Building and Construction - Installing Rain Diverter/ Use Copper Nails??

Author

Installing Rain Diverter/ Use Copper Nails??

James

2005-12-14, 10:21 pm

I have bought a copper rain diverter to go over my front door. It came with
instructions, saying to install it with "copper" roofing nails. There are
none of these at the big box stores.

Why do they say to use copper nails? Is it because the diverter is made of
copper, and they want customers to avoid corrosion due to dissimilar metals
??

Any other reason? Where would I find copper roofing nails ??

At first, I thought one might install this by simply tacking it down
underneath the edge of a row of shingles, using roofing cement. I bought a
tube of what they call roofing cement, but it is just the globby black stuff
that is used to help make patches, etc. Is this truly roofing cement ?

How would you guys install a copper rain diverter? By the way, it is 20 oz
copper.

Thanks for any tips !

--James--

Robert Allison

2005-12-14, 10:21 pm

James wrote:

> I have bought a copper rain diverter to go over my front door. It came with
> instructions, saying to install it with "copper" roofing nails. There are
> none of these at the big box stores.
>
> Why do they say to use copper nails? Is it because the diverter is made of
> copper, and they want customers to avoid corrosion due to dissimilar metals
> ??
>
> Any other reason? Where would I find copper roofing nails ??
>
> At first, I thought one might install this by simply tacking it down
> underneath the edge of a row of shingles, using roofing cement. I bought a
> tube of what they call roofing cement, but it is just the globby black stuff
> that is used to help make patches, etc. Is this truly roofing cement ?
>
> How would you guys install a copper rain diverter? By the way, it is 20 oz
> copper.
>
> Thanks for any tips !
>
>
> --James--
>
>

Install it with copper nails that you buy at a roofing supply.
Is this really this hard, folks?

--
Robert Allison
Rimshot, Inc.
Georgetown, TX

James

2005-12-15, 11:21 am

Thanks for the very nice replies guys !! I do have one remaining question.
Why would the nails need to be sealed with roofing cement, when the 3000
nails used to install my shingles were not cement-sealed ??

Again, thanks !!

--James--

PipeDown

2005-12-15, 5:21 pm

"James" <jnipperxxx@nospamfdn.com> wrote in message
news:3YudnSx9hcSN5jzeRVn-tg@comcast.com...
>
>
> Thanks for the very nice replies guys !! I do have one remaining
> question.
> Why would the nails need to be sealed with roofing cement, when the 3000
> nails used to install my shingles were not cement-sealed ??
>
> Again, thanks !!
>
> --James--
>
>

Those nails are covered by the shingle above them. If properly installed,
the nails go through the glue strip (tar) that is on the bottom of the
shingle. Once the roof warms after installation that goo does the same job.
Any exposed nails not covered by another shingle probably do have roofing
cement on top.

Depending on the slope and how close to the edge and if it can be slipped
under a row of shingles, you may not really need to seal the nails
(particularly if the diverter is nailed on the overhang (eves) and not over
an enclosed part of the roof). In fact, since a rain diverter can be a very
visible feature, matching copper nails to the copper material might be a
cosmetic concern as much as mechanical. A row of sloppy black dots across
the diverter might look like shit. If this is the case, you can substitute
clear silicone caulk if you want (but it will not weather the same
underneath and you'll eventually have shiny spots while the rest forms a
patina).

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