A custom new-construction modern farmhouse in Campbell brought together a mix of high-end roofing and finishing details that have to be seen in person to be appreciated. We installed a 40-year CertainTeed Landmark shingle across the main roof, added standing seam metal accents on the front of the building for a bold, clean architectural note, and completed the system with copper gutters and copper downspouts around the entire structure — a timeless, upscale finish that will age gracefully for decades.
New construction custom homes are where roofing work gets to show off. When the house is being built to last multiple generations — when every other finish on the home, from the stacked stone columns to the window frames to the board-and-batten siding, has been specified for permanence and architectural integrity — the roofing system has to match that level of intent. This Campbell project is exactly that kind of build.
The main roof is CertainTeed Landmark Premium — a 40-year architectural shingle in a charcoal/gray color palette that anchors the home's modern farmhouse language. Landmark Premium is the upgraded tier of CertainTeed's most popular architectural shingle line: thicker dimensional profile, deeper shadow lines, more pronounced hand-split-shake appearance, and a 40-year limited warranty rather than the 30-year warranty on standard Landmark. On a custom home where the shingle is part of the architectural expression, the Premium spec is worth every dollar.
The defining feature is the copper gutter and downspout system, wrapping the entire home's eaves, dormers, porch, and multi-level massing. Every gutter section was fabricated and soldered on site to fit the specific building. Every downspout elbow — and there are many, because the stepped massing creates multiple roof-to-roof and roof-to-grade transitions — was custom-formed. Copper is a generational material: fifty to one hundred years of service life, no painting or recoating ever, and a patina that evolves from bright new-penny through warm brown to the classic green verdigris over decades. This house will outlive its copper gutters by a wide margin, and the gutters will get more beautiful every year they're on.
The standing seam metal accents on the front-facing architectural features (dormer caps, porch roof details) provide the crisp, flat-plane counterpoint that a mixed-material modern farmhouse elevation needs. Where Landmark reads as dimensional and textural, standing seam reads as clean and architectural — and the two materials together carry the elevation at two distinct visual registers without looking busy or inconsistent.
New construction roofing work is coordinated differently than a re-roof. On a re-roof, we're working on an existing structure with its known geometry and the homeowner is usually in residence. On new construction, we're one of many trades on a live construction schedule — the general contractor has framing crews, siding crews, window installers, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and landscaping all rotating through. Our job is to arrive at the right point in the sequence (after sheathing and felt are in, before siding terminates at the eave, before exterior paint and landscape finishing), execute our full scope efficiently, and leave behind a dry-in and finish-work foundation that every subsequent trade can rely on.
Specification coordination matters more than most homeowners realize. On this project, we worked through the gutter detail at every point where copper meets siding — inside corners, outside corners, drip-edge terminations, soffit returns, fascia transitions, downspout kick-out elbows. Each one of those conditions has to be resolved before fabrication starts, because copper is not a material you field-modify. Every piece has to be cut, formed, and soldered to fit its specific location. We pre-walked every downspout run with the site superintendent to confirm the routing, the strap locations, and the grade-level termination.
The Landmark Premium install is the most straightforward part of the work — proper synthetic underlayment across the deck, WinterGuard ice-and-water at all eaves and valleys, starter course laid to the correct offset, Landmark Premium shingles installed course by course at the correct reveal, and Shadow Ridge hip-and-ridge caps finishing the ridge lines. Where we slowed down was the transition details between shingle and the standing seam metal accents. Those intersections are where custom roofing work either reads as intentional and clean or reads as an afterthought, and they're what the architect and homeowner notice first when they do their walk-through.
The copper gutter install is almost a separate trade from the shingle work. Copper requires soldered joints at every seam and corner — no butyl tape, no caulk, no rivet-and-sealant shortcuts that are acceptable on aluminum. The soldering is what delivers the 50-100 year service life. Every copper section we installed on this project has hand-soldered joints that will stay watertight for decades longer than the siding, the windows, or any other exterior finish on the home.
Walk-through with the general contractor and architect to confirm all roof and gutter specifications — shingle tier and color, underlayment assembly, standing seam metal locations, and every copper gutter and downspout routing. Sign-off on the scope before fabrication starts. New construction copper cannot be field-modified; every detail has to be resolved on paper first.
CertainTeed DiamondDeck synthetic underlayment installed across the entire deck — significantly stronger and more weather-resistant than felt, and rated for extended exposure during the remaining construction sequence. WinterGuard ice-and-water shield at all eaves, in valleys, and around penetrations. These layers are the actual waterproof plane.
New metal drip edge installed at all eaves and rakes. Starter course laid at the proper offset for Landmark Premium. Step flashing installed at every wall intersection, properly integrated into the shingle courses rather than surface-applied. Pre-coordination with siding and stucco trades so flashing terminations tuck correctly behind the exterior finish.
Landmark Premium shingles installed course by course at proper reveal with correct nail pattern for the wind zone. Offset seams so vertical joints don't telegraph across courses. Careful alignment at every roof-plane transition and at the boundaries with the standing seam metal accents. Shadow Ridge hip-and-ridge caps installed along every ridge line.
