Copper-By-Design's Latest News Page

Again, awarded that year for my 25 years of dedication to my clients in my contractor & custom sheet metal shop business

Here was the official list of Finalists: http://trust-bbb.org/torch-awards/

Bookmarks to specific information on this web page
What's Our Lead-time?	How To Get a Quote?	Costs & Deposit?
Current Project Schedule	Latest News	Credit Card Payments?

What is Our Lead-time?

What is CBD's lead-time for scheduling in new projects?
CBD is currently booked up around 5 to 7 months with in shop work set in our queue, as shown below. Due to some postponed projects this time-line could fluctuate, so it depends on the timing of getting a project fitted in before the other clients are ready to proceed. I am also booked up with on-site gutter replacement work under my other long-time dba of DMR-Gutters.

Sales have remained steady over the last decade from this extensive web site exposure. CBD is a small shop that is only able to take on a dozen major project each year. Because of this long wait time I wind up turning away more projects than I'm able to take on; in this fast pace world of instant gratification. I would be booked much further out if Clients were willing to wait much longer for their project (which will likely adorn their home for a century or more when built properly).

Small Projects?
For small projects like a simple roof cap or roof flashing kit that would only take a few hours to process I can usually be squeezed them in between major projects within a week or so listed as a 'filler project'. Plus freight time if you are not local to the Portland, Oregon area. Small projects under $600 are not even listed in my jobs queue below.
Reliability?
This should be the outset time-frame, but it is hard to say for sure with unforeseen complications that could arise to accurately calculate our lead time to the exact month, let alone the day.

Responsiveness?
I strive to respond to each quote request within 24 hours, and do my best to answer my cell phone personally. Not filtering my calls through voice-mail, like so many other shops. Even on weekends, unless we are out of town, and often even then. If you do not hear back from me personally within a day feel free to call my cell# 503 351-7082 to verify I got your e-mail. Although, please consider the time difference: when it is 7AM on the East Coast it is only 4AM here on the West Coast.
Besides this custom copper fabrication work I am still very busy with on-site gutter replacement as a licensed Gutter Contractor. My schedule may change quickly, so feel free to contact me about our lead-time if I had not updated this page recently.

Speed?
Other shops may be able to slap out projects like this in a day or two, but with a lack in quality and style of course. CBD is not a speed shop. Most chimney cap projects take 2 or 3 weeks of full time work to complete, depending on the size and complexity. Some more elaborate larger projects have taken a couple month to complete. If this will be adorning your home for the next century isn't a few month wait worth getting it built well and sturdier? I would love nothing more than to get projects done and out of the way ASAP, but I try to resist temptation to rush project at the expense of quality. A detail I trust you will appreciate when we finally get to your project and you see the progress photos coming your way, but this may require some patience on your part; in this fast pace world of 'Amazon speedy deliveries' we've become accustom to.

Much more detailed info?
Unlike most any other fabrication shop I've personally authored this extensive web site including actual price examples of what those Clients had paid at that time over the last 2 decades with more larger photos than you'll find else where, so please excuse the typos you will run across. I have a strong aptitude for math and spatial arrangement, but English was not my strong suit. I have been posting my more recent project photos on my CBD Facebook business profile, so prospective clients can more easily scroll through images, comment, like, and share if they want.

I have gone to great effort to provide you with all this information to be able to anonymously window shop before contacting me, so you can avoid the risk of a sly high pressured sales pitch that is all too common. That way you can see if I am able to do what you are seeking at a reasonable price, w/o fearing anyone contacting you before you are ready, or be rushed to make a hasty decision.

My current schedule listed below is also much more information than you would get from most any other sheet metal shop, so that you can watch your name work up the list as we complete projects. I am also willing to spend the time to go over options with you in order to get the best possible end result for your long term saticefaction. I can even seem too chatty and picky about the small details, so be prepared to have me talk your ear off, in a effort to provide you with just what you need along with a fairly simple installation for little to no maintenance.

