COPPER ROOFING
A Pros & Cons Guide for Homeowners
It can be surprising to see that a great number of beautiful modern homes with an impeccable design are frequently outfitted with low-quality, inefficient and unattractive roofs. — This trend is slowly changing, as some home builders, architects, and savvy homeowners are becoming more selective when it comes to the choice of roofing materials.
More often than not, fine metals such as stainless steel, zinc, and copper are being chosen as the industry’s time-tested and proven materials offering superior performance in terms of aesthetics, flexibility and strength, durability, and longevity.
However, not all metals are created equal, and if you are into the finest things in life, then you should set your eyes on copper roofing.
For centuries, copper roofing has adorned the most celebrated architectural masterpieces in Europe and the US, outlasting most other roofing materials.
Most of the original buildings have gone through multiple renovations over the years, and yet their copper roofs continue to remain intact. Copper’s timeless beauty is not only a fit for historic homes, it also accentuates the modern look and feel of any contemporary architectural design.
Aesthetic appeal is not the sole reason to install copper roofing. In fact, in addition to its stunning looks, copper boasts a number of other advantages that make it an overall superior roofing material and the best investment for your home. These include:
Maintenance and repair free: you may know from personal experience or have heard from others that roof maintenance and repairs can be extremely time-consuming, frustrating and expensive. Not so with copper roofing.
Unlike various kinds of steel roofing, copper will never rust and corrode and will not require any additional coating and re-painting throughout its lifetime.
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Superior safety in severe weather: snow, ice, wind, rain, and blazing sun heat can do severe damage to almost any roofing material. Homeowners that live in areas prone to severe weather know all to well the damage that nature can do their roofs.
With a copper roof, you will probably never have to worry about the safety of your home: copper will withstand even the most severe weather conditions year after year.
Permanent material: copper is by far the longest-lasting roofing material you can install, remaining impeccable and intact for centuries.
Fire-resistant: Your copper roof will never catch on fire and will actually stop it from spreading further.
Lightweight: one of the benefits of copper roofing is that is lightweight puts a lot less weight on the structure of the house. — This means that if you are building a new home, you can have a greater variety of creative architectural designs available to you.
Moreover, you will be able to save money because the roof will require fewer supports, thereby decreasing the cost of installation.
Increase the resale value of your home: In the event you ever decide to sell your house, a copper roof will help increase the resale value of your home and offer a competitive advantage over similar properties with lower quality roofing materials.
Prospective homeowners do not want to worry about and invest money into a roof replacement, and the copper roof on your home will offer them safety, security, and longevity that they are looking for in their new home.
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Green – Sustainable Material: as current and prospective homeowners, many of us are putting in an extra effort to ensure that our homes are sustainable, causing the least damage to our fragile environment.
There are still not many truly green building materials to choose from, and copper roofing is one of the few that actually deserves the title.
You may be surprised to learn that in the US as much copper is recycled and reused as is newly mined, thereby saving energy and precious natural resources. Your cooper roof will never end up in a landfill.
Copper roofs installed today boast over 75% of recycled content, making copper one of the most recyclable materials in the construction industry.
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Cost of Copper Roofing
Being a premium roofing material, a copper roof comes with a premium price tag. You can expect to pay a hefty price tag . to install a copper roof, depending on the project's size, roof-style, details, and other variables. An average-sized copper roof will cost between $30,000 to $60,000, or even more to install.
Today, it is rather rare that an entire roof gets covered with copper. Instead, only sections such as towers, porches, bay windows and low slope sections (copper with soldered seams) get copper for looks or waterproofing purposes. Most people cannot afford to cover the entire roof with copper.
In case you are not interested in having an entire roof done with copper, you can still incorporate copper as the valley and flashing metal for slate, wood, and asphalt shingles roofing. It provides an enhanced look for your roof, excellent weather protection and does not corrode.
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