AEP Span U-Panel roof profile

AEP Span U-Panel is a named, low-profile exposed-fastener metal panel for roofs and siding. The maker lists a 36-inch installed cover, six-inch rib pitch and a nominal 3/4-inch panel height. Its March 2026 PS186 product sheet calls the product a structural through-fastened roof or siding panel. The U-Panel name also appears on interior partitions and exterior walls, so a replacement roof inquiry should show the existing weather face, roof orientation and both side edges. A broad trade name and three-foot coverage alone do not identify a sheet that will mate with a particular building's retained panels.

This page preserves AEP Span's U-Panel Sales Print at Rev 1 dated September 9, 2022. The printed drawing is an approximate geometric reference. A separate March 2026 product sheet confirms the current roof-and-wall offer, while the installation guide describes the roof assembly around the panel. Keep the three dated records separate. A present-day 36-inch U-Panel listing does not by itself prove every return bend and lap clearance is identical to the section installed years ago. The building's full-width panel sample links a catalog name to its actual roof joint.

The September 2022 Sales Print labels 36 inches of installed coverage and six inches between illustrated raised-rib stations. Its enlarged section shows a localized one-inch flat across a crest, 2 1/2 inches across the base footprint of one raised rib, 13/16 inch of illustrated rise from pan to crest, and a 47-degree angle at a sloping web. The 2 1/2-inch arrow runs from the left foot of one raised rib to its right foot; it does not measure a pan or valley flat. These are the printed values to carry into a section comparison and the one-page ordering PDF in the file section.

The drawing marks dimensions approximate. AEP Span's 2026 page and PS186 sheet market a nominal 3/4-inch panel height, while the 2022 drawing prints 13/16 inch at the illustrated vertical callout. Preserve both labels with their source dates rather than choosing one as a corrected die dimension. The drawing leaves the full uninstalled sheet width, both free-lap returns, bend radii and manufacturing tolerances incomplete. The 36-inch coverage is what adjacent sheets present after lapping, not coil width or a loose-panel blank. Ask the supplier for its actual cross-section and compare both formed terminal ribs with a sound field sample.

AEP Span's current U-Panel page identifies AZ50 Zincalume steel as its standard base metal and lists 26-, 24- and 22-gauge standard options. The March 2026 PS186 sheet describes the available standard finishes and a custom manufactured length range of six to fifty feet. These are catalog choices, not a measurement of the roof being repaired. Read the installed metal's records or inspect a sound piece to identify thickness, coating, color and weathered appearance before requesting a match. Describe whether the replacement will be a short local insert or a continuous eave-to-ridge sheet.

The U-Panel side-lap bearing leg matters to a roof replacement. PS186 says the purlin-bearing leg helps form a consistent weather-resistant joint. A wall-oriented or reversed-looking sheet can share the central rib rhythm while presenting the wrong free edge at a roof side seam. Mark the painted or weather face and identify which edge passes over and under the neighboring sheets. Ask the metal shop to record the metal it proposes, its formed-edge shape and a sample-fit result. A color chip or catalog photograph can help select a finish, but it cannot establish the gauge or lap geometry of an older roof.

AEP Span recommends a minimum 3:12 roof slope for U-Panel. Its installation guide expressly covers the product on roofs over solid substrates or spaced supports and depicts the panel at roof interfaces. Survey the actual roof plane rather than ordering from a nominal cover calculation. Mark slope, sheet run direction, support material and spacing, and whether the affected area has underlayment, closures or a lengthwise end lap. Photograph the eave, ridge, gable and any openings that the replacement sheet must reach. Number each sheet position and measure finished lengths along the rib direction.

Separate the side-to-side fit from the lengthwise water path. The 36-inch installed coverage controls how many sheets cross a roof plane, but it does not determine the length around a curb or the overlap at a joint between two sheet ends. Note which neighboring panels must remain during the repair and whether a new panel can be lapped in the original laying direction. Carry the roof survey into the shop's quote, then coordinate the chosen panel with the support, flashing and weathering work. The built-up metal roof installation service can help connect that sheet choice with the surrounding roof assembly.

The U-Panel section drawing shows a repeating field and two shaped outer ends, but does not supply a complete numeric schedule for both free edges. A trim offcut or one-rib sample cannot show how a replacement nests on both sides. Preserve a sound full-width piece with both factory edges if the repair allows it. Label the exterior face, left and right ends of the cross-section, underlapping edge and overlapping edge. Make a square transverse cut and photograph the formed section with a ruler in the same plane. Measure loose width separately from the net cover made by two nested sheets.

Ask the proposed supplier for a short formed sample before approving full-length material. Place it between retained U-Panel sheets and check crest stations, illustrated rise and the two distinct edge shapes. Inspect contact at the bearing leg, the visible gap at the lap and the support beneath the joint. A panel with six-inch rib pitch may still bind or leave a gap if its edge return differs from the existing roof. Keep the accepted cross-section and trial-lap photographs with the purchase record. The 2022 drawing and 2026 data sheet identify AEP's product, while the field sample establishes the specific roof generation to which the new metal must fit.