Our Current In-shop Schedule
(not including small projects under $600)

Acosta in CA - Turret roof cap & copper gutters, 3/4 paid (in progress)
10 Dormer Roofs
Roof Flashing
20 Scuppers

Carpenter in NE - chimney cap 'masterpiece' $8.1k, 1/3 paid

Duplechan in CA - turret roof cap w/weathervane roof flashing, gutters $20k 1/4 paid

Stanley in WA - 7 chimney-pots $35k, 1/5 paid

Owen in OR - roof flashing and gutters $40k, 1/4 paid

Miller in MD - second turret roof cap $1.8k (filler project)
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1028301802632296&type=3

Chung in CA - chimney cap $8.5k, 1/3 paid

Smith in CO - 37" octagon fire pit cover $2.2k, 1/2 paid

Postponed Projects:

Acosta in CA - 3 chimney caps $18k

Alexandrou in NY - roof flashing, ridge vent, and chimney cap $8k - 2/3 paid (permit delays)

La Provence Bakery in OR - indoor fire-pit exhaust hood & counter tops $6k - 1/3 paid (cannot decide the direction they wants to go with this project)

What's your schedule reliability?
I try my best not to get behind schedule or give Clients false hope, so I attempt to factor in a little extra time for unexpected small projects and complication that could arise within my time-line, but I cannot predict the future with accuracy of course. It should not be later than the time listed above, and it could be sooner if all goes smoothly, but don't count on it if timing is crucial to your needs.

The 28 chimney cap Kensington Project
in Sunnyvale California (3-6/06)

What about small simple projects?
It is common for me to fit in small simple fabrications that would only take a few hours to complete, so I do this in between major projects from time to time. Things like: flashing kits, ridge caps, and small basic turret or gazebo roof caps w/o finial/weathervane mounts. Usually they can be completed within a week or two. If you want a larger ornate roof cap with a weathervane or finial support pipe installed; it would need to wait for my schedule to clear, since they require a couple days to build and make the custom shipping crate. Some larger projects I've had the honor to make have taken over 2 month to design and build, so a sale like that could suddenly push out my schedule considerably.

What about rush orders or emergency service?
Most chances I could not help you out with that. I would like to believe I am well worth the wait, especially with all I put into each project like these, which are built well enough to last a century, but that of course is your call. I try to keep my weekends free, besides answering e-mail and updating this web site, so other than paying a small fortune for Express Delivery there's not much that can be done if you have not planned ahead better. I will not push out my Clients who have placed faith in me at any price; in order to favor some other project recently bid on. Asking for this sort of favoritism may only convince me you are not a Client I can work with at all.

I'm sure you would not want me to push out your project in favor of another more lucrative project, so do not try to offer me a bribe to push your project ahead of the line. If you try to get me to fit in your project ahead of other Clients who came before you; that would be asking me to commit fraud against those Clients. If you were to suggest such an offer I may need to cancel your project all together to make room for more reasonable Clients.

What if your schedule changes before we can work this out and can got my deposit in?
That could certainly be an issue. I do all I can to swiftly respond to each e-mail and I answer my cell phone personally to help work this out as swiftly as possible.

If you feel confident we will be able to work up a satisfactory arrangement and need to get your project in my cue ASAP you can mail in an approximated deposit amount for the project you need. I will adjust the price according to the arrangement we work out before I've started fabrication, so there is a firm ceiling cost set. This can take the pressure off to make a hasty decisions. Only half down payment for projects over $500, or a 1/3 deposit for larger projects over $2k.

If for any reason we are not able to work out a fair deal, or you just change your mind; that deposit is 90% refundable upon request. Leaving just a 10% reservation fee. No need for an explanation. I'm far to busy to hold our Clients to a contract, but this has rarely been an issue. That 10% fee is just enough to encourage you to work this out with CBD, yet not so much you feel stuck.

The Trainor chimney cap being installed in Fairhope, Alabama (2/06)

Shipping time?
I ship most projects ground, which have been taking just a week to go across the Country, so it hardly seems worth the added cost to get them just a few days sooner. I have little control over this, other than to charge a small fortune for a 2 day or over night shipment, which can cost more than the custom copper fabrication it's self. I have rarely had clients willing to pay that much for Express Shipping, but that's your call.

Latest News

2023: A New Year & another Year Older (as we all are)

We are now able to stock more copper sheets in, after a full year of no new stock. Here is my first custom copper project of the year for a client in Colorado:

2022: Struggling (as we all are)

Continuing difficulties getting supplies and rampant inflation that has doubled the cost of materials. We can only hope this levels off soon, if not drop back down to more reasonable cost levels. We have still been making chimney caps, fire-pit covers, mailboxes, and a set of these 4 fancy lanterns, while taking time to train out-of-state contractors to install better more functional gutters, as seen here in this photo:

(1/28/22) Adrion Rodrigues of Kingdom Roofing in Indiana Ph# 765-573-5899

I had tested positive for Covid on 7/7/22, but we got over it within a couple weeks unscathed. We had an unusually wet Spring and then suffering record heat-waves this Summer. My main copper sheet supplier still has empty shelves in August, and reports it may be late October before they are able to restock.

