Just had a quick question about sheet metal roofing gauge. I have an opportunity to buy galvanized corrugated sheet metal for a little yard project. HD stuff is 31ga but found on FB Marketplace someone selling (new) 22ga for almost the same price and a foot wider, saving me over $130bucks. However I have about 1hr 40min round trip to pick it up. So my question is that gauge difference worth it? I really don't know much about sheet metal besides knowing that the 22ga is thicker but I guess how much thicker and worth the ride. Thanks gang in advance.....!
Get the 22 gauge...I am not a roofer, but the 29 gauge is the thinnest roofing I can remember specing for a roof. I am sure someone will tell you different. I imagine the 31 gage would belike picking up a wet noodle
Am heavily leaning towards taking the 9 panels I already bought from HD back and taking the ride to Delaware and getting this 22ga. It's a no brainer, am saving $$, and it's a better/thicker roofing material. Just the inconvenience of taking what bought back and taking the ride down to Delaware but I'll recruit my son to keep me company......! Thanks!
22 gauge is almost 3 times thicker than 31 (22ga = 0.030" vs 31ga = 0.011") 31 gauge is very light duty...might be fine for decorative stuff...
Really light duty, feels paper thin.....Thanks for info Brenn, def gonna make the effort for the 22ga....
Agree with everyone's comments... .011 is extremely thin and not commonly used for roofing or siding. .014 is 29 gauge and .o18 is 26 gauge and used commonly for pole barns and residential roofing. On the other hand the .030 is extremely heavy duty.. Used sometimes for commercial roofing. Make sure the .030 is indeed galvanized or aluminized steel.
Thank you, he's claiming its 22ga & galvanized, first thing I asked. Not sure if there is a way to test or know that 100%?!?
No test... If it's roofing material it is certainly Galvalume or HDG.. But in those heavy gauges you can also find roof decking that might be cold rolled steel which will rust quickly. You can always scratch the paint with a knife and look for the yellow chromated primer and below the primer will be the silver colored zinc/aluminum. If your planning to make a lot of bends in this stuff, .030 might be a challenge to do by hand. How wide is it and I assume it's roll formed corrugated panel?
Thank you! It's a lean to roof so I am just laying panels down and securing them. May have to make a few cuts on the edges but that's about it. Hoping to be able to cut with angle grinder. Feel like am going from to thin, 2 to thick....LOL!
Sounds like a good project.. That .030 will be way better than the .011. A small branch or acorns dropping will dent that thin stuff. When you cut the panels try to make a clean cut if you can. Any disruption to that cut edge helps promote corrosion. If it were me, I would seal the edges with something like a paint or a clear just to help protect that raw edge from corrosion and it only takes a few minutes to do it. You could even use a roofing tar if it's not a visible edge. The pro's use shears to the cut panels because you get a certain amount of zinc to "wipe" the cut edge helping to minimize corrosion on the edge. Also if your drilling any holes or using self tapping screws, make sure you get the metal shavings off the panels or they will rust and leave rust stains down your new roof. And they don't come off easily....
The thin stuff is a liner panel for a shop interior. I bet it won’t be long and it’ll be standard for roofing. Seems to be the trend through the years
Liner panel won't have an exterior warranty and is typically coated with white polyester at a reduced film and is usually is G-30 or G-40 HDG (reduced zinc layer) and often without a primer to save $$... Big box stores are trying to cut every angle to save on their price per lineal foot.. I'm not sure how HD is marketing this stuff.. If it offered with a warranty and in colors it's for exterior use.
Everyone else commented my thoughts already. 26 gauge is pretty typical for metal residential roofing around here. If I were going to vary from the norm it’d be heavier duty not lighter. It’ll perform better for snow loads, dent resistance, wind uplift resistance, be easier to walk on if you need to repair a section, etc.
Thanks again gang for the info just fantastic info, much much appreciated!! Took the trek over to Delaware yesterday and picked it up. Man this stuff is the real deal, really nice fella, even gave me a half a bag of fasteners. Indicated he bought for a roofing job about 5-6 years ago, been sitting in his warehouse for all this time, decided to recoup some of the money on it. Said he paid $38 and change per panel, he sold it to me for $19 a panel 10ft by 36" 22ga. Considering HD is selling 10ft by 24" 31ga for $18, I'd say this was a great deal!
