Copper In the Kitchen - Consider A Copper Feature in Your Home

Have you considered a copper feature in your new kitchen?

Custom Welded Copper Kitchen Range Hood by The Metal Shoppe

Copper Chasing/Repousse by A Copper Rose Metal Art

First - did you know that Copper is a naturally anti-bacterial surface, even more so than Stainless Steel?

Below is an excerpt from Copper.org CDA press release "Antibacterial Properties of Copper and Brass Demonstrate Potential to Combat Toxic E.coli O157 Outbreaks in the Food Processing Industry"

EXCERPT: "A recent study by Dr. Bill Keevil at the Centre for Applied Microbiology & Research (CAMR) found that the highly toxic E. coli O157:H7 strain of bacteria survive for much shorter periods of time on copper and brass surfaces than on stainless steel.

...at room temperatures it takes 34 days for E. coli O157 bacteria to die on stainless steel tiles, 4 days to die on brass tiles, and just 4 hours to die on copper tiles. At chill temperatures typical of food storage, the study found that ten percent of the bacteria were still alive on stainless steel tiles after 34 days, whereas bacteria were completely eradicated on brass tiles within 12 days and on copper tiles in just 14 hours."

Click here to read the full article
Besides this interesting fact about copper, a custom copper kitchen range hood or counter top in your new kitchen can be a beautiful, timeless focal point that can be designed to fit in with any decor, from the most modern to the most rustic.

Custom Copper Countertop by The Metal Shoppe
Copper is also easily maintained by the customer, requiring simple dusting with a dry cloth or feather duster and maybe the occasional re-waxing with Bees Wax or Johnson's Paste wax to protect from fingerprints, etc. If your copper does require some clean up with soap, you simply use mild dish soap and a wet rag.

With the wax seal coating we apply to our copper kitchen features, it protects the copper while allowing what is referred to as a "living finish," in that the copper still breaths and continues to slowly age/tarnish over time.

Please feel free to contact our shop should you have any questions at all regarding copper products in your home!

After answering a few simple questions, we can provide you with a free custom quote!

Website: http://www.themetalshoppe.net

Website: http://acopperrose.com

Resources:
www.copper.org
www.antimicrobialcopper.com

Copper - A "Green" Building Material

Copper Bay Window Cover by The Metal Shoppe

Copper products for your home, such as exterior roof sheet metal, i.e. crickets, valley, etc.; actual copper roofs, bay window covers such as what is in the image here, would be considered "green" building products in that copper is environmentally friendly with an extremely high recycle rate, actually one of the highest of any of the construction/engineering metals. Hence, the high theft rate of late...... Copper is not typically thrown out in the weekly trash bin. It can all be recycled at your local recycle yard.

Some interesting bits of Copper Recycling Trivia:

• Each year in this country, nearly as much copper is recovered from recycled material as is derived from newly mined ore.
• Copper tube and sheet products can be recycled over and over with no loss of their engineering properties.
• The recycling of copper requires only 15% of the total energy otherwise consumed in mining, milling, smelting and refining.

Copper also has a high life span with some estimating an exterior copper roof lasting 100 years or more. Compared to traditional asphalt shingles having anywhere from a 15-30 year life span, this is quite impressive.

The Historic Christ Church in Philadelphia carries the oldest known copper roof in North America, dating back to 1727.

And speaking of copper longevity, everyone knows the Statue of Liberty, which is also the largest copper repousse sculpture in North America. This sculpture was formed in 1884 from over 160,000 pounds of thick 3/32" copper sheet. She still stands, though the steel structure supporting the copper has since had to be replaced with stainless steel due to corrosion.

Part of the longevity is attributed to the corrosion process that happens with copper, which is commonly referred to as "patina." Out in the elements, copper will take on either a verde green coloration (most common in the Coastal areas or high pollution areas over in Europe) or more inland, it tends to turn more of a dark brown similar to the color of an old penny. You can see how the copper has turned in the photo provided here. This window cover was installed as bright new copper and was simply allowed to turn in the natural elements over time.

Resources:
Copper Development Association: http://www.copper.org
Copper Development Association: The "Green" Metal is Made To Last
Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island Foundation: http://www.thestatueofliberty.org/
The Metal Shoppe, Custom Metal Fabrication/Coppersmithing: http://www.themetalshoppe.net/