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3 Easy DIY Ideas for an Eco Friendly Roof

Are you interested in adding some eco-friendly options to your home, but are not sure how to go about implementing them yourself? Roofing in particular provides you with many opportunities to implement environmentally friendly additions or modifications to your home that can have a profound positive impact on the environment. If you are looking to make eco-friendly changes to your roof, you may want to consider some of the following options:

Solar Panels

Solar panels have been available for more than 25 years, but are just now coming into prominence in terms of use on your average home. Solar panels provide you with an excellent way to cut down on your energy costs, improve the environment, and even improve the overall look of your home. Installing solar panels can be difficult for a single person, so you may want to look into asking a friend for some help or even hiring a company to install the panels for you. Once installed, solar panels need only sporadic repair work, and can lower your energy costs substantially. This, combined with the fact that you are using the most environmentally friendly energy source available, can help you to feel good about the contributions that you are making to the environment.

Green Roofing

Another popular option is the creation and installation of green roofing. This entails prepping your roof for green growth, and allowing plant material to grow on the top of your roof. In ordinary circumstances, plants growing from the top of your roof can usually be taken as a tell-tale sign of roof damage and needs to be taken care of immediately. However, with proper preparations, a green roof can look great, can be a conversation starter, and is completely environmentally friendly. It also provides a number of other benefits that you may not be taking into account. For instance, the addition of plant material to the top of your roof will help to insulate your home during the winter months, and allow you to spend substantially less on energy costs during the winter months. Additionally, green roofs look beautiful, but do have irrigation and water runoff requirements that need to be taken into account during the installation process.

Metal Roofing

In recent years, as a growing number of people look to move toward more eco-friendly roofing materials, metal roofs have become an increasingly common sight. Metal roofing material is often seen on barns and homes with a rustic style. They provide a number of benefits over the more traditional roofing materials, including the fact that they allow you to greatly reduce the costs of heating your home, and your energy bill in general. Metal roofs can be made from a variety of different materials including aluminum and steel, which can greatly affect the price of the materials, as well as the installation costs of the roof. Maintenance on metal roofs is few and far between. They are much less likely to become damaged than other types of roofing materials, and are able to effectively allow water to drain off, making them less exposed to debris-related damage. Metal roofs are also able to last much longer than traditional roofing materials, with some metal roofs being guaranteed to last up to 100 years in total. Another eco-friendly perk that comes along with metal roofing is the fact that the roof can be recycled once it is damaged or is being replaced.

There are many simple DIY roofing ideas that are available to the environmentally conscious consumer. Although installing new roofing materials can be difficult, in many cases it will allow you to greatly lower your energy costs, and still look great on your home. Conduct thorough research on any large scale roofing changes that you are considering before beginning.

Author Bio: Peter McNeal works for Roofer 911 a roofing contractor company in the Alexandria, Virginia area. Roofer 911 has been in business for decades and provides quality roofing work.

Clay Miller
the authorClay Miller
I am the creator/writer of Ways2GoGreen.com and Ways2GoGreenBlog.com. I'm an advocate for oceans, beaches, state parks. I enjoy all things outdoors (e.g. running, golf, gardening, hiking, etc.) I am a graduate of the University of Kentucky (Go Wildcats!!). I'm also a huge fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers. I was born and raised in the beautiful state of Kentucky.

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