Standing seam metal installed at the front-facing architectural features — clean, flat-plane counterpoint to the dimensional Landmark. Metal panels and caps properly fastened with concealed clips where possible, flashed into the shingle field at every transition, and terminated into the copper gutter system at every drip edge.
Copper gutter sections fabricated on site to match the building's specific geometry. Every joint soldered by hand — no butyl tape, no caulk, no rivet shortcuts. Downspouts formed with custom gooseneck elbows at every roof-to-roof and roof-to-grade transition. Hangers and straps spec'd in copper to avoid galvanic corrosion. Full-perimeter install with proper slope-to-outlet on every gutter run.
The upgraded tier of CertainTeed's most popular architectural shingle — thicker dimensional profile, more pronounced shadow lines, 40-year limited warranty (vs. 30-year for standard Landmark). Class A fire rating, wind rating to 110 mph, StreakFighter algae resistance. The right shingle spec for custom new construction where the shingle reads as part of the architecture rather than as a commodity finish.
K-style copper gutters wrapping the entire building perimeter, fabricated on site to fit the specific geometry. Every seam, miter, and outlet joint hand-soldered — no butyl tape, no caulk, no rivet shortcuts that compromise the long-term watertight seal. 50-100 year service life. Natural patina that evolves from bright copper through warm brown to classic verdigris over decades.
Matching copper round or rectangular downspouts with hand-formed gooseneck elbows at every roof-to-roof and roof-to-grade transition. Custom-fabricated to match the stepped building massing — no stock elbows, no off-the-shelf corners. Every downspout reads as a deliberate architectural line rather than a bolted-on utility.
Standing seam metal roofing on the front-facing architectural features — the clean, flat-plane counterpoint to the dimensional Landmark shingle. Concealed-fastener panels where possible, properly flashed into both the shingle field and the copper gutter system at every transition. The mixed-material expression is deliberate: two distinct visual registers, one cohesive roof.
Modern synthetic underlayment across the entire deck — significantly stronger tear resistance and better water shedding than traditional 30-lb felt. Rated for extended exposure during the construction sequence, and holds up through years of attic temperature cycling. The primary waterproof plane on the assembly.
WinterGuard self-adhering membrane installed at all eaves, in valleys, and around penetrations — the most failure-prone areas of any shingle roof get a secondary waterproof plane. Shadow Ridge hip-and-ridge shingles matched to the Landmark Premium field for a clean finished appearance at every ridge line.
Everything about this build turned out beautiful — and the client is right that this is one you truly have to see in person to appreciate. In photos, you get the hero shot and the detail shots and the golden-hour moment where the copper catches warm afternoon light against the deep blue sky. In person, you get all of that plus the proportions, the material hierarchy, the way the stacked stone columns anchor the porch, the way the copper downspout elbows read as intentional sculpture rather than utility hardware. It's a home where every material decision has been considered and executed at the same standard.
More importantly, the homeowner got a roof system that matches the home's generational ambitions. Landmark Premium delivers 40 years of service life backed by CertainTeed's strongest residential warranty. The copper gutter system will easily outlast the owner's tenure in the home — copper doesn't fail at year 20 or year 30 the way aluminum does; it just keeps getting more beautiful. The standing seam metal accents are engineered for 50+ year service life in their own right.
For new construction homeowners specifically, the other real value is the documentation trail. Photo documentation of every stage, product certifications for warranty registration, and a single-source roofing contractor who stands behind both the shingle work and the copper work is a meaningful asset at any future resale or refinance. Premium homes hold their premium positioning partly because the documentation backs up the specification — and this home has the full set.
Campbell sits right at the intersection of mid-century Silicon Valley and contemporary custom construction. The city's older residential inventory — ranch homes, small bungalows, and garden-apartment buildings from the 1950s-70s — is steadily being replaced by premium new construction on existing lots. Tear-downs and rebuilds are a defining feature of Campbell's housing stock evolution, and the new construction that replaces the older inventory is almost always at the top of the local architectural spec — custom modern farmhouses, contemporary remodels, and transitional-style family homes with careful material hierarchies.
What's specific to premium new construction in Campbell: custom architectural detailing is expected, not exceptional. Copper gutters, standing seam metal accents, Landmark Premium shingles, stacked stone, engineered siding systems, high-performance windows — the material spec on a Campbell custom build is almost always one or two tiers above the Bay Area baseline. Homeowners and their architects specify for permanence and resale, and the contractors working on these homes need to operate at that spec level consistently.
The design vocabulary is also specific. Campbell's new custom inventory is heavy on the modern farmhouse language — white board-and-batten, black window frames, dark Landmark shingles, stacked stone accents, and increasingly copper gutter/downspout detailing. Our Saratoga Landmark project documents a full re-roof on a mid-century Saratoga home with the same Landmark product line; the Campbell project here documents the premium new-construction version. Together they show the range of Landmark work we do across the West Valley — from value-tier re-roof to custom premium new-build — with consistent install quality across both.
Full standing seam metal roofing system plus custom half-round gutters on a Los Altos Hills home and matching ADU. The full-metal counterpart to this Campbell project's metal-accent approach.
Full tear-off and re-roof on a Saratoga home with CertainTeed Landmark Series shingles — the same product line in the re-roof context rather than new construction.
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