Frequently asked
Questions we hear most.
What’s the difference between copper and aluminum flashing?
Service life. Aluminum flashing lasts 15–30 years before pin-hole corrosion begins. Copper flashing lasts 75+ years — typically longer than the roof itself, so it can often be reused at the next replacement. On a roof you plan to keep for 30+ years, copper costs about $400–$1,200 more than aluminum and saves a flashing repair ten years sooner. On a flip-and-sell, aluminum is fine.
What’s a ‘chimney cricket’ and do I need one?
A cricket is a small ridged saddle behind a chimney that diverts water and snow around the chimney instead of letting it pile up behind it. Code requires one on any chimney wider than 30 inches; we install one on anything wider than 24 inches because it dramatically reduces leak risk over time. A missing or improper cricket is one of the most common causes of long-term chimney-related interior damage.
Do you do gutter cleaning and maintenance?
We don’t do recurring residential gutter cleaning — there are local services who do that more efficiently. We do annual roof inspections that include cleaning the valleys and tops of gutters as part of the visit, and we recommend a separate gutter-cleaning service twice a year (spring + fall) for any home with mature trees nearby.
Are gutter guards worth it in New England?
Selectively yes. The best NE-climate gutter guards are micro-mesh (e.g. RainPro, Gutter Helmet) that keep out leaves and pine needles but let snowmelt through. Helmet-style hoods can fail in heavy ice-dam conditions if the dam pushes ice up over the hood. We install gutter guards as an add-on, but we honestly tell most clients that good twice-a-year cleaning by a local service is more cost-effective than guards.
Can you match my existing copper gutters?
Yes — we can match aged copper by patina-treating new sections or by sourcing reclaimed material. For partial replacement of long-aged copper systems, we’ll always show you the patina mismatch up front; sometimes the right answer is replacing the whole run, and sometimes the small difference is fine.
Next step
Get an honest written quote.
Photo-documented assessment. Itemized quote. We’ll tell you if repair makes more sense than replacement.
Process
Detailing is project management, not last-day cleanup.
STEP 01
Assessment
We measure your existing roof’s flashing details — chimney width, dormer count, eave length, current valley type. We identify everything that needs to be reflashed and everything that’s still serviceable.
STEP 02
Spec + quote
Written spec for every flashing detail. Copper vs aluminum line-itemed so you see the difference. No “flashing as included” hand-waving.
STEP 03
Install — flashing first
Flashing is installed BEFORE the shingles that overlap it. This is the difference between proper step flashing and continuous L-flashing. We never reverse this sequence.
STEP 04
Verify + warranty
Every flashing detail photographed before being covered. You get the photo package. Lifetime workmanship warranty covers every flashing we install.
Frequently asked
Questions we hear most.
What’s the difference between copper and aluminum flashing?
Service life. Aluminum flashing lasts 15–30 years before pin-hole corrosion begins. Copper flashing lasts 75+ years — typically longer than the roof itself, so it can often be reused at the next replacement. On a roof you plan to keep for 30+ years, copper costs about $400–$1,200 more than aluminum and saves a flashing repair ten years sooner. On a flip-and-sell, aluminum is fine.
What’s a ‘chimney cricket’ and do I need one?
A cricket is a small ridged saddle behind a chimney that diverts water and snow around the chimney instead of letting it pile up behind it. Code requires one on any chimney wider than 30 inches; we install one on anything wider than 24 inches because it dramatically reduces leak risk over time. A missing or improper cricket is one of the most common causes of long-term chimney-related interior damage.
Do you do gutter cleaning and maintenance?
We don’t do recurring residential gutter cleaning — there are local services who do that more efficiently. We do annual roof inspections that include cleaning the valleys and tops of gutters as part of the visit, and we recommend a separate gutter-cleaning service twice a year (spring + fall) for any home with mature trees nearby.
Are gutter guards worth it in New England?
Selectively yes. The best NE-climate gutter guards are micro-mesh (e.g. RainPro, Gutter Helmet) that keep out leaves and pine needles but let snowmelt through. Helmet-style hoods can fail in heavy ice-dam conditions if the dam pushes ice up over the hood. We install gutter guards as an add-on, but we honestly tell most clients that good twice-a-year cleaning by a local service is more cost-effective than guards.
Can you match my existing copper gutters?
Yes — we can match aged copper by patina-treating new sections or by sourcing reclaimed material. For partial replacement of long-aged copper systems, we’ll always show you the patina mismatch up front; sometimes the right answer is replacing the whole run, and sometimes the small difference is fine.
Next step
Get an honest written quote.
Photo-documented assessment. Itemized quote. We’ll tell you if repair makes more sense than replacement.
