Copper Roofing Projects in Tallahassee
At copper prices, it usually ends up on one small roof rather than the whole house. The metal is most of the bill, too: Angi estimates labor at only 20% to 30% of a copper job. These are the small roofs where it fits.
Copper Bay Window Roofs
A bay roof is small, curved or faceted, and right at eye level, which is why people spend on copper there. It's usually standing seam or flat seam, with each pan shaped to the bay. Angi lists flat seam copper at $22 to $30 a square foot. The tie-in to the wall above is the detail to watch, because that flashing carries the water from everything overhead.
Copper Porch and Entry Roofs
A copper hood over the front door or a portico roof is a small area, so it's one of the more affordable ways to get the look. On a low entry roof, the pitch decides between flat seam (soldered joints) and standing seam. Under the code, standing seam can go as low as 1/4 in 12.
Dormers and Cupolas
Dormer cheeks, dormer roofs and cupolas are fiddly pieces with lots of small bends. Copper suits them because, as Fixr notes, it's a relatively soft metal, which makes small bends easier to form. Copper shingles are another option on a cupola, and Angi prices them at $15 to $25 a square foot.
Zinc and Copper-Look Painted Steel
Zinc is the other natural metal for this kind of trim. The code sets a minimum of 0.027 inch, and HomeGuide puts zinc at $1,000 to $2,000 per 100 sq ft installed, with an 80 to 100 year life. Painted steel in a copper or bronze color gives the color for a lot less, but it never patinas and it's a painted finish, so see standing seam metal roofs for paint systems.
How Copper Patinas
The Copper Development Association puts natural patina at about 5 to 7 years in seacoast or industrial air, longer in cleaner rural air, and says it may never form in some climates. Tallahassee sits inland, away from seacoast air, so don't count on the fast end. If you'd rather keep the brown, the CDA describes oiling the metal every one to three years to hold that statuary finish. Chemical patinas can speed things up, but the CDA warns they can fail to stick or stain nearby materials.
Why Tallahassee homeowners call Tallahassee Metal Roof Co.
- Free referral, no charge to homeowners
- Your request reaches a single metal roofing contractor, not a list
- Ask for panel, gauge and Product Approval number in writing
- Free, no-obligation estimate from the roofer
Copper Detail Work: What to Ask
Copper is unforgiving of the wrong fasteners, and that's the first thing to check on a quote.
Weight of the copper
16 oz per square foot is the code minimum for sheet roofing. Ask for the weight in writing.Seam type
Standing seam, flat seam or batten seam, and whether joints are soldered.Fasteners and cleats
Without manufacturer instructions, the code calls for copper, brass, bronze, copper alloy or 300-series stainless fasteners on copper roofs.Flashing
Where the copper meets shingles, siding or brick, and what metal the counterflashing is.Gutters
Whether copper gutters and downspouts are part of the job or quoted separately.
Copper Roofs on Older Tallahassee Houses
On an older brick house, a bay or portico roof is often being redone because the old covering failed. On those jobs the copper is often the easy part. The hard part is rotted framing under a bay that leaked for years, so ask how the price handles decking or sheathing that turns out to be soft once the old roof is off.
Copper sheds water onto whatever sits below it. If the copper roof drains onto a different metal, ask the roofer how the runoff is handled.
See aluminum roofing if corrosion resistance matters more to you than the patina.