In early November I was finally able to pick up a dozen sheets of copper. It had been over a year since I was last able to get my hands on new copper sheets.

2021: Getting Back On Track

I have been struggling to get my schedule back on track after and even crazier year than last year of 20/20 with all those uprecidented upheavals. This year has not been quite as crazy, but has been fraught with the worst rapid inflation I have ever seen with the lack of supplies and never-ending pandemic precautions.

We continued to get projects done and had several out-of-state companies come here to learn the art of gutter replacement: Facebook album

(6/7/21) AtlantaPainting Company in GA, Ph# (770) 551-0101

In the Spring we built a unique set of raised garden beds with photos that have garnered a lot of attention: Facebook album

This Summer I got a new PC: a compact Corsair ONE (center left) and a new larger case for my older PC. It has taken a bit to set it up the way I want, but it can help me be more productive. I plan to use my other PC out in my workshop, once I have been able to transfer the data onto an external hard drive.

My Son; Torrin finally got his drivers license this Summer and has become a lot more helpful. He fixed up my old Honda van to use as his own car:

On November 5th I had to let Jon go, after having working with us for over a year. I had helped him get a new computer 9 months prior, that he promised to make payments on, but neglected to do. His attendance was getting sparatic and sparse, and he would bring his young child to work without advanced notice. On the last day he had allowed his 7 year old son to use my dangerous power saw without even close supervision, which was the last straw. I tried to work it out with him, but he got terribly defensive and belligerent. He has refused to return that computer, tools, and a camera he did not pay for. He was also paid for work not performed, so I am out about $5k and loads of stress. Those are just the chances we take when mentoring an apprentice and try to treat them like family.
2020: New Location

After settling in for the first 9 months at our new location (and quarantine) I finally put out a listing for a new apprentice to replace Chris. Out of over 2 dozen applicants one rose to the surface: Johnathan Babb is a convicted fellon from Shreeport LA, but I decided to give him a chance. He was showing good promise, but could only work part-time due to childcare issues. Hoping this would help get me on track with my surmounting schedule of projects.

The end of 2019 was hugely stressful. After having been in the same spot for the last 10 years we were abruptly forced to relocate in November, to be out by the first of December. Beside moving our home, we also had to move our 3 home businesses, tear down a 20' X 32' workshop, along with 3 large awnings I had built. Then setting up our home and workshop at the new location. It then took me a couple month to get my new workshop situated and organized to start being able to get some projects worked on again. The workshop was like working a giant rubic cube/puzzel with several thousands of pieces to arrange all those parts and equipment stuffed within that new 30' X 30' space during those cold wet Winter months, in order to get back to work. Here is a link to see a few photos of that arjuous task on my CBD Facebook profile.

With the expensive process of moving I lost my main shop guy Chris Freedman. After having apprenticed with me the last 10.5 years, Chris went from a single guy to married with 2 kids. I just had no money to pay him to help get the new workshop set up, so he moved his family down to Southern Oregon to live with his Mother. I am now a solo act again, along with my adult Son helping out part time. You can see him in the middle of the background image from back in 2007, but he is now a little taller than I, and has a lot to learn in this craft.

As for CV-19 issue, so far it has not impacted my business nearly as much as many others. Hopefully goodness will prevail and we will weather this storm, and be stronger for it, but I fear the ecconomic impact of all the panic and shutdowns could be far worse than if everyone were to be infected. If there were a lot more people allowed to work from home where possible that would help eleviate a good amount of rush hour traffic, which our City streets and freeways cannot support. It would also save companies thousands on less required office space and maintenance.

I have continued to get projects done in my workshop and go out to job sites to install gutters while working alone or with my adult Son, as long as I can continue to get the parts and supplies needed. I have a good amount of projects I can do in my workshop without leaving my home.

2019: New Logo Plaque
In June I got a surprise call from my engraving guy, who made me this new hanging plaque engraved in glass. The gold color is actual gold leaf with mother of pearl inlay and surrounded with a copper rim. This was made by Rich Hawthorne (503) 706-9630. I have been trying to get caught up on a lot of gutter replacement jobs with my 19 year old Son part time (shown in the background image and below), whom has been helping out more now that he is no longer a minor, but he still has a lot to learn.

