Roofing near the ocean - did you know salt air eats metal?

Aluminum fasteners with pressure-treated wood make me nervous, honestly. The newer pressure-treated stuff is loaded with copper, and aluminum doesn’t play nice with it - galvanic corrosion can kick in pretty quick. I’ve seen deck railings where the screws basically vanished after a few years, leaving the boards loose. Stainless steel seems to be the safer bet, but it’s not cheap.

On coated fasteners, I get the worry about scratches, but in practice, I haven’t seen catastrophic failures unless the coating was really thin or poorly applied. The double-coated ones (like those ceramic or epoxy jobs) seem to hold up better than basic galvanized, at least for fences and decks near the coast. Still, nothing lasts forever out here - salt finds a way.

About composites: I’ve managed a couple properties with older composite decks and yeah, fading and chalkiness are common after 5-7 years. Haven’t had much hands-on experience with the new PVC-based boards yet. The marketing says they’re more UV stable and less prone to staining, but until I see one that’s been through a decade of sun and salt air, I’m not convinced they’re a magic fix.

Honestly, if you’re close to the ocean, everything’s going to need more maintenance - metal roofs included. Even stainless will tea-stain eventually if you don’t rinse it off now and then. Sometimes I wonder if good old-fashioned wood (with regular sealing) isn’t just as practical as all these “maintenance-free” options that end up needing attention anyway...

I get where you’re coming from on wood, but honestly, I’ve seen way more issues with rot and splitting than with any of the “maintenance-free” stuff, even in salty air. The trick is, nothing’s really maintenance-free - just different trade-offs. For me, stainless fasteners (even with the tea-staining) have held up better than wood screws that snap off after a couple hurricanes. PVC boards are still a gamble, but at least they don’t grow mushrooms after a wet season...

Stainless definitely wins out over standard wood screws in salty air, but I’ve still seen them get that brown tea-staining after just a season or two. Not sure if it’s just the cheaper brands or what, but the “stainless” label doesn’t always mean what you think. I helped swap out a bunch of deck screws last year that were supposedly 316 grade, and they still looked rough after maybe five years near the coast.

PVC boards are weird too... no rot, but they get chalky and brittle from UV if you don’t keep them shaded. I’m always torn between dealing with wood rot or risking the plastic stuff splitting after a couple hurricanes.

How do you guys handle flashing around chimneys or skylights in these conditions? Every time I use galvanized, it pits and rusts fast. Stainless works better, but it’s expensive and hard to shape sometimes. Wondering if copper is worth the cost for coastal roofs, or just overkill?

Wondering if copper is worth the cost for coastal roofs, or just overkill?

Copper’s pricey, but honestly, it’s the only thing I’ve seen that actually holds up long-term right on the coast. I tried stainless for flashing around my skylight - bent it myself, cost a fortune, still got some staining after a few years. Galvanized is a joke here, just flakes off. Copper’s a pain to pay for, but you do it once and forget about it. If you’re planning to stay put, I’d say it’s not overkill at all.

I’ve been going back and forth on this exact thing since we moved in last year. We’re about a quarter mile from the water, and I swear, the salt just eats everything. Our gutters are already showing rust, and they’re not even five years old. I did a bunch of research (probably too much, honestly), and copper kept coming up as the “do it once, never worry again” option. The price tag is wild, though. Like, I got a quote for copper valleys and flashing, and it was almost double what stainless would’ve cost.

But here’s the thing - my neighbor did stainless on his porch roof, and it looked great at first, but now there’s weird streaking and some pitting. He’s not thrilled. Meanwhile, the house down the street has copper that’s turned that greenish color, but it’s still solid after at least 20 years. I guess it comes down to how long you plan to stay. If you’re thinking long-term, copper seems like less hassle in the end.

One thing I’m still not sure about is mixing metals. I read somewhere that if you put copper next to aluminum or galvanized stuff, you can get corrosion where they touch? Not sure if that’s a big deal or just internet paranoia, but it’s something I’m trying to figure out before pulling the trigger.

If you’re on a budget, maybe just do copper in the spots that get hammered by wind and salt spray - like valleys, flashing, and chimney caps - and use something cheaper elsewhere. That’s what I’m leaning toward, anyway. Still feels like a lot of money for something you barely see, but I guess that’s roofing for you... pay now or pay later.