Did you know that a metal roof is considered green construction? Green home maintenance or green construction does not mean using green treated wood or bio-degradable products (that is not to say that bio-degradable isn’t green, it is).
The three most common categories that are reviewed when talking about green building are:
1. Energy Efficiency
2. Non-toxic materials
3. Reduced consumption (fuel and resource conservation)
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
This category applies to everything from the car you drive to the roof over your head. If you look at your monthly budget a good portion of it goes to gas for your car and your utility bill that cools and heats your home. 
The price of energy, regardless of its form, is not going to go down significantly any time soon. The only way that it will go down is if we explore alternate energy sources (wind power, solar power, fuel cells and the like).
In the meantime green building practices can help us reduce the amount of energy we need.
Energy Star ratings are a great place to start when you are looking at doors, windows, appliances and even roofs because they meet government standards for energy conservation. Although, if you are looking for tax credits associated with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (or the ‘Stimulus Bill’) beware that some windows with the Energy Star rating will not qualify after June 1, 2009.
Metal roofs are super energy savers, and may offer you reduced insurance premiums on your home owner’s insurance as well. The metal roof we most often recommend is a Metro Roof Products GLAVALUME ® Steel. These stone coated steel roofing systems create a strong, weather-tight, energy efficient cap to your home.
How? Metro Roof metal shingles have a shape that creates an insulating air barrier between the shingle and the “roof deck.” This barrier insulates the home both from summer heat and winter cold penetrating your home, thereby reducing your cooling and heating costs.
NON-TOXIC MATERIALS
We haven’t known, and are still learning, what can hurt us. We used to paint everything with lead based paints, we’ve learned our lesson there. However, there is arsenic in many treated woods that we use to build decks, and formaldehyde in OSB board which is used for everything from furniture to cabinets to insulation. Many people suffer needlessly due to allergies associated with these and other products every day. Roofs are not the first place most people look when alergic reactions strike, but metal roofs are generally well tolerated by sensitive people.
Toxins also enter our waters and lands through landfill leaching. Just like old tires, asphalt shingles are petroleum based products that ultimately 
ends up in a landfill.
Using a metal roofing product that will last the life of your roof and can be completely recycled if/when replacement is ever required is a great way to keep your new roof from contributing to landfills in the future.
If desired and no repairs are required to your roof deck, you can often install metal roofing systems over existing asphalt roofing material saving some labor and not polluting landfills or the environment now.
REDUCED CONSUMPTION 
You’ve heard the mantra ‘Reduce, Re-use, Recycle.’ Reducing consumption is a big part of the green movement. Whether you buy your materials locally to save on transportation costs and reduce pollution, use recycled or reclaimed building materials, or even build a home from completely natural materials like straw, you are contributing to reducing consumption. Another way to reduce consumption is to use materials that will last and won’t require replacement like metal roofing products.
Metal roofing products are cost competitive, most have 50 year warranties, are non-polluting, and are recyclable.
If you’d like to learn more about installing a metal roof like the one pictured below, contact Absolute Construction and Remodeling Inc.
Use a permanent dye-based ink and a set of alphabet stamps (or freehand if you are that good), stamp or paint the names of your plants on cleaned stones and then put them in your garden next to the corresponding plants.
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