Roofs: closing the building from above

The roof is the largest single surface of most industrial buildings, and it is also the surface most exposed to weather. A metal roofing system is planned as part of the envelope, together with drainage, roof penetrations and the way the roof meets the wall at the eaves.

Roof inquiries should describe the roof plan, the drainage direction, and every penetration or roof-mounted item separately. If the roof will also carry a photovoltaic array, say so at the start, because a roof that carries solar equipment is planned differently from a roof that only has to close the building.

What the metal envelope system covers

The metal building envelope is the outer system of an industrial building: the wall and roof surfaces that close the structure, together with the supporting steel structure that carries them. On this site the envelope is presented as a system, not as a single panel product, because the wall, the roof and their junctions have to be planned together before any panel is ordered.

A buyer who approaches the envelope as a system will usually start from the building itself: what the building is used for, how its interior is organised, and which wall and roof areas need to be closed. Those answers shape the inquiry, and the inquiry shapes what can be supplied. This site therefore describes systems and inquiry steps, and it does not publish a specification table.