I have a customer with a house 100 feet from the Pacific Ocean. A north-facing balcony has leaked water at the ledger ever since the house was new. Luckily, the room below is a garage, and it seldom rains here. However, he wants to fix it right, which means removing siding and installing flashing to direct the water out past the ledger.
Is copper any good near salt water, or should I use type 316 stainless steel? I recall someone telling me that copper was not so great in salt exposure, but do not have real experience myself. The copper is a lot easier to work with, and the aesthetics are not a concern, as the flashing will be almost entirely hidden from view. I am looking for the best solution from a durability standpoint.
Thanks for your help.
Bill
Replies
cpper, lead, and lead coated copper are fine here.
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Lead coated copper would be my choice for workability and durability to salt air.
Have not worked with stainless steel - don't know as my portable brake would handle it. But there are plenty of sheet metal shops that would that bend to your specs.
Terry
Can you use anything with lead in Calif.? I'd be surprised.John
Revere makes a coated copper to replicate lead coated , but it's a terne coat -- no lead involved.
Freedom Gray is the trade name. It will likely hold up better than bright copper.
Walter,Thanks for this. That sounds like the ideal product for my application. Lead anything is a hassle in CA.Thanks also to all who replied. I love this forum.Bill
Believe it or not, stainless steel is not recommended for salt water. It can develop what is called stress cracking corrosion. Short summary: some hardened stainless steels with stress (some sort of loading) on them will crack in a surprisingly short time.
Personal experience: Company I worked for used these long coiled springs like you see in tape measures. (look up "negator springs") They used stainless, as standard spring steel would rust. In Miami they were cracking after a few months. I had them spray them with motorcycle chain lube to protect them; worked fine.
Edited 12/24/2008 12:46 pm by JohnD1
John,I have heard of the stress cracking phenomenon. I would guess that a spring tempered stainless would be much less resistant than type 316, which is not at all hardened. In general, the 300 series stainlesses are not hardenable.Bill
"In general, the 300 series stainlesses are not hardenable"
I agree. If you MUST use sst in a salty environment, the 300 series is the best choice.
I have seen copper around ocean front homes. Copper holds up well, but I notice that surrounding aluminum, steel or unknown metals seem to rot really quick.
I would use square vinyl PVC downspouts and pvc glue to make ledger flashing. A lot cheaper and easier to use
Sungod,Interesting idea with the PVC, but the customer is sold on the copper.Bill