Metal roofing expert Tina Montone of ATAS Roofing Company says, "We don't usually recommend that a homeowner attempt to install metal roofing themselves. We have a lot of homeowners that ask, but unless they have some kind of construction background we don't recommend it. Some applications are easy enough that they could do it if they were roofing their shed or something like that where you don't have to think about water tightness as much, but usually we don't recommend for homeowners to do it themselves."
There are safety issues involved with metal roofing that are an added concern when taking on the project yourself. While metal roofing is one of the most light-weight roofing materials available, the panels or sheets can have very sharp edges, and wearing gloves while handling the pieces is recommended.
If you do have a small building with a low slope or angle that can easily be walked on, the following instructions cover the basics for installing metal roofing yourself. The two easiest types of metal roofing for a do-it-yourselfer to install are R-panel roofing and V-crimp roofing. R-panel metal roofing is distinguished by its high ridges and requires lap screws to install. V-crimp metal roofing does not require lap screws and is the easiest type to install.
The following tools will be required: rubber-soled shoes, an extension ladder, work gloves, a measuring tape, a chalk line, hammer, roofing nails, metal cutters, a drill, and the appropriate screws. The first step will be to measure the roof, both height and length, to determine how much roofing you will need. You may need to remove the existing roofing before starting your project. If you have asphalt shingles these can be removed with the use of a pitch fork or roofing shovel. Then you will need to lay roofing felt or tar paper as a base for the new roof. If you choose to install the metal roofing over the old roofing materials you can create a base by screwing down 1x4 boards lengthwise every 2 feet. This is what you will attach the new panels to.
The edging pieces should be installed first using roofing nails. Then you are ready to attach your first panel. The panels will usually run from top to bottom and you can either use the boards as guide to place screws every two feet or use chalk to mark a line every two feet lengthwise across the roof. A tip is to start from the right side of the building if you are right-handed and from the left if you are left-handed. You will continue attaching panels with each new one overlapping the previous one by one ridge or crimp. You may need to trim the last panel when you reach the far edge of the roof. After this is done you will nail down a piece of trim to cover the raw edges. If you are using R-panels you will have to go back over the roof installing the lap screws every four feet where the ridges overlap. If you are using R-panels you will also need to insert foam rubber into the open ridges before screwing down the bottom edges. The final step is to attach the ridge pieces that fit the type of panels that you have chosen.
