28 or 29 ga), don't require as many accessory parts, and are quicker to install, therefore less expensive. (In my part of the world, this is sometimes call 'barn metal', because of its use on agricultural buildings.) We have found that in most instances, the 'barn metal' option winds up costing about the same as high end architectural shingles, when installed. And in our climate, it lasts a whole lot longer.

Good questions! Well my knowledge in this area is really low but the bids I have been getting are from 550-650/square. Before I got bids and reading on the web I expected around $300/square. The roof is really simple, there's no valleys, just a straight gable roof. Even talking to one installer who said the type of roof I was looking at would be about twice the cost of an asphalt roof but the quote I got back was about 6x.

For fasteners I'd prefer hidden. Gauge given was 26

If you're located where snow falls, be prepared for ice build up beyond the cold wall, big time.

I too am looking into a standing seam metal roof. Got bids that are right around $500 per square (26 gauge, hidden fasteners, complex roof). I was a little shocked too. But, I like all the advantages a SSMR provides. I asked for Taylor Metal Products, which is a local manufacturer (I called them to get a list of installers).

My roof is very simple, there's no valleys or anything so was quite surprised. The material itself is only about $150/square so I was surprised that it would cost so much to install. I'm hoping I can get a bid around $400-$450 now.

McElroy Metals (www.mcelroymetal.com) makes a product called Meridian. It is a simplified concealed fastener standing seam product. The installation looks to be much easier than other standing seam products. I believe some of the other companies make a similar type product.