Copper Roof Repair in Boston: Fix the Joint, Keep the Roof
Most copper roof problems in Greater Boston are a leak at a joint, not a failed roof. This 79-second video explains where copper roofs fail (cracked soldered seams, flashing pulled away from a chimney, metal torn around the wrong fastener), when repair is the honest answer, why steel fasteners and screwed-down metal cause early failures, and how soldered seams and copper cleats let the metal move through Boston freeze-thaw winters.
Want the full detail? Read Copper Roofing in Boston: Repair and Installation, or browse the video library.
Transcript
Most calls we get about copper aren't for a whole new roof. They're a leak, a green stain on a ceiling, or a seam that opened up after a hard winter. That's because a copper roof almost never fails across the field. It fails at a joint: a soldered seam that cracked, flashing that pulled away from a chimney, or a spot where someone before us used the wrong fastener and the metal tore around it.
When the field metal is sound and the patina is intact, repair is the honest answer. We re-solder the open seam, rebuild the flashing detail, and leave the rest of the roof alone.
Early copper failures almost always share a cause: the wrong metal touched it. Steel fasteners corrode copper through galvanic action. Screws driven tight stop the metal from moving, so the stress lands on the fastener and the copper tears. Boston crosses the freezing line more than sixty times in an average winter, and copper has to flex through every one. So we solder our seams, we don't screw them, and we cleat the metal so it can float.
Standing-seam, flat-lock, gutters, or flashing, the discipline is the same. Real copper. Copper cleats. Copper nails. We walk every copper job ourselves. The assessment is free. Call 617-913-1130, or visit artslateroofing.com.