2018: New Inovative Tools
In early January we replace the 4' wide pan & box brake bender, even though that bender was still working fine. This new bender is much more versitle; given how it has removable and adjustable teeth below the bending bar as well as above, which allows us to do more complex projects that we could not do before. This also has a better foot lever to close and lock the teeth together, which leaves our hands free to hold the metal in place. This is a brilliantly designed tool sold by Grizzly Industrial. JET also sells the same machine in a light gray color, but costs a few more Ben Franklins just for the namesake as a distributor.

I also got a 7.25" and a 10" cordless miter saws that run off a pair of 18V Makita batteries for 36V power. The smaller blade is not quite large enough to cut downspout pipes, so they came out with a full 10" blade version that I got, but it is a beast to manage. They both have the torc of a corded saw, which had not been available in the recent past. they are used primarily at job sites. I have a pair of 12" blade corded saws we use for shop work.

I upgraded to a new full frame Nikon D850 DSLR camera. My custom Ryzen 7 chip PC is still running strong, but I am running out of hard drive space.

The core of any sucessful business is it's people. I lost 2 part time workers that were not proving to be responsible and pulling their weight, so I had to let them go. I had since brought on another 2 part time workers and started training them, but one had only lasted a couple weeks with my rather high standards. The other one is my 18 year old Son Torrin, who is finally old enough to handle power tools, but he is not looking to do this as a carreer, so I am lucky to get his help for a few hours a week.

2017: Improved Quality Standards
In the Fall of 2017 I got in my first large shipment in of 24oz copper to use for medeum to large chimney caps, in stead of the thinner 20oz copper I had been using, but the cost has gone back up $1#. I had a few large chimney caps get damaged in transit, so I felt the need to increase the strength, which will also help lay flatter for the roof skins; to be less bucked and wavy looking across large flat surface areas. This is in contrast to the 16oz copper used by most sheet metal shops. Just 50% thicker may not seem like a lot, but it makes a substantial difference to the stiffness and dent resistance of this copper sheet metal by a factor of 2X stronger. This will add a bit to the cost of our projects, but not as much as you might think, since the majority of what these projects cost is labor and freight.

I also upgraded my PC with the new Ryzen 7 chip along with a larger 55" 4k monitor to work with. I use a 4T and 6T mini RAID hard drives for storage now. Although, I have had a bit of trouble with this new system and cannot seem to find a reliable tech who can solve those issues. It seems I should have stayed with the Intel chip after all. Live and learn.

2016: Better Logo Imprint
This is a version, where I have selected transparency around the logo, so more of the photographic background will show through this watermark, as seen here. This specific Celtic knot work shape has held personal meaning for me for over a decade; when I got a belt buckle at Pikes Pier in Seattle. Then had it done as my very first tattoo on my upper right arm back in 2005.

I decided to bite the bullet and upgraded my SawStop table saw to run with a stronger 220 volt 3 horse power electric motor. It has been a great saw since then, once I upgraded the motor. The 120V motor was a bit gutless and converting it to 220V did not make enough difference, but they were very helpful to make the switch at a minimal cost. I was lucky that they are located within driving distance from me. I had activated the safety break just once in the last 5 years. It was while cutting up some old damp particle board to burn. I figure there must have been some slug residue on it that tripped the safety break. They offered to replace the cartrige for free that one time. I was just reporting how it had worked, but might be a tad sensitive. I was not complaining. I just figured they would benefit from that feedback. I have since been a lot more careful about the scrap wood I cut, and keep a spare cartrige handy to swap out next time it activates.

For the first time since before 2005 I was able to place an order for 20oz copper gutter coil at $3.35 a pound ordered in bulk, where it had cost over $4.50#, or as much as $7.81# in smaller quantities over the last decade. The 48" wide coil was still 17% higher cost for some reason. These fluctuation do not change the cost of our work by much, since most of what you are paying for is labor and freight, but it helps me not have to raise my prices to cover increases in the cost of living. This material cost fluctuation would affect a medium size $5k chimney cap w/freight by only $150 or so. That is only a 3% difference.

It is very rare I do any on-site work outside Oregon. We had built a set of 3 chimney caps for a client in Gillette Wyoming and drove out to deliver them, along with over 800 ln' of copper gutter to install on a new construction house, along with enough 48" wide copper to clad a dozen columns, which took us a couple weeks there to install all this. That was quite an adventure. It was just before the election, and being coal country I had to be very careful to not get into any political discussions.

