Copper & zinc roofing

Metal that outlasts the building round it

Copper and zinc are the long-game roofing metals. Instead of overlapping slates or a membrane that ages and is replaced, they go down as continuous folded sheets and then weather rather than fail. Copper shifts from bright orange-brown to its familiar verdigris green; zinc settles quickly into a matt blue-grey. That colour change is a patina — a protective skin the metal grows itself — and it's exactly why these roofs survive a century or more with almost no maintenance.

The usual system is standing seam: panels run unbroken from ridge to eaves, joined by raised, folded seams that hold the joints up out of the running water. The panels are clipped, not pierced, so the metal can expand and contract with the weather without splitting or pulling its fixings. The result is a crisp, seamless roof that looks as right on a contemporary extension as it does on a period turret.

Heritage and contemporary, both

Metal roofing isn't one or the other. On Edinburgh's older stock — bays, dormers, porches, turrets and curved roofs where slate simply won't lie — copper and zinc have a long traditional precedent and are routinely specified on listed and conservation-area work. On modern homes and commercial buildings, architects reach for standing-seam zinc for the clean, continuous lines that tiles and membranes can't deliver. We work across both: sympathetic repairs that match what's there, and new metal roofs on contemporary builds.

Where a metal roof meets stonework, parapets or chimneys, the detailing is everything. We tie metal roofing in with our leadwork at abutments and flashings, and handle any stonework, parapet and chimney repairs at the same time, so the whole assembly is made watertight as one job rather than left as separate trades.

What's included

• Survey and advice on copper vs zinc for your building and budget
• Standing-seam copper and zinc roofs, new and replacement
• Dormers, bays, turrets, porches and curved or complex roofs
• Decking, breather membrane and ventilation set up correctly beneath
• Integrated lead flashings and abutment detailing
• Sympathetic metalwork on listed and conservation-area roofs
• Photo work report on completion

The case for metal in Edinburgh

The cost of a copper or zinc roof is front-loaded — it's more than felt or single-ply up front, and then it largely stops costing you. A copper roof comfortably outlasts the people who commission it; zinc gives 80 to 100 years for less outlay. Against a flat roof that needs redoing every 20 to 30 years, the metal often wins over the life of the building. It's also a genuinely beautiful covering on the right roof, which is why so much of it ends up on the features people most want to look good.

For the wider context on period roofs, read our guide to heritage roofing in Edinburgh, or weigh up coverings in slate vs tile. To talk through copper or zinc for a specific roof, book a free survey and we'll give you an honest steer and a fixed written quote.