Copper Roofing
Copper is the longest-lived roofing metal and the most expensive per square foot. In Sacramento most copper work is not a whole roof — it is a bay window, a turret, a porch or an entry canopy on a house worth the gesture.
What copper is actually for
- Bay window roofs and oriels on Victorian and Craftsman homes
- Turrets, conical roofs and curved sections, where copper can be formed and other metals cannot
- Porch and entry canopies as a deliberate architectural accent
- Valleys, flashings and gutters on high-end homes, where copper outlives everything around it
- Occasionally a complete roof, on a house and a budget that justify it
Patina: understand it before you buy
New copper is bright salmon-pink. It darkens through browns over a few years and eventually develops the green patina people picture — which, in a dry inland climate like Sacramento's, takes decades longer than it does on a coast.
If you want green now, it has to be a pre-patinated product. If you want bright copper forever, that requires a clear coating and ongoing maintenance, and it is generally a losing battle.
Two details that ruin copper installations
- Runoff staining — water off copper stains stucco, masonry, concrete and painted surfaces below it. Where it discharges has to be designed, not discovered
- Galvanic corrosion — copper in contact with aluminium or bare steel corrodes the other metal. Fasteners, flashings, gutters and any adjacent metal must be compatible, which in practice means copper or stainless
This is sheet metal craft
Copper is hand-formed, soldered and fitted on site. It is the most skill-dependent roofing work there is, and it is not comparable to installing panels. Ask to see completed work, specifically soldered seams and a curved or conical section if your project has one.
Common questions
How long does a copper roof last?
Properly installed copper commonly outlasts the building's other components — well beyond a human lifetime is not an exaggeration for good sheet metal work. The limiting factor is almost always the quality of the seams and flashings, not the copper.
Will copper stain my stucco?
Runoff from copper stains stucco, masonry, concrete and paint. It is manageable by designing where the water discharges, and it is far cheaper to plan than to remediate.