Send the exact September 2022 AEP drawing, March 2026 PS186 sheet and this page's original one-page profile PDF to a metal supplier. Include the full-width sample or clear scaled views of both terminal edges. State the 36-inch installed cover, six-inch illustrated pitch, one-inch crest, 2 1/2-inch rib-base footprint, 13/16-inch drawn rise and 47-degree shown web. Mention the separate nominal 3/4-inch height on the current product sheet. Attach a roof sketch with each finished sheet length, quantity, location, material, gauge, finish and delivery ZIP. Identify any end lap, field cut or curved condition in the order inquiry.

Request a cross-section of what the supplier would actually produce, not only its catalog U-Panel label. It should show loose width, net cover after lapping, both free edges, material thickness and the intended weather face. Ask whether it can source AEP material or use existing tooling, and whether it needs a measured custom forming run. Compare a trial piece with the retained roof at both side seams and the relevant closure. The public AEP drawing cannot supply all lap details for a tooling order on its own, so the field sample and trial fit are part of the sheet specification.

The reviewed AEP U-Panel product page and March 2026 PS186 sheet describe metal panel options. They do not provide an exact U-Panel GRP or fiberglass section with both formed laps. A custom fiberglass inquiry therefore starts with the dated metal drawing and a measured complete roof sample. Dipcraft Manufacturing invites drawings and samples for corrugated-fiberglass profile matching. Send the one-page ordering PDF, the 2022 AEP drawing, images of the weather face and both free edges, and the actual width after existing sheets overlap. State whether the proposed GRP sheet should transmit light or be opaque and which roof position it will occupy.

Ask the fiberglass manufacturer to identify the laminate, thickness, available lengths and the section it can form. The proposed GRP edge needs a trial fit against retained metal on both sides, because material thickness and stiffness can change how a lap seats even when the center ribs resemble the steel drawing. Obtain the maker's fixing and support information for the offered fiberglass product. AEP's metal load tables and steel assembly values are not a GRP product data sheet. Keep any GRP quotation and sample separate from a metal replacement order until the building's side seams and roof interfaces have been checked for that material.

For a fiberglass match, request a profile review from Dipcraft Manufacturing custom fiberglass roof-panel inquiry.

The same measured U-Panel packet can go to five Texas metal contacts in different regions: Metal Warehouse in Sherman, Xtreme Metals near Flint and Tyler, Quality Metals in the San Antonio area, Lucid Metal Works in Houston and All Precision Metals in El Paso. Their publicly described panel or fabrication work supports an initial metal-sheet feasibility inquiry. Send each the 2022 manufacturer drawing, PS186 sheet, one-page order summary, full-width roof sample images, finished lengths, quantities, finish and delivery area. Ask whether it can obtain exact AEP U-Panel or form a trial piece matching the building's actual two-edge section.

Compare the replies on proposed rib geometry, both terminal edges and how each shop will check a trial lap. Ask each to state its forming route, any tooling or minimum-run requirement, and whether it can inspect the field sample before a long order. A supplier's ordinary three-foot utility panel may share coverage but lack the AEP 2022 edge return or 47-degree shown web. These five businesses are feasibility quote contacts, not confirmed owners of the exact AEP die. Use the separate GRP inquiry for fiberglass rather than treating a steel-panel quote as a fiberglass offer.

• North Texas — Sherman: Metal Warehouse — AEP U-Panel measured metal-sheet feasibility quote and two-sided sample comparison in North Texas — Sherman
• East Texas — Flint/Tyler: Xtreme Metals — AEP U-Panel measured metal-sheet feasibility quote and two-sided sample comparison in East Texas — Flint/Tyler
• Central Texas — San Antonio: Quality Metals — AEP U-Panel measured metal-sheet feasibility quote and two-sided sample comparison in Central Texas — San Antonio
• Gulf Coast — Houston: Lucid Metal Works — AEP U-Panel measured metal-sheet feasibility quote and two-sided sample comparison in Gulf Coast — Houston
• West Texas — El Paso: All Precision Metals — AEP U-Panel measured metal-sheet feasibility quote and two-sided sample comparison in West Texas — El Paso

File the Sales Print under its September 9, 2022 Rev 1 identity, the March 2026 PS186 sheet under its own code and the installation guide under its printed revision. The sales drawing carries the 47-degree and 13/16-inch illustrated callouts; the later sheet carries the nominal 3/4-inch height and current metal options. Preserve both rather than editing an older measured section to resemble newer marketing language. Add this page's original single-page order sheet, the shop's final cross-section, a labeled full-width metal sample and photographs of the trial joint. The record will then show which section was considered and what actually fitted the roof.

The photograph used for this profile shows U-Panel installed as siding on the Small Car Performance building in AEP Span's own Product Guide. It makes the physical rib pattern visible, while the roof use is established by AEP's separate roof product sheet and installation guide. A wall photograph cannot measure the 2022 roof laps or prove a fiberglass match. Keep the accepted material data, sheet lengths, delivery details and field notes beside the manufacturer files, so a later repair team can distinguish the named AEP product from another utility panel with the same nominal coverage.