Contractors Are Key in The Metal Roofing Industry
DIY standing-seam metal roof installation - to someone experienced in the industry, odds are these words would sound ludicrous. The fact is, there have been a lot of people trying of late, and a lot of people failing. The motivation of these would-be MacGyvers is obvious enough - they’re hoping to make a saving on the metal roofing contractor they won’t need to hire, followed by the further savings in terms of electric bills and insurance policies that having a metal roof puts you in for.
Now, sure, the mindset is one a lot of people can identify with right now - the economy’s as low as can be and many people have found themselves the victims of retrenchments or big wage cuts. And there are a number of companies that make metal roofing shingles for just this purpose - for the amateur, DIY metal roofing contractor. These panels, as they’re advertised, clip together easily, either by hand or with a minimal number of tools. The problem that you’re likely to run into when trying to use such products is that they’re uniform, designed for a uniform roof-shape.
And uniform is not how you’d describe the roofs of most residential buildings. With only an inadequate mix of personal DIY tools not even resembling the specialized efficacy of a metal roofing contractor’s arsenal, you’re going to leave weak spots around irregularities like chimneys, skylights, sidewalls, gables, dormers and unusual angles. Any of these weak spots could be what lets the intrusion of rain, frost and snow into your home, with the long term damage that accompanies them. And so, instead of coming into possession of the roof that could have outlasted your earthly existence, you’ll find yourself in the unfortunate position of needing to either stage another attempt, or swallowing your pride and calling on the services of, you guessed it, a trained, professional metal roofing contractor.
Unless you live in an A-frame or some kind of featureless box of a home, getting a metal roofing contractor in on the action is often the best thing to do. Since installing a metal roof is relatively easy (the panels are so lightweight and require so little work to fit together) your contractor is probably not going to need as much time as he would take on an ordinary, clay and fiberglass job, and thus, since most contractors charge by the day, will most likely charge you much less.
If he doesn’t, and if he isn’t willing to budge from what you take to be an unreasonable price, start shopping. Your first stop should be your family, friends and anyone you know with ties to the construction and renovation industry. Don’t be afraid to tap these connections, as with a referral you stand the best chance of getting good service - the contractor is more likely to see you as representative of a body of past or potential customers, and so will be more interested in impressing you with his strong skills and reasonable rates than in taking you for everything that you have.
A ‘brake’ is the device employed by most residential roofing contractors that need to cut parts to fit the particular angles of a unique roof, and you should determine beyond a shadow of a doubt that your metal roofing contractor intends to use one. If he doesn’t, well, a saw in human hands can never approach the efficiency of a hydraulic-powered, jagged-toothed saw, and the job is likely to stretch out far longer than it should, leaving you with shoddy, hand-cut panels and debt you don’t deserve.
Read more advice about Installing a Metal Roof and Metal Roofing Contractors at DurableMetalRoofs.com.
- Ryan McCall
