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A recent trend of home DIY installations have seen a lot of people trying to install their own metal roofing rather than pay the prohibitively high cost for a metal roofing contractor. Basically, these home improvement enthusiasts are looking to save on both ends: the reason they want the roofs they're building is because of their energy efficiency and long-term durability.

So we're 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 you're apt to discover is that 'standard-shaped' is not that great a predicate when you're trying to cover a building of anything but the most uniform 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.

This is the reason that, unless your house is featureless and box-shaped, calling on the services of a metal roofing contractor is often the most sensible way to go. Odds are, a skilled contractor is probably not going to charge you nearly as much as he would to install clay, fiber glass or asphalt shingles, as the lightweight and easy, clip-on installation of metal shingles makes their assembly a far less labor-intensive job.

If not, you should get at least three metal roofing contractors to quote you for the job. Alternatively, call on your friends and family - you'd be surprised how well the concept of 'six degrees of separation' applies when it comes to finding anyone in the building, carpentry or plumbing industries. It's the way the average contractor gets the majority of his work, work he'll tend to want to do as well as possible if you're referred by a family member, as he'll know he's leaving an impression not just on one person, but on an entire network of potential customers.

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.