2015: Copper Prices
We saw a surprising decrease in scrap metal value from as high as $3# to under $2#, which will eventually translate to new metal costs dropping, but this trend may just bounce up and down; like gas prices over the last decade. I upgraded my shop lighting to all LED.

2014: Better Equipment
I continue to upgrade our tools, and look for new devices to improve our custom work. I had the new safety table saw converted from 110V to 220V for more power, but the difference seemed marginal.

I also got a full frame Nikon D810 DSLR camera shown here, and some studio lighting to help better document our work. I also opened up to more Social Media sources to share what we do with more people on-line. I have been posting most of our latest work on my Facebook business pages within numerous photo albums for easier smoother navagation.

2013: New Better Equipment
We finally got a SawStop table saw and dust collection system at the cost of $4k, which we use for building shipping crates and chimney cap base boards. I still had a working table saw, but I had to realize how one trip to Emergency would be more costly than the expense of this saw, which is one of the most dangerous tool we use. I continue to upgrade our other tools and look for new devices to improve our custom work. I also got better LED lighting for the shop.

2012: New Ride
I got a used 2005 Acura MDX to use as my primary work vehicle, but lost around 1/3 the interior space from our 1999 Honda Odyssey van I was using. I made an aluminum and stainless steel tubular rack for this rig, which is 6' wide and over 12' long, allowing for the hood and trunk to open fully. The factory rack this is bolted onto is rated for under 200# load, but here I hauled around 600# on top while pulling a loaded trailer from Portland Oregon all the way to Canton Ohio and back. This has proven to be an amazing work-horse I would highly recommend.

I finally investin a decent digital camera: a Nikon D7000 DSLR camera to better document our work for this web site and to send daily reports to our out-of-State Clients to show the progress we are making on their projects.

2011: Copper Prices
We saw another hike in the cost of copper in early 2011 to 125% more, where it had held relatively steady since 2006; when it had suddenly doubled in cost. Fortunately it has dropped back down to around $5.50# later this year. Of course I don't know what the future holds, but I will need to write quotes that allow for these unexpected fluctuations. Try to keep in mind that this should mean only a smaller change in your final cost, since the material cost is only a small percentage of this sort of custom fabrication work. Which is why it is foolish to use an inferior metal when most of what you are paying for is labor and freight costs with most projects.
2010: New Logo:
We have a new logo shown here engraved
on an 11" wide sheet of 32oz copper (2008)
and made into an etched glass plate
w/24k gold leaf inlay (2010)

2009: Moved Across Town & New Apprentice
We are moved back to the West side of Portland in Oregon with a 5 year lease, that has been extended another 5 years. This is so Tia could be closer in to the Hospitals and Birthing Centers for her 2 year apprenticeship with The AndaluzWaterbirth Center. Our mailing address will be listed in our e-mail correspondence. We had to built a 20' X 32' work shop from scratch, and use a small garage as my woodshop.

I've finally found a dedicated apprentice named Chris Freedman, who I've known since he was small, and he seems to have a passion for quality and ethics such as I do. He's the Step-Son of a High School chum of mine I had met in art class, and we had remained friends through out the decades. I hope for great things to come from this young man. Heck, he's willing to put up with my intolerance for incompetence. He's not the smartest guy around, but his hearts in the right place, which money can't buy. I'm still having to do all the design and the more complex work myself, but he shows good promise. Since that time he has remained with CBD, and has been able to tackle whole complex chimney cap projects with minimal supervision.

2008: Publication:
This is a copy of the interview for Angie's List we did for their July 2008 magazine. I seem to be the only one to report I have been doing better than ever these days; attributing it to good communication through this web site and swift responses to e-mail:

Better Cars:
This may be a bit off topic, but I have a question for you to consider: why has pneumatic and electric motors for cars been suppressed for over a century now? Pneumatic is just pressurized air driven motors, which is not a new tech at all. They now make 5k PSI tanks with carbon fiber for Firefighters and scuba divers , which are safer and lighter weight, which can provide over 200 mile range per fill. They would hasve virtually no pollution to speak of, and no risk of a violent fiery explosion if in a serious collision. It would be far less hazardous land fill issues than old dead batteries, as well as a fraction of the weight for the energy source and motor. No expensive processing of the fuel, which can be set up at any fueling station for a fraction of the cost to recharge a tank in just a few minutes compared to hydrogen. Please write to your Congressman and tell them about this new/old tech to save our planet and society. Also, spread the word to as many people as you can to put pressure on The Man and force this out in the open.

