CI/SfB
(4-) Rh2
MAY 2006
MANUFACTURING TOLERANCES
FOR PROFILED METAL ROOF AND
WALL CLADDING
Contents
Page
1.0 General 1
2.0 Methods for measuring tolerances 2
2.1 Sheet length 2
2.2 Sheet cover width, contraction or bulge 2
2.3 Straightness 3
2.4 Squareness 3
2.5 Depth of profile 3
2.6 Radius and angle of curved sheets 3
2.7 Ripple of sheet side lap 3
3.0 Thickness of metal 4
3.1 Nominal coating thickness for common types of finish 4
3.2 Nominal sheet thickness for common types of finish 4
4.0 Reference documents 5
For up to date information on metal roof and wall cladding, including downloadable
construction details, visit www.mcrma.co.uk.
© The Metal Cladding & Roofing Manufacturers Association Limited. May 2006
General
MCRMA members profile self supporting roof Products manufactured in accordance with BS
and wall cladding panels in accordance with the EN 14782 may be CE marked, although currently
harmonised European Standard BS EN 14782 and the United Kingdom has not adopted mandatory
BS EN 5081 series product standards. certification of construction products. CE marking
does not confirm that a product will comply with the
In general, MCRMA profiling companies will appropriate Building Regulations for England and
purchase pre-coated coil with appropriate quality Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. In particular,
certification as recommended by the British the national Building Regulations may require
Standards from international metal producers. additional fire performance certification – MCRMA
The tolerances relate to the profiler’s nominal members will provide advice on request.
dimensions as measured at site on profiled sheets
delivered in their original packaging before handling
or fixing.
Secret fix sheet systems may require smaller
tolerances to form a functional roof, details of
which will be provided by the profiler. Secret fix
sheets may be profiled on site to avoid problems
of transporting long lengths; in such cases the
dimensional tolerances should be no different from
those of factory production.
The following tolerances are defined with methods
of measurement:
1 Sheet length
2 Sheet cover width, contraction or bulge
3 Straightness
4 Squareness
5 Depth of profile
6 Radius and angle of curved sheets
7 Ripple of sheet side lap
Caution: The lifting of slings of bundles without
edge protection and spreader beams
across the sheet width may cause
distortion of the profile and damage to
the sheet side lap. Some variation in
sheet cover width can be adjusted during
installation.
Guidance is given on the thickness range of
coated sheets to be expected on site, based on the
appropriate British Standards. The metals included
in the quoted British Standards are aluminium,
copper, zinc, steel and stainless steel with or
without decorative coatings.
1
Methods for measuring
dimensional tolerances
Any sheet to be measured shall be placed on at Where sheets are to be fitted between other
least three equally spaced supports which are on a building components for example, horizontal
rigid flat surface. cladding between columns, smaller tolerances may
be agreed upon by the profiler and purchaser at the
Unless otherwise stated, all measurements are time of ordering.
to be made at least 200mm from the ends of the
profiled sheet. 2.2 Sheet cover width, contraction or
bulge
Where necessary, the measurement shall be
The cover width b1 and b2 shall be measured at a
corrected to 20˚C for example, the length of long
distance from the sheet ends as shown in figure 1.
aluminium sheets using the thermal expansion data
Both measurements shall be within the stated
given in BS EN 14782.
tolerance.
The stated tolerances apply to profile depths less
Cover width b - 5mm
than 65mm; deeper profiles which are normally
+ 5mm
designed for decking are generally more flexible
and therefore have larger tolerances. A third measurement, of cover width b3, shall be
made across the centre of the sheet to determine
2.1 Sheet length contraction or bulging of the profile. This b3
The length of a sheet (L) shall be measured along
measurement shall be within the stated tolerance of
the central axis of the sheet:
the average b where b = 0.5 × (b1 + b2).
L ≤ 3000mm - 5mm
Measurements of b are made between the centre
+ 10mm
of the outermost crowns.
L > 3000mm - 5mm
+ 20mm
Fig 1: Cover width
Y1
Y2
Z1
200mm
Z2
X1
centre line
of sheet
X2
200mm
Cover width b1 = X1 to X2
b2 = Y1 to Y2
b3 = Z1 to Z2
2
2.3 Straightness
The sheet straightness is measured as the
deviation of the edge crown from a straight line straight leg L2
between the two pointy X and Y shown in figure 1.
Maximum deviation 2.0mm per metre of sheet external radius R
length not exceeding 10mm.
2.4 Squareness angle R1000mm - 10mm
The sheet squareness is defined as S in figure 2, + 10mm
R
where b is the nominal cover width. angle a - 3°
straight leg L1 + 3°
S ≤ 0.5% of b mm for example, 1000mm cover
width sheet tolerance ‘S’ less than or equal to 5mm. Fig 4: Curve dimensions
Tolerance on length of any exposed straight leg
for example, down wall on curved eave should be
agreed with the manufacturer before ordering.
2.7 Ripple of sheet side lap
S The 2mm thick gauge should not penetrate the side
lap to its full 5mm depth at any point more than
Fig 2: Method for measurement of squareness 500mm from each end of the sheets.
