"Ever thought about copper flashing? Pricey upfront, but I've heard it holds up pretty well..."
Copper's solid, but honestly, unless you're going for that green patina look (which some folks love, I guess), it might not be worth the extra cash. Personally, I've had great luck with marine-grade aluminum coatings—salt air's tough, but the right prep makes a huge difference.
Copper's definitely a good option, but I've seen some coastal roofs where the patina ends up looking more blotchy than charming...depends on your taste, I guess. Marine-grade aluminum is solid too—just make sure whoever's installing it knows their prep work. I've had to redo enough seaside jobs to know that cutting corners on prep or coatings comes back to bite you fast. Salt air is relentless, man.
Have you had any luck with stainless steel? We tried copper once on a coastal property, and yeah, the patina turned out uneven—looked more like stains than character. Switched to stainless with a proper marine coating, and it's held up pretty well so far... Curious if others have similar experiences?
"Switched to stainless with a proper marine coating, and it's held up pretty well so far..."
Glad to hear stainless is working out for you! We went with aluminum roofing (first-time homeowner here, still figuring things out...) and it's been decent, but honestly, the salt air is relentless. Already noticing tiny spots after just two years. Maybe stainless would've been smarter? Live and learn, I guess. Next time I'll definitely research marine coatings—sounds like a game changer.
Stainless with marine coating is usually a solid choice—good call there. Aluminum isn't bad either, honestly, but yeah, salt air is just brutal on everything metal. I've seen aluminum roofs hold up fine for years, but it really depends on the quality of the finish and how close you are to the water. Don't beat yourself up too much about it... spotting after two years isn't terrible. Next time around, marine-grade coatings can definitely make a huge difference.
