When you think about metal roofing, your mind may picture commercial buildings and barns. However, with today’s modern technology, your home can have a beautiful metal roof that looks like a slate, metal tile, wood shake or Spanish tile roof.

To achieve these different looks, the steel or aluminum is pressed and formed into the correct shape and painted or coated to resemble conventional roofing. The metal can be textured to decrease the shiny appearance, and the finish can be layered with a top coat of granulated stone. These roofs look so much like the ones they are made to resemble that you will not be able to tell the difference. You can have the economic and environmental advantages of a metal roof and still enjoy the stylish look that you want for your home.

Besides the attractive new looks in metal roofing created by the manufacturing and shaping methods used, there are economic reasons to get a metal roof for your home. A metal roof will reflect the sun’s heat to keep your house cooler in the summertime, and dead air space between the roof deck and the metal can add to the energy efficiency of your home. When you install metal roofing on your home, you may be eligible for a credit of up to $1,500 on your taxes because of the natural energy efficiency you gain. Your home insurance should be less costly since metal is fire resistant, does not leak and will not be damaged by high wind. There should never be any roof related claims, and it should never need to be replaced. It is a relatively inexpensive building material and so durable that it should last as long as the building.

Metal roofing is available in sheets or sections of multiple shingles, and the installation cost is lower because it takes much less time to install it than it takes to install conventional roofing. If you want to install it over an existing roof of one or two layers, you will not need to tear off the old roofing materials because of the metal’s light weight. Metal does not rot, mildew or burn, and is not affected by insects. It is strong, but weighs less than 20% as much as conventional shingles, so you do not need as much roof support and it is not necessary to have a high pitch to the roof to keep it from leaking.

A properly installed metal roof will enhance the beauty of your home, save energy, lower your insurance premiums, and add to its value, making it a wise and economic investment.