# Need help With Copper roof **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 19, 2008, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-copper-roof/453484 "2008-06-19T16:34:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-copper-roof/453484/1 "2008-06-19T16:34:45Z")
My asphalt shingle roof is in the last years of its life, and I need to replace it. I like the look of copper-but it is very expensive. I read now that you can buy copper-clad metal shingles, that don’t cost much more than regular shingles. Anyone ever have experience with these? ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-copper-roof/453484/2 "2008-06-19T17:20:11Z")
All across the country, small-time thieves are getting electrocuted, trying to steal copper wire. Maybe it’s not the right time to go for copper roofing. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-copper-roof/453484/3 "2008-06-19T17:50:34Z")
Are there a lot of cases of people stealing them right off of roofs? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-copper-roof/453484/4 "2008-06-19T18:19:16Z")
[QUOTE=AskNott] All across the country, small-time thieves are getting electrocuted, trying to steal copper wire. Maybe it’s not the right time to go for copper roofing. [/QUOTE] Just electrify your roof. Problem solved. ---
**Author:** ![Flander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Flander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flander)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-copper-roof/453484/5 "2008-06-19T18:34:59Z")
Just superglue pennies to your existing roof! It only costs pennies! ---
**Author:** ![Running\_with\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Running\_with\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Running_with_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2008, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-copper-roof/453484/6 "2008-06-20T02:36:54Z")
Actually, I think you’d be better off with [nickles](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/080530.html)… ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2008, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-copper-roof/453484/7 "2008-06-20T03:01:20Z")
I don’t know if anybody’s stealing shingles off roofs (rooves?), but the guy who owns the store next to my boyfriend’s camera shop told them not to put air units on the roof, because he had all the copper stolen out of his. (Said he’d have just given them the money rather than replace the units, which is much more expensive than the cost of the copper!) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2008, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-copper-roof/453484/8 "2008-06-20T04:22:21Z")
[QUOTE=Zsofia] I don’t know if anybody’s stealing shingles off roofs (rooves?), but the guy who owns the store next to my boyfriend’s camera shop told them not to put air units on the roof, because he had all the copper stolen out of his. (Said he’d have just given them the money rather than replace the units, which is much more expensive than the cost of the copper!) [/QUOTE] 'Round here for a little while people were stealing the entire units right off the roof. I’m not sure how they did it, but they did. Many many many years ago (in the 80’s) my grandfather had a business where he bought and sold large industrial transformers. He had a problem with people stealing all the copper out of those. He ended up rigging up some sort of system that when it detected the presence of someone it would lift his phone handset and dial his pager. It worked, he ended up catching someone hiding inside one of the units. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2008, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-copper-roof/453484/9 "2008-06-20T04:57:53Z")
[QUOTE=Joey P] 'Round here for a little while people were stealing the entire units right off the roof. I’m not sure how they did it, but they did. Many many many years ago (in the 80’s) my grandfather had a business where he bought and sold large industrial transformers. He had a problem with people stealing all the copper out of those. He ended up rigging up some sort of system that when it detected the presence of someone it would lift his phone handset and dial his pager. It worked, he ended up catching someone hiding inside one of the units. [/QUOTE] “Uh… what happened was…” ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2008, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-with-copper-roof/453484/10 "2008-06-20T13:10:55Z")
Around here thieves have stolen copper flashing and aluminum gutters from houses. The local charity food bank suffered tremendous damage when somebody stripped out the copper tubing in and leading to its refrigeration unit. The value of the stolen copper was nothing compared to the lost food and the water damage from a ripped-out water line.