The ability to remove and replace a single metal roof panel by your roofing contractor without having to take off the entire roof is an amazing advantage and something that other standing seam metals profiles can not do. Because life happens, things change, and homes and buildings need to meet the needs of different people or building occupants over time meaning additions and remodels happen. Changes or repairs on chimneys, skylights, HVAC units, or even fixing storm damage is all a realty.
The 138-T standing seam accounts for this through its design and is easily repaired or replaced when life happens.
Traditional standing seam metal roof installation is from right to left or left to right with the female leg of one metal panel hooking onto the male legs of another. Then the seam is created by folding the two pieces of metal together with either a 90 or 180 degree fold. This design is tried and true, it wont leak and last a very long time. The downside is that it is also permanent and unrepairable. If for some reason you make a repair or change to the building or home the traditional standing seam will have to be removed all the way back to the point it started just to get to the metal panel that needs to be repaired/replaced. Then new metal has to be installed because of the likelihood that the existing roof is damaged during its removal.
The 138-T neutral design Gives it the advantage
The major difference between traditional standing seam metal roof and the 138 T is that the profile or shape of the 138 T is neutral, meaning no male or female legs of the panel. This is done via the T shape and both legs or side of each metal roofing panel are identical. The seam between the pieces of metal roofing are created by installing a seam cap that fits over both sides of the metal roofing. The seam cap has two lines of factory installed sealant creating a watertight gasket between the seam cap and each metal panel. Then the seam cap is mechanically seamed or folded on each side to finish the seam. The is done first by a hand crimper over the clips and then by a machine called a seamer. The seamer rider the seam cap up and down the roof folding the two sides of the seam cap and compressing the sealant creating the rain/snow tight joint.
To repair or work on a 138 T standing seam another you can simply take another machine similar to a seamer in that it will ride the seam cap but this machine will unfold the seam cap so it can be removed. Once the seam cap is removed the individual metal panel can be removed or replaced then a new seam cap installed and folded to recreate the joint between the pieces of metal. It is that simple !
The 138 T design is simple yet incredibly useful and it's hard to imagine why this hasn’t been done sooner, we don’t know the answer to that but it's here now and we are huge fans of the ability to work on-repair- or replace individual metal pieces without having to remove the whole roof.
The 138 T gives a flexibility to the long term investment of standing seam metal roof that just wasn't there before.
