Here’s the situation, I’m planning a steel roof on a new build and have a small section of curved roof over the front entrance. The roofing supplier does not have the machinery to curve the panels. Radius of the curve is 30 feet, which is not that drastic. Anyone out there applied straight panels to slightly curved surfaces and can speak to the limits before the ribs on the sheets might buckle? I was also considering changing the radius to 35 feet so there would be less stress on the ribs and improve chances of not buckling the material. Anyone have any experience/advice in a situation like this?
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you mean curve down the length of the panel? Phew. I put on 26' panels on a section of I did a section of roof last year (26 gauge Advantage Lock II from Union Corrugating) and there is very little deflection possible with standing seam panels, in my limited experience. Those had to be handled with two people, handled on edge, so they didn't simply bend in half at a crimp point. They're rigid, and much deflection beyond maybe a 1/2" or 1" seems to lead to a crimp, not a continuous bend (the field part of the metal will obviously flex a lot; the standing seam edges will break/bend at points, not continuous along their length). The manufacturer may have some insight. My specs for warranty coverage had maximum tolerances for unevenness or dips/valleys: "Deck must not be out of plane more than ¼” in 20 feet from eave to ridge."