Resources:
http://www.thetorquereport.com/2007/06/the_worlds_first_airpowered_ca.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compressed_air_car
http://www.aircaraccess.com/catcomps.htm
http://www.carazoo.com/article/1210200902/Top-Five-Air-Powered-Vehicles

How Do We Arrange for a Quote?

Response time:
I will answer my cell phone personally (if possible) and I'm happy answer your questions. I love to help brainstorm tricky situations. Although, I am not likely to be able to provide you with a price on the spot. Once I've a chance to sit at my computer and calculator to wrap my mind around your needs I'll need to put it in writing for both our sake. This process may take several hours to make a diagram and calculations, as long as I have the right measurements with photos and diagrams that you provide through e-mail. This way we both will have written documentation of what was agreed. I deal with a lot of clients, so I cannot be expected to rely on my memory about each detail, so I do not quote projects over the phone for these reasons, but that why I show the prices my clients had paid at that time to help give you an idea of what these projects would run. This way you are able to do some anonymous comparison shopping while pursuing this web site, which seems to be quite rare from what I've heard.

I strive to check and respond to e-mail at least a couple times each day; morning and night. I am prompt to respond to those e-mail within 24 hours even on weekends, unless we happen to be out of town, but that is pretty rare. So this process should go swiftly.

On-line estimate:

If you e-mail me about your needs I try my best not to pressure you in any way. It is very helpful to list these details in your e-mail, so I have enough to work with:
(1) close measurements of your project if not exact, or my quote would be invalid.
(2) the type of roofing material you have and the pitch of your roof.
(3) diagrams or digital photos from my web site or other sources to show me what you have in mind.
(4) any digital photos that you can send of your house are very helpful. You never know what I might notice that could be a serious issue or suggest alternatives that would work better. I have broadband, so file size is not much of an issue, but it seems that it is best if there under 2 megs per e-mail. My PC screen resolution is 800 x 1280 pixels
(5) any cost limitation or time lines that have to be met, so I can let you know if this is workable.

The more info you send the more chance I can give you an accurate quote. I will try to be as flexible as possible, but you will want a ceiling cost, so your project does not get out of hand, like it tends to do working with other building contractors. My final cost may be a little lower than my quote, since on substantial projects I will re-price the final cost to reflect only the material actually in the custom fabrication based on the final weight. This way you only pay for what you get at the quoted cost per square foot of copper actually in these projects. This is an ethical detail you'll not likely find elsewhere, and one you can recheck once it has arrived.

On-site estimate:
My contractors license and liability insurance is for gutter replacement and other sheet metal work in Oregon only. I could do some other work like some high end fence and deck building, but I am not able to do any roofing related work under my current licensing, so I can not install the custom copper roof caps and chimney caps I specialize in making. But I can assist with getting measurements if you happen to be local to us.

If you happen to live in or near the Portland Oregon Metro Area and are interested in my high-end gutter replacement, I am required by the CCB to supply potential clients with free bids within a reasonable geographical area from my location. I can usually go out to your place to write up a free estimate within a business day or two, as long as you are local to us (within 20 miles or so). If my wait time to do the actual installation (http://dmr-gutters.com/news.htm) is not a problem, feel free to e-mail me with your address, contact info, and any details you think is relevant to your needs, so I can service you with a bid. If you feel you need to talk to me about your special needs, you can call David's mobile phone at 503 351-7082.

What are My Costs and What Sort of Deposit is Required?

My Rates:
From what I have heard I have the most competitive rates you will find. I have just a small overhead working out of our rental home/shop. Not including the crate and shipping charge simple flashing runs as little as $12 per square foot for thicker than standard 20oz copper flashing, or as little as $3 sq' for painted aluminum, where there is little to no wasted material and basic bending done.

For the custom design/fabrication work we do starts at $30#, depending on the complexity of your project. This covers most custom design work, unique math, geometry, tricky fabrication, and seams that require sealing water tight, which is not an issue for most roof flashing. This base rate translates to these costs per square foot plus the cost for building a custom shipping crate and freight charges:

$37.50 sq' - 20oz copper $60 sq' - 32oz copper

$45 sq' - 24oz copper $90 sq' - 48oz copper

Projects with curves, ornate detail, and other complexities add to this base rate.

