Man the price of copper is going up faster than the price of gasoline. Went to supply house and wanted a few projects done and need 12/2 Romex. Turned around and went to Home Depot and from last week it went from $72 a 250' coil to $99
[OP]
Member
Man the price of copper is going up faster than the price of gasoline. Went to supply house and wanted a few projects done and need 12/2 Romex. Turned around and went to Home Depot and from last week it went from $72 a 250' coil to $99
John T.
Contributor
Read an article today how eliminating the penny would tip the commodity markets upside down because of the price of copper right now.
Confidence: The feeling you experience before you fully understand the situation
Contributor
Pennies are mostly zinc. They have a very thin copper coating. They were changed over during 1982.Originally Posted by Jerry Bruette
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Contributor
I built a house with a copper roof, in 1991. I wanted to put a standing seam roof on one, because I'd never done it. Copper was only slightly higher than Terne coated stainless. I bought 7, 1000 pound rolls for 90 cents a pound, so the total cost of materials was $6,300. It added a Lot to the value of the house then, for what I got for it, but the people that bought it still thank me for it, every time they see me.
Contributor
The penny is 99.2% zinc now though.
I know when copper peaked (scrap wise) to $4-5 a pound people figured out all pennies before 77 were mostly copper and 80 or so of them equaled a pound so they were scrapping them.
As far as the romex goes i was always amazed at how they price it at HD. with every step up in length you get 150% more for 50% more money
Contributor
I am just starting to use a 250' roll of 10-3 romex I bought years ago at Lowes. I needed like 10 feet. It was cheaper to buy the 250' roll then the 25' roll. The 250' roll was a brand they were closing out. I fully expected the cashier to tell me the shelf tag was wrong.
I still see massive holes in the inventory for blue electrical boxes.
Bill D
Last edited by Bill Dufour; 03-23-2021 at 11:25 AM.
Contributor
Here's a link to the article I referenced earlier.
https://www.barrons.com/articles/wha...es-51616383919
Confidence: The feeling you experience before you fully understand the situation
Contributor
Many of copper pennies met their fate under the wheels of a train when I was a kid. Has the price of salvage copper gone up too or just things like wire?
Contributor
I'm hoping so, as I have about 300# I'm sitting on, just waiting for the right price.
Member
I am sure there are regional variations, but around here salvage copper (incld wire) goes for ~$4/lb. Several folks have decided to break into various site's Conex and steal our wire - - leaving power tools, pipe fittings, and instrumentation sitting next to it. One even used a basket lift to pull it out of the ground.
I guess it beats an honest day's pay?
Contributor
Copper scrap price for bare bright was $3.40 last Saturday when I scrapped some stripped wire. The place was crazy. I wouldn’t wait to scrap copper.
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