Chris on Copper Roofs and Roof Contractors

I’m accused often of being overly opinionated about the status-quo in the roofing business, so I was gratified recently when an event occurred that convinced me anew that some of the WORST sources of information about roofing products are roofers!

A business associate told me of the problems friends were having with their home on the California coast. The story that was related to me was that their fabulous coastal retreat had a copper roof that needed to be replaced. I was informed that in the next day or two a contractor was about to replace their copper with asphalt composition – needless to say I was totally offended and asked if I could speak directly to the owners just to hear for myself the details of this interesting turn of events.

Luckily, we were able to reach the homeowners via phone almost right away. I was told that the house in question was about 40 years old and that they had owned it for two years. The copper roof apparently had a history of leaking, and they had contacted the local roof contractor for assistance in solving the leaks. They were told a few interesting things by this roofing “expert”: The copper tiles were a bad design and were problematic by themselves; the particular stamping on their roof was no longer in production as a result of the design problems; the roof could not be repaired; the only solution was to remove it and replace it with an asphalt shingle roof.

I begged them to stall on the project long enough to get another opinion, as I was certain that they would regret throwing an exotic and beautiful copper roof away for a tract-home roof with a limited life-span. I offered to inspect the roof myself and offer my opinion as to the possibility of a repair. Not seeing the home meant I was still just shooting in the dark, but my experience was that only the most peculiar site conditions could warrant such a drastic solution. They agreed that the contractor’s solution sounded strange and they agreed to delay the job long enough for me to make my inspection.

I arrived at the site to find a fabulous ocean-front home worthy of a Hollywood movie. On top of the classic 60’s West Coast modern architecture was a solid copper shingle made here in the USA. A quick inspection revealed that the roof was in very, very good condition (with only a couple of flashing problems around some skylights clearly noticeable). I also immediately identified the profile and manufacturer (still in production today and readily available). In fact, I was quite surprised at how good the roof looked. I noted that the on-the-coast location made for a particularly windy and wet site (the home has large barn-door type storm shutters for the windows as a testament to the extreme weather conditions that occur at this location).

Once inside the house, there were a couple of dried water spots that were pointed to on the ceiling as evidence that the roof was leaking. No question, there was a problem. However, the problem was merely one of a few missed steps in the original installation and but for a little time and effort to reinstall the roof with the right care and attention for this particular location, the copper roof could be saved and continue for generations to provide a classy, beautiful, and functional roof covering for this special home. I reported as much to the owners and offered to write a specification for the removal and reinstallation of the copper roof that would address the few problems that were there.

The next day, I received a telephone call from the contractor. Amazingly enough, he had found the source of the copper tiles! AND, he agreed that there was nothing really wrong with the roof as installed save for a few detail problems. He confessed that his advice to the homeowners was simply based on the fact that HE DID NOT WANT TO BOTHER taking the time to remove and reinstall the copper! His convenience trumped the long-term interests of his clients.

This episode reinforces what I am heard to repeat time and time again: The typical roofer operates in very small area of the roofing business, and his interests and those of the building owners for whom he works are not always the same. Make certain that before you let your valuable piece of real estate “go under the (roofer’s) knife” that you get at least one other opinion.