Gorgeous Copper and Steel Mansard Roof in Reno, NV

This was a very interesting re-roofing project in which to be involved. The original black-painted wood shingles on this mansard were past their useful lifespan, plus the house was on the edge of a ravine so fire was always a concern. The owners wanted to do something permanent and distinctive with the mansard because it's an extremely prominent architectural element. They chose to have us fabricate new standing seam panels and supply the elegant Harlequin Diamond Roof Shingle in solid copper for the mansard over the front door. We also designed and fabricated the custom copper gutter system for the same area.

The steel standing seam roof panels had to be custom color-matched to the pre-fabricated metal roof edge detail of the new flat roof portion of the project. We were able to manufacture an exact color-matching finish for the new steel roof panels with a full 40-year fade warranty – even for the very dark color required by the owner.

To make for a truly unique and impressive statement, the owners selected a copper roof for the section over their entry – and not just any copper roof. We were able to supply our unique Harlequin Diamond Roof Shingle in solid copper - and in a pattern that echoed the diamond pattern in the beveled glass for the front windows. An unusual roof configuration for the area was made even more special and outstanding with the new copper roof shingles contrasting the dark metal roof panels for the remainder of the mansard.

To finish off the project, we designed a custom gutter system that completely covered the fascia board beneath the copper roof area of the mansard. Using an off-the-shelf gutter system would have made for a rather clumsy-looking assembly, so a custom configuration was decided upon and the result finished off the entire project beautifully.

The result? This distinctive home is now topped with a distinctive metal roof system that will undoubtedly last as long as this home is standing – and provide a beautiful, elegant architectural statement the entire time.

Update: Copper Roof Shingles Top a Winery Barn in St. Helena, Napa Valley

Here's another look at the material we supplied on the historic barn at Varozza Winery in St. Helena.

The client was restoring a civil war era barn that had housed the original wine-making equipment of the family. This particular property had remained in the family for over 100 years, but the barn roof was ready to be replaced. They wanted something more permanent than the through-fastened corrugated panels and composition roof that it had suffered through for the past 20 years or so, but they also wanted to maintain the rustic, historical look. The roof was part of a complete restoration that involved the stone work, the interior, the wine-making equipment, and some structural components.

We were able to source some re-claimed copper roof shingles that were being removed from another building. The resulting completed project met the client’s needs precisely. The roof looks like it was there from the beginning, it will never need replacing, and architecturally its completely consistent with the style and age of the old barn.

It's a truly outstanding and rewarding project, and something of which we’re very proud.

We’ll get some better photographs up in the spring when there is lots of green in the vineyard and on the hills in the background. It should be a cover shot for both Metal Roof Net and the vineyard for a long time to come!

Custom Copper Shingles in Napa Valley

This work in progress is an incredible 19th century barn in St. Helena. Check out the close-up of the cupola, which is a replica of the original designed off historical photos. And check out our site for more on the copper or this profile.

Upcoming Copper Projects

We've signed off to do some spectacular copper diamond shingle roofs in the beautiful Bay Area. Stay tuned for before and after pictures and customer feedback!

Copper Diamond Roof Shingles in Reno, NV

The pride of the neighborhood! Beautiful copper diamond shingles right here in Reno, NV. Get the details on this gorgeous profile and material here.

Comparing Copper to Synthetics (No, Really)

A potential customer shopping for his new roof received a bid for a Da Vinci product, which is pretty much a type of polymer substrate binding some inert bulking materials and formed to simulate wood shake or slate shingles. The Da Vinci product is yet another in a series of synthetic, imitation roof products that have entered the market over the last 25 years or so.

It's interesting to note that the history of these imitation products is very spotty. In fact, the list of spectacular failures is impressively long:

Cal Shake
Cemwood (Weyerhauser)
Everest (another try at a polymer substrate)
Mira Vista (Owens Corning)

Do a little Googling on these terms and you’ll discover some remarkably common threads, but primarily every single one of them were brought to the market as new, better than what they were copying, longer lasting, light weight, fire resistant, etc. etc. Every single one of them had a 50 year (or longer!) warranty – and every single one of them is gone from the market, leaving behind bad roofs and lawsuits. My (very strong) opinion is that if you want something that looks like wood, buy wood. If you want something that looks like slate, then buy slate. To me the synthetics are mostly marketing and salesmanship efforts.At least the brochures are pretty. Of course, it’s hardly a challenge to make the photograph of a new roof look good!

Exhibit A: photo of my neighbor’s roof. They bought a product advertising “GE Noryl Resin” “Lifetime Warranty” etc, etc. in 1993. You can see the result of this wonderful new polymer technology’s exposure to mother nature for 15 years. This product was another attempt to create an artificial copy of a natural product. It failed, and now my neighbor needs another roof after “investing” in this wonderful new technology just a few years ago.

Now please understand that I am not predicting that this is the inevitable outcome for the Da Vinci product. I am merely pointing out that is another in a long line of products attempting similar construction. Like the others mentioned, it’s only been on the market for 7 or 8 years and it’s too soon to tell if they have it now figured out. Maybe they do. The question I ask is, “Why would someone want to be a guinea pig for them?” Keep in mind that the piece of paper on which their warranty is written will not keep a single drop of water out of your house 10 years from now if their product suffers the same fate as all of the earnest efforts of the past. If it were one quarter of the price of the real thing, I could understand taking the risk, but it’s not even insignificantly cheaper.

My confidence in my materials is due to the abundance of certainty with regards to roofs: Metal roofs literally have centuries of proven performance. There are more than 1,000 years of experience to proclaim that a properly installed copper roof will last many generations on your home. No doubt about it.

Incredible Copper Shingles at Lake Tahoe

Ta-dah! We've been promising pictures of our stunning copper diamonds at spectacular Lake Tahoe and here they are! The project was for a California contractor whose client wanted an interesting but very rigid copper roof design that would stand up well to the heavy snow conditions at Tahoe. Obviously, they chose the Patagonia Diamond shingle in solid copper.

The design of this shingle severely limits the ability of snow and ice to "grab" the roof as it moves, thus limiting possible damage common to other types of roofs in snow country. In addition, we worked with the contractor to add a complementary bronze snow retention array, plus a unique concealed electric snow-melt system beneath the copper diamonds. This combination of features will help reduce ice accumulation on the edges as well as slow the rate at which snow accumulation dumps off the roof.

Here comes the sales pitch... Unique to Metal Roof Net, the Patagonia Diamond shingle is also available in Zinc, Steel and Aluminum and has diverse choice of details for hips, ridges, and gable edges. Check 'em out here.