Ask the Builder: The Fountain of Youth for Your Asphalt Shingles

Including copper on your roof will extend the life of the shingles by decades.

I applied these copper strips on my daughter’s new home five years ago. Invisible atoms of copper wash down onto the shingles each time it rains. This can add 40 or more years worth of service life to the roof. Tim Carter/Tribune Content Agency

I live in central New Hampshire, and my house was built in 2001. I didn’t build it. The plan was for me to live in this home for just two years while I built our dream home on a tract of land we own just six miles west of here. All of this was put into motion in May 2008 when the real estate bubble was as big as a bulbous hot-air balloon.

I moved from Cincinnati to New Hampshire in July 2008 with my oldest daughter. My wife and youngest daughter remained in Cincinnati until August 2010. By then I was supposed to have the new home ready for occupancy. But then things went south in September 2008. A lot of us took a huge financial hit as the real estate market collapsed. The new home never happened because we lost too much equity in the Cincinnati home.