Is Copper Required On Slate Roofs

Slate tiles are nailed using nails made of copper stainless steel or hot dipped galvanized steel in staggered courses with each successive course adequately overlapping the butt joints of the tiles below.

Is copper required on slate roofs.

Copper roofing dates back to medieval times but the first discovery of naturally pure copper can be traced to around 8000 b c. Many slate roofs have copper flashings so the st18 copper snow guard is the perfect compliment for those roofs. Cant strips are used to raise the shingles thus breaking contact with the copper surface which minimizes line corrosion. Copper is one of the best flashing materials and along with terne is most often associated with historic slate roofs.

Copper s long life is due to. A lot of thought went into the st18 copper snow guard. These are commonly copper or galvanized steel on a slate roof. For starters copper is an ageless metal.

Sixteen ounce copper sheet is the minimum weight recommended for flashings. Copper is the most common metal used in slate roofs but there are other options such as. A slate roof can cost from 12 to 40 per square foot according to websites and roofers i consulted. A standard thick slate will require an 11 gauge nail where a thicker slate will require a 10 gauge copper nail.

If slate or tile is used for the roof covering 20 oz. Copper will patina naturally in the elements and turn a dark brown then a rich green. Copper flashings have a service life of about 70 years and are maintenance free. Vertically each course not only overlaps the upper portion of the course below it must also overlap by at least 3inches.

Copper is extremely durable easily worked and soldered and requires little maintenance. The details shown are for roof intersections resulting in valley slopes of at least 4 1 2 per foot. The green color lets you know that it is getting older but still has service life left in it. Most slate roofs use copper nails as they typically last longer than stainless steel and compatible with copper lead and lead coated copper flashings.

St18 copper snow guards for slate roofs. Copper is recommended for valley flashing.