Western States Western Rib roof profile

Western Rib is Western States Metal Roofing's named exposed-fastener panel for metal roofs and walls. The manufacturer also calls it the 7.2 Panel, referring to the distance between corresponding principal ribs. This record carries the metal cross-section printed in its Western Rib all-gauges load chart, whose first sheet is marked issued July 20, 2009. The Western Rib product remains listed today, and the later ICC-ES ESR-4729 metal-roof report reproduces the same principal cover, pitch, rise, flats and web angle. Put the manufacturer name, Western Rib name and dated section identity on a replacement request. A generic 7.2-inch label does not identify the two side edges of a sheet or the rolls that formed them.

The official roof photograph here comes from Western States' Western Rib gallery and is identified there as an A606-finish installation. It shows long trapezoidal ribs on a roof, giving a useful visual check that the inquiry concerns roofing rather than an unrelated wall profile. Color and distance prevent the photo from resolving the small formed returns at either side lap. Use the manufacturer section to describe the published metal geometry and a sound full-width piece from the actual roof to identify the installed edges. Keep that sample with the drawing when an older building has acquired later replacement sheets.

The July 2009 Western Rib drawing states 36 inches of net coverage. Its major ribs repeat at 7.2000-inch pitch, and the high rib rises 1.5000 inches above the pan. The drawn section labels one 2.1000-inch crest flat and one 2.1000-inch valley flat. A 45-degree callout appears at the right-side web of a trapezoidal rib. Those numbers are dimensions and an angle on the manufacturer drawing, not measurements taken from the website photograph. The November 2025 ESR-4729 Figure 5 repeats those principal values. Five 7.2-inch modules make the stated 36-inch installed cover, but the drawing's cover is the working width after panels have been joined, not the unformed coil width or loose overall sheet width.

Treat the two 2.1000-inch arrows as the particular crest and valley flats they mark. Neither arrow defines every horizontal run across both free edges. The full drawing must accompany the one-page ordering sheet so a fabricator can see where the dimension lines land. Measure a field sample perpendicular to the ribs and note the roof-facing side, actual rib-to-rib pitch, height, crest contact area, valley contact area and terminal edges. Do not use a nominal 7.2-inch pitch as proof that another company's panel will sit in the same lap. A replacement sheet must fit the existing geometry at its left edge, right edge and supporting surface.

There is a specific difference between the available section figures. The manufacturer's 2009 load-chart section labels a right terminal dimension of 0.9023 inch. Figure 5 in ESR-4729, reissued in November 2025, labels the apparently corresponding location 0.8023 inch. Both figures name Western Rib and repeat the principal geometry, yet the printed terminal values are different. The one-page ordering sheet therefore carries the shared measured dimensions and expressly flags the two terminal readings. Send the complete 2009 manufacturer page and the later Figure 5 with an inquiry, naming each drawing date beside its value. A supplier can then compare them with the roof sample instead of receiving one unqualified edge number.

Neither figure supplies a full free-edge schedule with every return length, radius, forming allowance and nesting clearance. An installer also needs to know whether the replacement meets existing Western Rib on one side or both. Photograph the undamaged left and right factory edges from the cut end with a ruler held in the cross-section plane. Label the overlying and underlying sides before removing a sheet. A rake-trimmed piece may have lost a factory return, so mark any field cut. Ask the fabricator to propose a short trial length and test both laps on site. Record any departure from the dated figures and the resulting installed cover before ordering the full roof run.

Western States lists Western Rib for residential, commercial and agricultural applications. Its present metal product page offers 20-, 22-, 24- and 26-gauge options, lengths from one to 52 feet, exposed fasteners, and installation over either open purlins or a solid substrate. The manufacturer gives a recommended minimum roof slope of 1:12 and calls for bead mastic at the overlap on roofing applications. Those facts help describe the assembly being quoted, but they do not give the fastener, support and lap schedule for every existing building. Record purlin or deck type, support spacing, actual slope, sheet run direction, end laps, eave and ridge conditions, and any rooflight positions with the profile sample.

The Western Rib installation guide shows roof-specific panel, lap, trim and substrate information, and belongs in the same file set as the cross-section. The 2009 load-chart PDF contains separate gauge-specific load tables; the section illustrated on its first page sits beside a 20-gauge table. Select the relevant gauge and design information for the proposed metal assembly rather than carrying a 20-gauge load number over to a thinner sheet. The built-up metal roof installation service can use the field measurements to plan sheet lengths and junctions when an existing roof is repaired or a new area is laid. The replacement inquiry should still state the exact Western Rib section and requested material independently of the installation scope.

