After much research on kitchen vent hoods, I've figured out that I want a stainless hood with a band of copper trim running around the bottom lip for our new kitchen. I've also figured out that I can't afford one like that from the hood manufacturers of my choice.

So I've called a local sheet metal shop to see if they could attach a band of hammered copper trim for me to the exterior of a plain stainless hood (after removing the guts of the hood first, of course). They said they could probably do it, but that it could not be welded on, but would need to be riveted.

Does that sound right?

I kind of like the idea of rivets--adds to the rustic feel we're hoping to have--but I'm a little concerned about how clean and secure the attachment would be. Should I be concerned?

If we use rivets, we'd like to use copper ones to match the trim strip. Are copper rivets hard to come by?

I've located one source for copper trim material--the Frank Morrow Company in Providence, RI. Does anyone know of other sources I should look up?

Finally, what weight of material should we be using for the copper? The steel is 16 gauge, so I assumed something of similar thickness would be best. Thoughts?