2.5 Depth of profile
The depth of profile h is defined in figure 3, where
the average depth of the profile is measured.
h = 0.5 × (h1 + h2)
tolerance for profile depth h – 2mm
+ 2mm
10mm 10mm
h1 h2 Fig 5: Method of checking edge ripple
Fig 3: Method for measurement of profile depth 5mm
2.6 Radius and angle of curved sheets
Curved profiled sheets with nominal radius R
Curves with radii larger than 1000mm tend to be
more flexible and therefore both the radius and
angle are too variable to be the subject of universal
50mm
tolerances. The profiler will provide tolerances for a
particular profile section and curve on request. rigid gauge
2mm thick
Radius includes depth of profile for ridge and eaves
curves. For large radius curves for example, barrel
Fig 6: Gauge for checking edge ripple
vault roofs, consult manufacturer before ordering.
3
Thickness of metal
Mill finish sheets for example, aluminium should 3.2 Nominal sheet thickness for
have a thickness tolerance in accordance with the common types of finish
relevant British Standard for the metal coil. Coated
metals, including steel, may have a protective Coating Typical Total nominal
coating and decorative finish to both sides, each application thickness
and minimum
with coating tolerances. thickness
Unless otherwise agreed, the coil used for profiling Hot dip zinc
coated steel
shall be Class 1: full minus nominal tolerance
with backing
according to BS EN 508 series and BS EN 10143. coat
3.1 Nominal coating thickness for
nominal
common types of finish 0.7mm + 200 roofing and 0.92mm
µm plastisol flashings thicker than
Coating Application Tolerances 0.785mm
on coating
nominal
nominal 0.55mm
0.75mm
thickness2 + 200 µm wall cladding
thicker than
plastisol
external 0.645mm
200 µm
embossed minus 25 µm
plastisol nominal
finish
0.55mm + 25 0.57mm
wall cladding
external µm PVDF thicker than
25 µm PVDF minus 7 µm
smooth finish 0.488mm
25 µm external nominal
minus 7 µm internal
polyester smooth finish 0.4mm white 0.42mm
ceilings, soffits
liner sheet thicker than
and walls
0.348mm
White liner
internal finish minus 5 µm
finish
Aluminium
100 micron
internal finish minus 20 µm
plastisol
0.9mm mill roofing and
Reverse side finish flashings
minus 5 µm
coating
Table 2
Table 1
On a building site it is difficult to remove the
coatings to measure the base metal thickness more
than 40mm from the cut edge. Table 2 has been
prepared as a guide to the expected thickness
range for common nominal thickness products.
This table can be used for checking the nominal
thickness of flashings in addition to profiled sheets.
4
Reference documents MCRMA technical papers
BS EN 14782: Self-supporting metal sheet for No 1 Recommended good practice for daylighting
roofing, external cladding and internal lining in metal clad buildings
– Product specification and requirements. This No 2 Curved sheeting manual
document contains the requirements for CE No 3 Secret fix roofing design guide
marking of products manufactured to the following No 4 Fire and external steel-clad walls: guidance
four standards: notes to the revised Building Regulations,
1992 (out of print)
BS EN 508: Roofing products from metal sheet
No 5 Metal wall systems design guide
– Specification for self-supporting products of steel,
No 6 Profiled metal roofing design guide
aluminium or stainless steel sheet:-
No 7 Fire design of steel-clad external walls
Part 1: Steel
for building: construction, performance
Part 2: Aluminium
standards and design
Part 3: Stainless steel and
No 8 Acoustic design guide for metal roof and
BS EN 506: Copper or zinc sheet.
wall cladding
BS 5427: Code of practice for the use of profiled No 9 Composite roof and wall cladding panel
sheet for roof and wall cladding on buildings design guide
– Part 1. Design. This code of practice gives No 10 Profiled metal cladding for roof and
recommendations for use and expected durability of walls: guidance notes on revised Building
Regulations 1995 parts L & F (out of print)
profiled sheeting in the UK environment.
No 11 Flashings for metal roof and walls: design,
BS EN 10169 -1: Continuously organic coated detailing and installation guide
(coil coated) steel flat products – Part 1:General No 12 Fasteners for metal roof and wall cladding:
information (definitions, materials, tolerances, test design, detailing and installation guide
methods). No 13 Composite slabs and beams using steel
decking: best practice for design and
DD ENV 10169 -2 Continuously organic coated construction
(coil coated) steel flat products – Part 2: Products No 14 Guidance for the design of metal roofing and
for building exterior applications. cladding to comply with Approved Document
L2: 2001
BS EN 10169 -3 Continuously organic coated (coil
No 15 New applications: composite construction
coated) steel flat products – Part 3: Products for
No 16 Guidance for the effective sealing of end lap
building interior applications.
details in metal roofing constructions
Currently there are no equivalent standards for Please note: Publications can be downloaded from
coatings on metals other than steel. the MCRMA web site at www.mcrma.co.uk
Steel standards for grades of material:
BS EN 10326: 2004 has replaced BS EN 10147
and together with BS EN 10327 supersedes BS EN
10214 and BS EN 10215.
BS EN 10327: 2004 has replaced BS EN 10146 Liability
Whilst the information contained in this design guide is believed
and together with BS EN 10326 supersedes BS EN to be correct at the time of going to press, the Metal Cladding
10214 and BS EN 10215. and Roofing Manufacturers Association Limited and its member
companies cannot be held responsible for any errors or
inaccuracies and, in particular, the specification for any application
must be checked with the individual manufacturer concerned for a
given installation.
The diagrams of typical constructions in this publication are
illustrative only.
5
Metal Cladding & Roofing Manufacturers Association Ltd
106 Ruskin Avenue Rogerstone Newport South Wales NP10 0BD
01633 895633 | [email protected] | www.mcrma.co.uk
