Hurricane Irma Caused Damage to the Copper Ridge Cap

The ridge cap on our house was damaged during Hurricane Irma. First, I called our insurance company, and the deductible is $28,000. The estimates for repair were quite a bit under that. Here’s the rundown on the roof:

When the termite treatment crew removed the tent from our house, they damaged the ridge cap and loosened the connection between the ridge cap and the roof. Once the winds started to blow, there was no time to secure the metal before the hurricane hit. The result that the copper ridge cap was damaged or blew entirely away. I have called a number of metal roof companies, and had some serious issues. For example, one company wanted to put aluminum ridge cap on top of the copper that is existing. Salty air, copper and aluminum...I was thinking the house could turn into a very large battery!

Several other companies only wanted to do a full re-roof, and they were cherry-picking deals that worked for them, following the hurricane. After calling around to a dozen companies, I found a roofer who loved the existing copper with its particular patina. She said it should be a 100 year roof, and asked if I wanted to repair or replace. I told her repair. She said she knew our house, because the roof was so unique. We ordered a crimping tool to use on the standing seams that are not currently crimped. We hope that waterproof membrane on the dormers, combined with crimped seams, will stop water intrusion down below.