The cost of copper materials:
Like with how fuel prices gradually rose 300% from $1.50 per gallon through just the Baby-Bush years it seems that sheet metal prices suddenly rose in early 2006 over double what it had been throughout the prior 15 years (that I knew of). With copper scrap spiking from just $0.85# up to $3#.

This was largely due to China and India's manufacturing growth which could not match their native mining supply, so they were importing a great deal of our scrap metal.

I still feel that copper is the best value for your money, especially since all metal prices have been effected in this way, so they're all relative to each other still. More importantly is how the cost of any custom work like this is labor and freight. An 80% drop in metal cost for using cheap steel would only affect your end cost about 20% lower.

If I quote you a cost for a project and you submit the required payment or deposit within 30 days of that quote, the cost will not change even if my cost of material goes up again before I get around to building your project.

Discounts:
I can offer some volume discounts for large projects. I don't recommend using a thinner 16oz copper sheet metal (which is typically used for roof flashing and gutters) just to save $. It dents too easily and will not hold up as long still looking good decades later, so it makes little sense to use a long life metal like copper if it is so thin and flimsy.

Thicker copper than my standard 20oz thickness is used in some project where needed, but it is harder to cut, drill, and bend, so thicker metal cost proportionally more to use in projects. That is one reason I find it more cost efficient to add more bracing inside the chimney cap roof sub structures, instead of just using a thicker copper sheet metal outer shell.

Deposits:
As to the payment to secure your spot in my schedule:
Full payment is required on projects under $500
For larger projects over $500 I accept 1/2 down, with the final adjusted* payment before it ships.
For large projects of $2k or more I accept 1/3 down. The second third when I start to show you I have begun work on your project through digital photos. Then final adjusted* payment before it ships.

* For projects over $500 I work with you to set a ceiling cost on your project before I begin, and when I am finished I can weigh it to get the actual amount of copper used, so that your final cost does not include cut-off waste (which any other shop would charge you for). I then can adjust the final payment to reflect only what you will receive, so you are not paying for an inflated quote. A detail you are able to double check after it arrives to see how honest I was.

We all know it is a scary ugly world out there full of liars and cheats. Although, I believe my Business Integrity Award from the Better Business Bureau should give even the worst critics the confidence of my ethical responsibility and devotion to my clients. I have had less than 5% of my potential clients express discomfort with my payment policy. This has not been much of an issue, but if you do not trust me, you should simply not do business with me at all.

Note: The prices listed on this web site for custom copper work were the actual costs of those items at that time with freight charges included, but may not reflect accurately how much new projects will run now after all meals doubled in cost in early 2006.

Do You Accept Credit Card Payments?

Most clients have just paid with a personal check. I have yet to have any clients write me a bad check, so it has not been a problem.

I have a card reader to plug into my IPhone, but that does not help unless you are local. I can manually enter your card number, but that is not as secure as an on-line service like Paypal. I could tell you I am an honorable merchant, but any scoundrel would say the same thing of course.

I do have PayPal set-up on my contact Info web page under the e-mail: dar@copper-by-design.com if you need, but it may be cheaper to just overnight a check through USPS, since they deduct 3.3% surcharge from each transaction, which I have to add that to your cost.

I have set up Venmo as well under: @David-Rich-101.

Toll-free Phone # ?

I tend to do most of my correspondence through e-mail, so we will both have a written record of our agreements. I had a toll-free phone number for several years, but it seems pointless these days since long distance charges seem to be a thing of the past.

Non-local Client Orders
Most of my clients are near the opposite coast from us, so I have to rely on you to get me the info I need to create the project you need, so it fits just right. I cannot guaranty it will fit if I do not have all the info and correct measurements, but I can assure you it will fit the measurements I am given. You will then need to do the installation yourself or hire a local contractor to do the installation. I try my best to make items easy to install with all the rust free fasteners needed and provide personalized installation instruction.

If you are searching for a reliable contractor; my web sites seem to be the most comprehensive and honest web sites on gutters and roofing standards in the world. You should find the information here very helpful to better know what questions to ask of your local contractors to better to weed out the less reputable. Take notes from that information, so that you have the questions to ask them during the bid. And in so doing you should save a lot of money and future head aches down the road (three or four sets of parts with the cost of installation will cost more than one good quality fabrication). Also check out Angie's list for good referrals: