Summer is over, Fall is here, Winter is coming. Right now is the time when you start to wrap your brain around the concept of getting your home ready for winter. Your winter checklist might include things like:

1. Preparing your garden and landscaping for the cold weather and possible snow

2. Cleaning gutters

3. Checking your furnace and changing filters

4. Putting up storm windows and doors

5. Reducing and blocking drafts from doors and windows

What About the Roof?

As you prepare to winterize your home, now is a great time to examine your current roof as well to see if you have any vulnerable spots where leaks might occur. Are you missing any shingles, do you have peeling edges, debris pile-up, or cracked tiles? Any weak spots in your roof can be made worse by the contraction and expansion that comes with freezing temperatures.

Issues with Snow Build Up on the Roof

Snow and ice build-up is also an area that can severely affect the integrity of your roof, adding lots of additional weight, trapped moisture, and stress on the roof structure. If you didn't have a leak before, piles of snow and ice on your roof can change that! Combating that snow build-up means getting up on the roof and shoveling. This can be dangerous not only for your personal safety, but also for your roof, with the threat of dings and gashes as you jam the snow shovel into your roof over and over.

Skyrocketing Energy Bills

Winter is a time when you can expect your energy bills to increase as you turn up the heat to stay comfortable. Drafty windows, doors, or roof can really take a toll on your heating system, ferrying all that warm air right outside and keeping your heating unit running almost continuously. What you expect to be a high energy bill turn out to be sky-high, beyond what you may have accounted for, adding stress to your household budget.

Metal Roofing - Your All-Around Solution for Protecting Your Home

A metal roof can address and solve each of these winter time issues (as well as a number of summer time, heat related issues).

Metal roofing has a number of advantages over traditional asphalt shingles that will help optimize your home for both winter and summer:

• A new metal roof will eliminate the threat of cracks, gaps, and peeling or missing shingles, all of which can contribute to a leaky roof.

• Metal roofing can withstand both extremely cold and hot temperatures without expanding or contracting with the changes.

• A metal roof resists build up of debris, snow, and ice. No more shoveling the roof or worrying about trapped moisture, additional weight, or stress on the roof!

• An expertly installed, ENERGY STAR qualified metal roof is guaranteed to save energy and keep home heating and cooling bills lower. A metal roof will trap heat inside your home during the winter and will prevent excess heat from entering your home during the hot summer.

These are just some of the benefits of metal roofing for your home. You'll also rest assured that you're making the best choice for your budget, for your home, for your future, and for the environment.

Metal roofing is a long-term investment that comes with long-term warranties, plus it provides the best possible protection for your home in terms of extreme temperatures and resistance to high winds, hail, flying debris from storms, fire, mold, mildew, rust, cracking, chipping, peeling, and decay.

A new metal roof can enhance the appearance of your home with attractive metal roofing colors, increasing curb appeal and adding to the resale value of your home. And it is 100% recyclable, constructed from recycled material without contributing massive amounts of waste to landfills.