If you have large pieces of sheet metal leftover from, for example, a previous building project and you'd like to use this metal to build your house's new roof, here are two tips to follow.
Get a Roofer to Cut the Metal Sheet With Laser Cutting Equipment
It's best to get the sheet metal cut into the required size and shape by a roofer who uses laser cutting equipment. Whilst it is possible to cut sheet metal manually, by using blades and hand shearers, it is not a good idea to do this when preparing the metal for use as a roofing material. The reason for this is that it could be very difficult to cut such large pieces of metal sheeting accurately, in a manner that will result in the sheets fitting the roof and looking good.
For example, if you're putting the metal on a slanted roof that tapers in towards the top, you will probably need to cut the sheeting at an angle. If you make the angle sharper than it should be on a particular panel, that panel won't fit the roof and you might have to discard it. Likewise, you might end up making the edges of the sheeting uneven, which might result in the metal panels not lining up correctly against each other when you then lay them. This might create gaps between the sheets.
Conversely, if you have a roofer cut your sheet metal to the correct dimensions with laser cutting machinery, it will, after the roofer enters the required dimensions into the connected computer, cut the sheet metal precisely and create the exact angles and dimensions you need to use this material to build your roof. The lines that this machinery creates will also be far sharper than any you could make with a manual blade.
Ensure the Sheet Metal Is Prepped for the Laser-Cutting Process
Before you hand your sheet metal over to the roofer, you should ensure that it's prepped for the laser cutter. If, for example, you've been storing this sheet metal in your garden shed or outdoors on your property for a long time, you should wash it thoroughly to ensure that, if any flammable liquids happened to have been spilt on it in the past (such as some white spirits you may have been storing in your shed, for example), they're removed before the laser touches this material.
This is important because if the hot laser comes into contact with any flammable residues that you've left on the sheet metal, this could cause a fire that could damage the metal and result in you not being able to use it to build the roof.
Contact a local company that offers metal laser cutting for more info.
Share13 April 2022
Hey! Welcome to my blog. My name is Walter and I live in Alice Springs, Australia. Last year, I woke up in a state of shock. The roof of my home had collapsed. I walked out into what use to be my living room only to discover a complete disaster zone. There were bits of slate and wood everywhere. Thankfully, no one in my family was injured. I called in a local roofing company and I worked with them to replace the roof. I learnt a lot about roofing during that week so I decided to start a new blog.