Photograph by Seth Hannula
Copper window bay on home
Until recently, most headlines about copper focused on its high cost and how it was coveted—even if that meant the salvage of copper pipe from buildings (often illegally) for cash. Good news for most of us: Those days are over. The price of copper has stabilized and its popularity in residential architecture is surging. Andrew Tegland, inside sales representative for Sheridan Sheet Metal Co. in New Hope, notes that prices are down about 25 percent from where they were five years ago and that orders are on the rise. “It’s one of the main materials we sell,” he says.
Timeless Appeal
Copper home accents
Architects and builders have been specifying copper from Sheridan for 67 years. Even with newer metals on the market, these professionals note they’re often not as easy to work with as copper, which is malleable and easy to solder, seal, and waterproof. But more than anything, other materials aren’t as aesthetically pleasing—and, in particular, they can’t beat copper’s trademark patina. “It’s a living finish,” says Scot Waggoner, CEO, w.b. builders. “It’s shiny in the beginning but then ages and develops this bronze-green patina. It’s a sought-after look.”
Waiting for that green patina requires patience, notes Bill Costello, AIA, senior project director at Elevation Homes. “I think that’s one hesitancy—that you have the brown years,” he says. For some people, though, the transition is part of the natural appeal. “That’s what they like—the change over time,” he says.
Still, the unpredictability can be frustrating. “A lot of people either like it shiny or they want it to be green right now,” Tegland says. He uses local landmarks to explain the evolving look—from the brown of the Minneapolis’s Basilica of Saint Mary and the Cathedral of St. Paul—re-roofed in the early ’90s and 2000s, respectively—to the bright-green patina of Minneapolis City Hall, where the roof dates to the ’50s or ’60s. “That’s the difference,” he says, “and it takes a long time.”
A Little Goes a Long Way
Most applications are in the way of accents, like gutters and downspouts, roofs for entry overhangs and window bays, weathervanes, and planter box liners. Roofing for an entire house is generally cost-prohibitive; Costello estimates copper costs about three times that of a more conventional roofing material. But the cost is justified for flashings around a chimney and elsewhere on the roof, for instance, particularly given the cost and long lifetime of many roofing materials. “For higher-end roofing like slate, wood shingles, or shakes, copper is almost a requirement,” Tegland says. “A lot of times, wood shingles have acids or tannins that would prematurely corrode any other material.” Similarly, copper gutters and downspouts last decades longer than galvanized steel and aluminum, which are more prone to corrosion and damage by denting.
What About Inside?
Copper Range Hood
The appeal isn’t quite as strong as it is for the exterior, partly because interior copper is naturally immune from developing much of a patina. “Unless you’re using reclaimed copper, it’s going to remain shiny,” Waggoner says, noting the look’s appeal for surfaces like range hoods. Tegland agrees that the kitchen is a hot spot. “We’ve done some copper countertops, and it makes sense because copper has natural antibacterial properties,” he says. “The Romans even used to line aqueducts with copper to keep people from getting sick from bacteria in the water.”
