Copper Roofing & The Fabrication of

When copper is used on a roof and is fabricated and installed correctly It is beautiful. You will find that your typical asphalt shingle roofing system does not have copper any where on it. When a metal is used on a asphalt shingle roofing system it is usually a cheaper metal such as tin or galvanized. And that would be used on the areas that require metal such as your drip edge and flashing.

You will find the use of copper on your more expensive roofing systems, such as slate and tile. Depending on the type of slate or tile used, these roofs have a 50-100 + year life span so the metal used needs to last longer then, say tin or galvanized. Copper is the answer to that needed life span. Copper is used in several different areas on a slate and tile roof system. 

The use of copper is needed in the valleys on a slate and tile roof, It is also used for the drip edge and needed flashing for walls or chimneys. And you will also find that a lot of home owners choose to use it when it comes to the fabrication of the chimney cap.

And from the photo above you can see that it is also used to make custom ridge caps. Some home owners choose not to do this out of taste or there budget, but if you ask me I think it makes a slate roof look great. You can also see the use of copper in the valley as well in this photo.

Copper is also used in a couple different ways on parts of the roof that have little to no pitch. Some home owners choose to use a modified rubber application on these, and again ether there taste or there budget is the reason for this choice. But again, for me copper is the better choice. There is a method called standing seam, and that is where the different panels meet and are folded over each other.

 
Now the next method is a flat locking method which requires each joint to be soldered. I'm not as a big of fan of this method as I am of the standing seam method merely out of looks. But that is just my opinion and if it were out of site and no one could see it I guess it would be ok. Have a look for your self.

Its not that it looks bad, I just think standing seam looks better is all. Now copper is also used in gutters. typically a slate and tile roof follow suit with copper gutters as well. and they are beautiful as well too.

Here you see what is called half round gutter system. And with a copper gutter system I think it helps to complement the house along with the copper that is used on the roof.

 
Now in this photo above you will see a box style gutter made from copper. And while it looks good I prefer the half round style over this one. Now there are some amazing gutter systems called hidden gutters or some call them built in gutters. These are gutters that are built in to the roof and not hung on the side of the fascia board. These are some beautiful gutter systems when done right. Take a look for your self.

Here in the next photo is one on a slate roof that has a nice radius to it.

So as you can see copper is used all over in different applications on slate and tile roofing systems. The copper used is a typically a 20 oz. copper and it is beautiful when installed and over time it will start turning to a nice patina. I hope you enjoyed this informative post on copper. And remember when hiring anyone to work on your slate or tile roof, make sure they have a slate and tile background before you let them on your roof.