Copper drip edge
Every eave and rake. Catches the water at the edge of the deck and directs it cleanly into the gutter. Aluminum drip edge oxidizes; vinyl warps; only copper lasts the life of the roof.
Copper step flashing
At every roof-to-wall junction, every dormer, every chimney side. One piece of flashing per course of shingles, properly lapped, never substituted with continuous “L-flashing” (which is the #1 cause of slow-leak interior staining).
Chimney flashing + cricket
Properly stepped base flashing, counter-flashing cut into the mortar joint (not surface-mounted with caulk), and a cricket — a small saddle behind any chimney wider than 24 inches that diverts water around instead of dumming up behind it.
Valley flashing
Open-valley copper or closed-cut valley with ice-and-water shield underlayment. Open copper valleys on premium roofs add 20+ years of service over closed-cut asphalt valleys. Required on any pitch under 4:12 in our spec.
Half-round copper gutters
Half-round 6″ or 7″ seamless copper gutters with cast bronze brackets. 75+ year service life, develop the same green patina as a copper roof, and don’t kink at the corners the way K-style aluminum eventually does. The premium NE choice for historic and architecturally significant homes.
Seamless aluminum gutters
Heavy-gauge .032 aluminum, K-style 5″ or 6″, baked-enamel finish in 20+ colors. 25–40 year service life. The workhorse choice for asphalt-shingle homes. We size for the actual roof area being drained, not the wall length.
Process
Detailing is project management, not last-day cleanup.
STEP 01
Assessment
We measure your existing roof’s flashing details — chimney width, dormer count, eave length, current valley type. We identify everything that needs to be reflashed and everything that’s still serviceable.
STEP 02
Spec + quote
Written spec for every flashing detail. Copper vs aluminum line-itemed so you see the difference. No “flashing as included” hand-waving.
STEP 03
Install — flashing first
Flashing is installed BEFORE the shingles that overlap it. This is the difference between proper step flashing and continuous L-flashing. We never reverse this sequence.
STEP 04
Verify + warranty
Every flashing detail photographed before being covered. You get the photo package. Lifetime workmanship warranty covers every flashing we install.
Frequently asked
Questions we hear most.
What’s the difference between copper and aluminum flashing?
Service life. Aluminum flashing lasts 15–30 years before pin-hole corrosion begins. Copper flashing lasts 75+ years — typically longer than the roof itself, so it can often be reused at the next replacement. On a roof you plan to keep for 30+ years, copper costs about $400–$1,200 more than aluminum and saves a flashing repair ten years sooner. On a flip-and-sell, aluminum is fine.
What’s a ‘chimney cricket’ and do I need one?
A cricket is a small ridged saddle behind a chimney that diverts water and snow around the chimney instead of letting it pile up behind it. Code requires one on any chimney wider than 30 inches; we install one on anything wider than 24 inches because it dramatically reduces leak risk over time. A missing or improper cricket is one of the most common causes of long-term chimney-related interior damage.
Do you do gutter cleaning and maintenance?
We don’t do recurring residential gutter cleaning — there are local services who do that more efficiently. We do annual roof inspections that include cleaning the valleys and tops of gutters as part of the visit, and we recommend a separate gutter-cleaning service twice a year (spring + fall) for any home with mature trees nearby.
Are gutter guards worth it in New England?
Selectively yes. The best NE-climate gutter guards are micro-mesh (e.g. RainPro, Gutter Helmet) that keep out leaves and pine needles but let snowmelt through. Helmet-style hoods can fail in heavy ice-dam conditions if the dam pushes ice up over the hood. We install gutter guards as an add-on, but we honestly tell most clients that good twice-a-year cleaning by a local service is more cost-effective than guards.
Can you match my existing copper gutters?
Yes — we can match aged copper by patina-treating new sections or by sourcing reclaimed material. For partial replacement of long-aged copper systems, we’ll always show you the patina mismatch up front; sometimes the right answer is replacing the whole run, and sometimes the small difference is fine.
Next step
Get an honest written quote.
Photo-documented assessment. Itemized quote. We’ll tell you if repair makes more sense than replacement.
The hidden 70%
Flashing is where roofers cut corners and customers pay decades later.
The shingles on a roof are visible, branded, marketed, and warrantied. Flashing is invisible until it fails. Guess which one a sales-driven roofer cuts corners on. The most expensive material in a typical asphalt-shingle replacement, per linear foot, is the copper step flashing — and it’s also the first thing a bid roofer will substitute with painted aluminum to win on price.
