New Copper Metal Roof | Metal Roofing Before + After

I am so excited about today’s post because I have been waiting to share the before/after of our copper metal roof since August!  By now you know all about the exterior renovation problems we experienced.  Although the metal roof was a pretty quick project, it took awhile to coax the company to finally finish the roof.  There were some missing cap pieces along the top that never made it with the original order.  The owner of the company really dragged his heels finishing the roof and finally came out to put on the capping only when I refused payment – that really lights a fire under people, I find, especially when they call you on payroll day.  I naively wanted to wait for the whole exterior renovation project to be done before I shared photos.  I waited all fall and into the winter and it’s still not done.  Our first snow fall was fast and furious! 

By the time the siding was done enough to look good for photos, the roof started getting covered in snow and was suddenly buried before I could get the drone in the air.  But I really didn’t want to put off writing this post any longer because if you’re thinking about getting a new roof this spring/summer/fall, you might already be starting to get quotes now and some of you might find this info useful.  I’ve also been getting a ton of questions about our new roof, so I wanted to finally answer those. 

Without further ado, let’s take a look at our old brown shingle roof.  When we bought the lakehouse, we knew that the shingles were nearing the end of their life cycle and by the time we started shopping for our new copper metal roof, many of the shingles had started to curl up.  Our gutters were constantly overflowing thanks to leaves and shingle detritus.  It was time!

Why Did We Choose Metal Roofing?

Hubby had grown up with a metal roof and he always wanted one.  To be honest, I didn’t really have any strong opinions, although I was worried it would be noisy in the rain and block our internet (both fears were unfounded).  At first it was difficult for me to accept the increased cost of a metal roof, especially because we found a lovely black, 50 year shingle (plus a cute grey vinyl siding option) that was much less expensive.  As an added bonus, the salesperson (owner?) of the business really disliked one of our more annoying neighbors, and he spilled a lot of tea, so I was tempted to hire him just for the entertainment. 

But after spotting a copper roof on another house, I was smitten.  At first I didn’t know what I was looking at because all I saw from a friend’s house was this beacon of light.  I eventually realized it was the sun hitting a metal roof and making it GLOW like crazy.  Finding a shiny metal roof was enough to convince a magpie like me to go for it.  Happily, the copper metal roof was the same price as any of the metal roof samples, but it looked so much more fancy.  Hubby really liked it too so we decided to forge ahead. 

Is Our Copper Metal Roof Real Copper?

Another blogger recently revealed that she made over $100,000 in one month from a single faux fiddle leaf plant affiliate link.  That kind of DIY blogger might be able to afford a real copper roof, but I, sadly, cannot.  Lol.  Although this is a very convincing copper finish, our roof is steel and comes in a variety of colors/finishes.  It will never patina, has a 30-year fade protection, and will not chip, crack or peel.  A new color was released just as we ordered, (a glimmering silver tone), and I was almost tempted but this copper is just so cool.  It’s been fun picking out other copper exterior finishes too (like the copper ferry lights). 

Does the Copper Metal Roof Come in Sheets?

The copper roof came in longer panels (pictured below) and there was very little waste.

The photo below is so “me”.  Look at that little pile of copper shingles by the garage.  That was the start of my ferreting away scraps of the copper metal roofing.  I am hoarding a pile that I want to use to make matching planters or something this summer.  I think I must have been the most annoying client ever because I was always wandering around, picking up scraps.  We were working on the garage makeover at the time, so I was outside anyway.  I did make the guys coffees and smoothies, but I was probably still pretty irritating because they had to make sure not to knock me out as they flung scraps from the roof.

Is a Metal Roof a Lot More Work?

I have no idea how this compares to other roofs in terms of work because these guys were experienced in metal roofing so they probably just made it look easy.  The work progressed quickly and it really only took a few days to get the roof completed.  Interestingly, a lot of metal roofs are installed over old shingles, which act like extra cushion/waterproofing I’m told.  It also saves money on labor and keeps shingles out of landfills.  Putting the new roof over the old really stressed me out though, because if we did have some damage or leaking we’d be sealing it in.  We opted to pay the extra to have the old shingles removed, the roof thoroughly inspected (it was in decent shape – whew), a new membrane put down and then the new copper metal roof installed.  In the photos below, you can see the process and a mix of bare roof/new membrane/new copper metal:

Why is the Roof Textured?

Our copper metal roof is designed to look more like shingles, unlike the traditional metal roof styles which are sheets.  With this roof style, the metal is embossed which adds strength and means the metal can be a thinner gauge.  When our older neighbors with metal roofs came to investigate, they all wanted to compare gauges but that’s more important for a straight sheet of metal.  But the texture is also meant to be a design element, intended to look like a shake roof, which I thought looks cute for a lakeside cottage home like ours. 

The new metal roof already looked so much better with the painted stone and cedar siding.   The deck still needed some love (I’ve since stained it black)… 

I couldn’t get any drone photos with the new siding before the snow covered the roof (it was too windy, lol) but here’s a pretty good look at the copper roof with the dark and moody exterior.

We LOVE our new copper metal roof.  It gleams in the sun and pairs beautifully with the darker siding and black windows.  It was definitely an investment, but we can rest easy knowing we’re no longer shedding shingles and that this roof will be maintenance free for decades to come. 

Once we are freed from this Polar Vortex and are greeted by spring, we can get this reno wrapped up, landscape a little and make everything pretty.  I’m looking forward to sharing photos of the new house exterior in every season.  Between the new siding/roof/windows and the shore work we had done, I am also really looking forward to the snow melting so I can sit outside and soak it all in.

Friday I’ll be sharing my #1 tip for THE most important thing that you need (NEED) to buy – and what you need to do – if you’re having any roofing or other exterior renovations done.  I’ll also be sharing my pros and cons on metal roofing in a few weeks, so let me know if you have any questions in the comments!