Standard Master Flash

Standard Master Flash is a pipe flashing made by Aztec Washer Company for the metal roofing industry. It is a one-piece unit: a stepped rubber cone that is cut to fit the pipe, bonded to a soft aluminum base flange that is formed to the shape of the roof panels around the penetration. The cone grips the pipe with a compression seal, and the base is fastened down through the roof panel with sealing washers.

Because the cone is flexible, it absorbs vibration and the movement of the pipe as the roof and the pipe expand and contract. The aluminum base can be shaped to most panel profiles and roof pitches, whether the pipe comes up through a rib, a flat or the slope between them. The standard version is slid down over the top of the pipe. Aztec also makes retrofit versions that fit around pipes already in place on existing metal roofs.

The range runs from the Mini, for cables and small pipes, to the Maxi XL, for pipes up to 39 1/2 in. across. Each size has cut lines molded into the cone for its range of pipe diameters. The figures below give the top opening, the pipe range and the base size:

• Mini: closed top; pipes from closed to 1 in. (25 mm); 2 1/4-in. (57-mm) base; 3/4 in. (19 mm) tall.
• #1: closed top; closed to 2 3/4 in. (70 mm); 4 1/2-in. (114-mm) base.
• #2: 7/8-in. (22-mm) opening; 7/8 to 4 in. (22 to 101 mm); 6-in. (152-mm) base.
• #3: closed top; closed to 5 3/4 in. (146 mm); 8-in. (203-mm) base.
• #4: 2 3/4-in. (69-mm) opening; 2 3/4 to 7 in. (70 to 177 mm); 10-in. (254-mm) base.
• #5: 4-in. (101-mm) opening; 4 to 8 1/4 in. (101 to 209 mm); 11-in. (279-mm) base.
• #6: 4 3/4-in. (120-mm) opening; 4 3/4 to 10 in. (120 to 254 mm); 12-in. (304-mm) base.
• #7: 6-in. (152-mm) opening; 6 to 11 in. (152 to 279 mm); 14-in. (355-mm) base.
• #8: 6 3/4-in. (171-mm) opening; 6 3/4 to 12 in. (171 to 304 mm); 17-in. (431-mm) base.
• #9: 9 1/2-in. (241-mm) opening; 9 1/2 to 20 1/2 in. (241 to 520 mm); 25-in. (635-mm) base.
• #9X: 8-in. (203-mm) opening; 8 to 20 1/2 in. (203 to 520 mm); 25-in. (635-mm) base.
• Maxi Closed: closed top; up to 28 1/2 in. (724 mm); 34-in. (863-mm) base.
• Maxi Open: 12-in. (304-mm) opening; 12 to 28 1/2 in. (304 to 724 mm); 34-in. (863-mm) base.
• Maxi XL: 12-in. (304-mm) opening; 12 to 39 1/2 in. (304 mm to 1 m); 44-in. (1.1-m) base; 7 1/2 in. (190 mm) tall.

The Mini has a single port sized for copper pipe or electrical cabling. The #8X-C size in the same table is the Fix-A-Flash, a separate product in this library.

The cone is molded in EPDM rubber or in high-temperature silicone. Both compounds are made to resist weathering from ozone and ultraviolet light. Fire-retarding agents are milled into the rubber, which makes the flashing self-extinguishing.

EPDM comes in ten colors: Brown (BN), Black (BA), Gray (GA), White (WT), Dark Green (DG), Light Green (LG), Dark Blue (DB), Light Blue (LB), Bright Red (BR) and Terra Cotta (TC). High-temperature silicone comes in red (RA) or gray (GX). The Maxi XL is limited to black or dark gray EPDM and red or gray silicone.

Published test data for the two compounds:

• Ozone resistance: both tested for 70 hours at 500 pphm.
• High temperature, intermittent: EPDM +275°F (+135°C); silicone +500°F (+260°C).
• High temperature, continuous: EPDM +212°F (+100°C); silicone +437°F (+225°C).
• Low temperature: EPDM -67°F (-55°C); silicone -101°F (-74°C).
• Maximum compression set: EPDM 25%; silicone 50%.

Master Flash pipe flashings are listed by the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) under the Uniform Plumbing Code, certification No. 3121. IAPMO's engineering standard for flashings on profiled roofing was developed using Master Flash. Because of the self-extinguishing compound, the flashings are also listed for use with Type B gas vents.

The installer finds the pipe's outside diameter in the size table, picks the size whose range includes it, and trims the cone along the molded cut line. The opening is cut 10% to 20% smaller than the pipe's outside diameter so the cone stretches onto the pipe and seals by compression. On steep roofs, or panels with deep corrugations, the next size up is used so the base has room to follow the panel.

With the cone slid down the pipe, the aluminum base is shaped to the ribs and flats around it and fastened through to the roof with Master Seal bonded sealing washers and fasteners set 1 to 1 1/2 in. apart around the whole base. The materials needed are the flashing, fasteners, sealing washers, snips or scissors, a tape measure, a marker and sealant. The flashing is one piece, so no separate collar or clamp is fitted.

Part numbers combine the series, the size and the color. Black EPDM parts run from SQ051BA (Mini) and SQ101BA (#1) through SQ201BA to SQ801BA, then SQ901BA (#9), SQ901BX (#9X), SQ951BA-C (Maxi Closed), SQ951BA-O (Maxi Open) and SQ961BA (Maxi XL). The last two letters give the color, so SQ101RA is a #1 in red silicone. For the Maxi XL, SQ961NG is dark gray EPDM, SQ962RA red silicone and SQ962GX gray silicone.

Aztec gives a 25-year warranty on Standard Master Flash in EPDM and a 35-year warranty in high-temperature silicone.