We don’t substitute. Every roof we install gets full copper drip edge, copper step flashing at every roof-to-wall junction, copper or proper galvanized chimney flashing, and welded or properly soldered seams at every termination. The cost difference over the life of the roof is roughly the cost of one repair call ten years from now — for a problem you’ll never have.
Copper drip edge
Every eave and rake. Catches the water at the edge of the deck and directs it cleanly into the gutter. Aluminum drip edge oxidizes; vinyl warps; only copper lasts the life of the roof.
Copper step flashing
At every roof-to-wall junction, every dormer, every chimney side. One piece of flashing per course of shingles, properly lapped, never substituted with continuous “L-flashing” (which is the #1 cause of slow-leak interior staining).
Chimney flashing + cricket
Properly stepped base flashing, counter-flashing cut into the mortar joint (not surface-mounted with caulk), and a cricket — a small saddle behind any chimney wider than 24 inches that diverts water around instead of dumming up behind it.
Valley flashing
Open-valley copper or closed-cut valley with ice-and-water shield underlayment. Open copper valleys on premium roofs add 20+ years of service over closed-cut asphalt valleys. Required on any pitch under 4:12 in our spec.
Half-round copper gutters
Half-round 6″ or 7″ seamless copper gutters with cast bronze brackets. 75+ year service life, develop the same green patina as a copper roof, and don’t kink at the corners the way K-style aluminum eventually does. The premium NE choice for historic and architecturally significant homes.
Seamless aluminum gutters
Heavy-gauge .032 aluminum, K-style 5″ or 6″, baked-enamel finish in 20+ colors. 25–40 year service life. The workhorse choice for asphalt-shingle homes. We size for the actual roof area being drained, not the wall length.
Process
Detailing is project management, not last-day cleanup.
STEP 01
Assessment
We measure your existing roof’s flashing details — chimney width, dormer count, eave length, current valley type. We identify everything that needs to be reflashed and everything that’s still serviceable.
STEP 02
Spec + quote
Written spec for every flashing detail. Copper vs aluminum line-itemed so you see the difference. No “flashing as included” hand-waving.
STEP 03
Install — flashing first
Flashing is installed BEFORE the shingles that overlap it. This is the difference between proper step flashing and continuous L-flashing. We never reverse this sequence.
STEP 04
Verify + warranty
Every flashing detail photographed before being covered. You get the photo package. Lifetime workmanship warranty covers every flashing we install.
Frequently asked
Questions we hear most.
What’s the difference between copper and aluminum flashing?
Service life. Aluminum flashing lasts 15–30 years before pin-hole corrosion begins. Copper flashing lasts 75+ years — typically longer than the roof itself, so it can often be reused at the next replacement. On a roof you plan to keep for 30+ years, copper costs about $400–$1,200 more than aluminum and saves a flashing repair ten years sooner. On a flip-and-sell, aluminum is fine.
What’s a ‘chimney cricket’ and do I need one?
A cricket is a small ridged saddle behind a chimney that diverts water and snow around the chimney instead of letting it pile up behind it. Code requires one on any chimney wider than 30 inches; we install one on anything wider than 24 inches because it dramatically reduces leak risk over time. A missing or improper cricket is one of the most common causes of long-term chimney-related interior damage.
Do you do gutter cleaning and maintenance?
We don’t do recurring residential gutter cleaning — there are local services who do that more efficiently. We do annual roof inspections that include cleaning the valleys and tops of gutters as part of the visit, and we recommend a separate gutter-cleaning service twice a year (spring + fall) for any home with mature trees nearby.
Are gutter guards worth it in New England?
Selectively yes. The best NE-climate gutter guards are micro-mesh (e.g. RainPro, Gutter Helmet) that keep out leaves and pine needles but let snowmelt through. Helmet-style hoods can fail in heavy ice-dam conditions if the dam pushes ice up over the hood. We install gutter guards as an add-on, but we honestly tell most clients that good twice-a-year cleaning by a local service is more cost-effective than guards.
Can you match my existing copper gutters?
Yes — we can match aged copper by patina-treating new sections or by sourcing reclaimed material. For partial replacement of long-aged copper systems, we’ll always show you the patina mismatch up front; sometimes the right answer is replacing the whole run, and sometimes the small difference is fine.
Next step
Get an honest written quote.
Photo-documented assessment. Itemized quote. We’ll tell you if repair makes more sense than replacement.
Drainage + detail · CT · ME · MA · NH · RI · VT
Most leaks aren’t from the field of the roof. They’re from where it meets everything else.
A perfectly installed shingle field still leaks if the chimney flashing is wrong. Most homeowners think of gutters and flashing as accessories — they’re actually where 70% of all roof problems begin. We treat them as primary, not afterthought.