Installing A Metal Roof: A Good Investment for Your Home?

Depending on your location, freight costs and the cost of labor in your area, the cost of installing a metal roof could vary greatly. The top brands in this particular product category, such as Met Tile, Gerard, Decrabond and Prestige issue the best warranties, so theyre probably the product youll want to go for, and theyre also the manufacturers most likely to have bases in or near you area. As most contractors tack their own commission onto the wholesale metal roof material prices that they pay, the best thing to do is to buy as much as your roofers estimates suggest youll need from the manufacturer along with another homeowner looking to install the same type of paneling or shingles. This will assist you in getting wholesale prices on your metal roof materials without the help (and fees) of the contractor.

Remember that the cost of bringing someone in to redo a poor job will far outweigh cash you might save by going with a less skilled roofer. Never hire a roofer that hasnt worked with the particular roofing material you plan to use. For any good contractor, theyre likely to charge you less for installing a metal roof than more traditional fiber glass or clay tiles. because the shingles are so lightweight, easy to transport, and easy to clip together. Some metal shingles are even sold in pre-assembled sheets, significantly reducing the amount of time it takes to cover the proposed roof surface.

The cost of installing a metal roof will be significantly less the more regular the roof of your home is. Roofs with irregular features like strange angles, skylights, dormers, sidewalls and chimneys will probably require custom, on-site cutting of panels, making them seriously prohibitive for any kind of home DIY-installation effort. Cutting by hand takes far too long for any but the most zen-like roofer to retain his sanity. Instead an expensive, portable machine called a brake is required, as is a professional trained in its operation.

Remember: if you plan to stay in your home for a long time, the initially steep prices youre going to have to pay for metal roof paneling will be more that justified by the long term savings youll make. Youll find that getting an insurance policy on your home not only becomes easier, but cheaper, too, with many insurance companies offering up to 25 percent discounts for homes fitted with the flame-retardant, fire-fighting protection of metal roofing.

Whats more, metal roofing can be a boon when summer hits. Metals naturally reflective qualities mean that sunlight bounces off them instead of being absorbed, so you wont have to use your air conditioning system as much – which translates into lower electricity bills and less of an impact on the environment. If you purchase shingles with a coating of Kynar (a kind of plastic composite), youll increase this reflective effect.

Finally, lets not forget ” investing in a metal roof is investing in something thats going to last a long, long time. Copper, aluminum, stainless steel ” metal shingles made of these materials are immune to hail, hurricane-force winds and, when properly treated in galvalume fashion with a zinc-aluminum coating, are so resistant to corrosion that the only thing youll need to do to maintain their appearance is give them the occasional rinse with the garden hose. No hassle, no inconvenience ” and this with a warranty of fifty years. Its the reason more and more people are choosing the hardy features and new-age appeal of metal roofing.

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This entry was posted on Friday, May 29th, 2009 at 02:42 and is filed under Home&Family. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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