The basics of metal terminology

By Emma Peterson. 

As metal roofing and siding becomes more popular in neighborhoods, learn what some of the common terms are. 

In this AskARoofer Podcast episode, Lauren White and Megan Ellsworth sat down with a team from BlueScope to understand the intricacies of metal panels and get the scoop on the terminology. The team included Shaun Page who is a communication specialist on their marketing team, Jeff Haddock who is a technical service manager and Richard King who is their marketing team manager. Richard explained their motivation for focusing on this topic, saying, “We want to see everyone with a metal roof, whether it be commercial or residential. So we’re just trying to get as much great information out there as possible, and are just excited to see more metal in our communities.” 

Concealed and exposed 

To give a broad overview, Richard explained, “There are two key forms for metal roofing, there's concealed fastener roofing, which means that the screws and fasteners are not exposed. And then conversely, there's one called exposed fastener roofing and that includes things like corrugated panels or your traditional agricultural panels.” Generally, residential areas use concealed fastener roofing which creates the modern and clean lines we associate with metal. Jeff broke it down a bit more, sharing, “Corrugated is such a catch-all term, it can take on many different shapes, such as trapezoidal ribs and waves, as long as the fasteners are exposed. But when you're dealing with the concealed fastener system, you're generally referring to a standing seam roof system.” 

Gauges 

With so many different shapes and forms for corrugated metal, the sky’s the limit for the applications of the material. Richard explained, “The flexibility of metal products is less about the panel design and more how thick the metal is in terms of what applications it can be used for.” As a rule of thumb, thicker and more expensive panels are usually used commercially and thinner, more affordable panels are used in residential. This idea of thickness of metal is called gauge. 

Read the transcript or Listen to the episode to learn more about how and why metal panels are becoming such a popular material.