Give the metal shop the dated Western Rib load-chart PDF, the exact-product data sheet and this page's single-page ordering PDF. State 36-inch installed cover, 7.2-inch principal rib pitch, 1.5-inch rise, the illustrated 2.1-inch crest and valley flats, and the drawn 45-degree web. Keep the disputed terminal callout attached to its own drawing rather than choosing one value in the purchase order. Add a measured full-width sample with both factory side edges, its physical overall width, measured sheet thickness, current cover when nested and the direction of installation. These physical observations tell a shop which formed dimensions must meet the roof already in place.

Specify the required number of metal sheets, each finished length, proposed gauge, coating or substrate, roof-facing finish and color, delivery location and any edge or end-lap treatment the installer needs. Ask whether the shop can source a Western States Western Rib panel, whether its own 7.2-inch rolls yield the same profile, and whether a special run is needed. Request a drawing or section trace of the sheet it proposes and a short sample for a two-edge nesting check. Confirm what the quoted 36-inch figure means after that trial, because a stock panel with the same nominal cover can have different terminal details. Note any field measurement that differs from the manufacturer drawing before approving production.

Western States has a product page specifically for Western Rib translucent fiberglass roof panels. It describes a 7.2-inch-pitch skylight panel with an eight-ounce reinforcement using chopped strand and woven roving fiberglass, and says the fiberglass sheets can be paired with the company's Western Rib metal roofing. This gives an owner a direct product-matched starting point for a GRP or FRP rooflight inquiry. Ask Western States for the current fiberglass formed-section drawing, panel lengths, reinforcement and resin construction, light-transmitting finish, support requirements and fixing arrangement. Send the same complete metal-roof sample used for the steel quote and identify where the translucent sheet would sit in the roof field.

The separate fiberglass material data linked by Western States is issued by Stabilit America and reports material properties and tolerances. It does not dimension both Western Rib fiberglass side laps or state that a present laminate nests with every historic metal sheet. The metal load chart and the ICC-ES metal-roof report describe steel-panel configurations, so use fiberglass-specific support and installation information for a GRP order. A trial fiberglass piece can be placed against the surviving metal sheet on each side to compare crest height, pan contact, free edges and resulting coverage. Keep the GRP quote separate from the metal quote; the purchase specifications for translucent material, length, support and joint treatment will differ even where the nominal rib pitch is shared.

For a fiberglass match, request a profile review from Western States Western Rib fiberglass roofing panel.

A replacement inquiry can go to five geographically separated Texas contacts: 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. Each publishes metal forming, fabrication or formed roof-panel services that make it a contact for a measured feasibility quote. The list does not establish that any of the five owns Western Rib tooling. Send each the same July 2009 manufacturer drawing, current product sheet, one-page dimensional summary, full-width roof sample, required gauge, finish, lengths and quantities. Ask whether it can obtain Western States material, roll a matching section or evaluate a custom die or source.

Ask each shop to return its proposed cross-section, the shape of both terminal edges, expected cover after a trial lap, sample policy and delivered quotation. The disputed right-terminal callout is a specific point for it to inspect against the field piece and the two dated drawings. If its usual 7.2-inch panel has a different lip or return, record the difference even if the rib height and cover match. Request a short production sample before approving a large order. The five contacts address the metal sheet. The separate Western States Western Rib fiberglass inquiry handles GRP so a metal fabricator is not assumed to manufacture a laminate it does not offer.

• North Texas — Sherman: Metal Warehouse — formed metal roof-panel quotation and measured Western Rib section comparison
• East Texas — Flint/Tyler: Xtreme Metals — in-house metal-sheet forming and a special-profile tooling inquiry
• Central Texas — San Antonio: Quality Metals — regional roll-forming and replacement-sheet feasibility review
• Gulf Coast — Houston: Lucid Metal Works — roofing-metal fabrication and exact 7.2-inch section review
• West Texas — El Paso: All Precision Metals — formed roof-sheet quote and physical side-lap comparison

Keep the 2009 Western Rib cross-section, the later exact-product data sheet, the installation guide, the 2025 ESR figure and this one-page ordering sheet with photographs from the building. The separate fiberglass material sheet belongs with a GRP inquiry. Record which slope supplied the sample, sheet orientation, fastener lines, purlin or deck type, and the date of any previous roof repairs. Mark dimensions copied from the manufacturer drawing separately from values measured on the actual roof. If a Texas supplier produces a trial piece, retain its section sketch and the fit result. A labeled offcut after an accepted run will allow future repairs to start with the actual formed geometry rather than a name remembered from an invoice.

Western Rib and other makers' 7.2-inch roof profiles can look alike when viewed from the ground. The Western States name, the 2009 issued drawing and the retained edge sample make this entry a more precise historic reference. The November 2025 ESR figure adds evidence for the main geometry while preserving its own different terminal number. If Western States supplies a later revised drawing that resolves that difference, attach it as a new dated file instead of overwriting the older figure. For a fiberglass replacement, also retain the GRP maker's formed-section drawing and trial-lap result alongside the metal record. This keeps future sheet orders tied to the roof that is actually installed.