Merchant and Evans pursued additional testing on their products to see exactly how well it stands up to hail damage and the results are excellent. The Class 4 rating applies to 0.032” aluminum or 24 ga steel or 16 ox copper or 8 mm zinc in their ZIP-RIB standing seam metal roof systems so you have several products to pick from. The knowledge that this product has received additional testing and has been shown to be strong and durable enough to receive a Class 4 rating is definitely good news for all of your upcoming projects that will utilize these products.

Original Text:

Merchant & Evans recently announced that they have successfully completed benchmark testing that meets the standard of Underwriters Laboratory Standard UL 2218 Class 4, Impact Standard for Impact Resistance of Prepared roof Covering Materials. The UL 2218 is designed to simulate hail impact and the classifications range from 1 to 4, these Class numbers relate to the roof covering’s ability to withstand impacts from various diameter steel balls ranging in size from 1 ¼” to 2” diameters dropped at 12’0” to 20’-0”. The acceptance criteria for the metal roof panels during testing include its ability to withstand the assigned class designation impact with no visible evidence of tearing, fracturing, cracking, splitting, rupture, crazing or any other opening of the roof covering layer. This classification is for metal panels placed over solid wood decking, 3/8” or greater in thickness.