While the cost of installing a metal roof can seem prohibitively high to some people, there has been a recent trend amongst home DIY enthusiasts of trying to install metal roofing themselves. Essentially, these people are trying to get the durability and energy-efficiency benefits of metal roofing without having to shoulder the cost incurred by hiring a metal roofing contractor.

So were in a recession, and so things are a bit tight for everyone right about now. Retrenchments and salary cuts are the norm, not the exception, and people are trying to find any way they can to lessen the often expensive business of living. The fact is that you stand to lose a lot more than you stand to gain by adopting this strategy. Sure, there are companies around that make metal panels specifically targeted at these would-be home improvement gurus, standard-shaped panels that clip together by hand, say the advertisements. However, the thing youre apt to discover is that standard-shaped is not that great a predicate when youre trying to cover a building of anything but the most uniform shape.

The thing is, its the rarest of homes that has a standard roof shape. Most homes have a skylight, chimney, sidewall or dormer up there somewhere, and in all likelihood, without the right reshaping tools, youre going to leave weak spots in the areas where you have to work around these structural irregularities. This means that you could leave yourself open to damage by rain, snow and ice, not just to the external but to the internal structure of the roof too. So your attempt to save money may well incur the need for a serious, expensive repair job that you can ill afford. And this, when a well-installed roof could last you for literally a lifetime. So ask yourself: Is the risk worth taking?

So, if you dont happen to live in a Toblerone- or matchbox-shaped residence, get on the phone to a metal roofing contractor and start haggling. The cost of installing a metal roof once youve laid hands on the requisite parts is not that high, as the labor required is so much less. The job should proceed relatively quickly, and if the contractor charges by the day, so much the better.

You should ensure that your contractor intends to use a brake, the name for the portable hydraulic cutting tool employed by roofers to shape irregular roof panels on site. If he doesnt, odds are the job will stretch out far longer than necessary, costing you more and leaving parts of your roof open to the elements. In the long term, hand cut panels are also likely to be poorly shaped, reducing the visual effect of your roof.

If your contractor does try to charge you the same rate, you should probably seek quotes from numerous metal roofing contractors, or better yet, ask around amongst your friends and family for referrals. This is how most contractors get business, and knowing that youre tied to a network of past and potentially future clients will make that contractor much more eager to please with quick service delivery.