<font color=blue>how do you cut the metal roofing?</font color=blue>
1. Box knife. This is for making cuts lengthwise with the rib pattern. You put in a fresh blade and pull along a rib line or use a straight edge if the desired cut line is between ribs. You pull through making score line. Then usually only two more pulls along the score line and then you can buckle the material and it'll split down along that line easier than it takes to tell about it.
2. Abrasive blade in a saw. The down side on this is the racket and the sparks. But it works, drive you crazy in about two seconds, but it works.
3. Plywood blade turned backwards in saw. This also works but again, racket. Hard on the nerves.
4. Metal blade in saw. They make a carbide blade for circular and chop saws that look like finish blade for wood. If you just looked at the blade you'd think it was for a trim carpenter. But the carbide pieces are rounded off a bit. They're great for doing rebar, pipe, etc. They also work well cutting sheet metal like siding or roofing. They're expensive and don't live long.
5. Saber saw or sawzall. They work, not too noisy, just take forever and three days plus or minus a month.
6. Hand shears or tin snips. They'll wear you out but between them and a box knife you can do it quietly if you don't count the cussin' as racket.
7. Nibblers. Work great. But you have to be extremely carefull with the debris. They kick out what looks like fingernail clippings. They're mean little buggers and there are millions of them. You get them in your clothes which means you bring them home and well, hell can break loose and make a mess when she gets one of those little monsters in between her toes.
8. Power shears or scissors. Work great. You can get swivel headed ones which can make you look like you're smart and good too.
9. Plasma. My weapon of choice. The burn mark is only about a sixteenth of an inch wide and can be wiped off if you're consciencious about such detail. The only down side is sparks. I like sparks so for me that isn't an issue. BTW that's why women like weldors, it's the sparks.
Sweating is a problem. Another problem is screws loosening up and leaking. Standing seam doesn't have that problem but they are the most expensive. Cheap galvalume or just corrogated problems do. If you go that route plan on every five years getting up there with new screws and doing a tightening and replacing as necessary.
The fake aluminum shake roofs are kewl. I thought there was some magic to their installation. On a job we had them put on. I was very impressed with the installation. It appeared to me that after learning the tricks it was easier and faster than composition to install. If I was to want a fifty year roof and the house style and neighborhood justified the investment I'd definately do it but I'd install it myself.
The tricks I saw that the professionals knew that we wouldn't was how to walk on it, how to do the ridge, and how to cut some of the corners. That isn't something that the average guy can't pick up in a coffee break. Then it's a nail gun and being careful and paying attention to detail. But heck that's what you were gonna do anyway right?