Swenson Shear SnapTables: A Giant Leap in the History of Roofing

In North America, roofing has traditionally consisted of local, easily available materials. Therefore, the Midwest, with its abundance of forests, uses wood a great deal. Northeastern builders, surrounded by ancient, exposed sedimentary rock, incorporate this natural bounty by mining fireproof slate for roofs. In the Southwest, abundant local clay is fashioned into roofing tiles. In the forested but rainy South, both wood and metal are favored for roofs. However, in our more modern times, improved transportation methods, along with the desire for less labor-intensive prefabricated materials, have resulted in the increased use of metal roofing in all regions of North America.

Metal roofing makes sense. It is aesthetically pleasing, durable, fireproof, weather resistant, relatively inexpensive, and particularly suitable for difficult, steeply pitched roof structures.

One such roof structure exists on the new Oak Farm Vineyards wine and hospitality facility in Lodi, California. The owners, the Panella family, wanting a bold and attractive look for the roof, chose the Colonial Red standing seam metal roof from Drexel Metals. The job was daunting, requiring 20,000 square feet of 24-gauge Galvalume in a 1 1/2 inch snap-lock profile with striations to mitigate the appearance of oil canning. With 19- inch wide panels up to 26 feet in length on an 8:12 pitch, roofing installer Richard Pruden, owner of Pruden Roofing of Stockton, recognized the difficulty. “It was steep and tall,” he noted. “We carried every panel up a ladder. We had to be extra careful.”

The steep angle was not the only difficulty. The design of the building also included 16 time-consuming valleys. After initially spending excessive time and labor on panel preparation and installation, Pruden worked with Drexel Metals to acquire a SnapTable HD from Swenson Shear. This remarkable device features an adjustable table width to accommodate panels 12-22 inches, a notching station equipped with a slope-calibrated ruler that allows for 29-inch notching offset, and a slitter that cuts up to a 33-inch maximum angle. Its portability allows panels and trim to be produced onsite, which greatly reduces transportation damage and waste.

“Initially, it took me and three guys four hours to install panels on one valley,” said Pruden. “Once we got the SnapTable, it took us an hour, so it saved us a lot of time. It cut panels, hemmed them, and notched them for us. I think it’s safe to say it paid for itself with this one job.”

The success of the Oak Farm Vineyards roofing project is repeated daily by users of Swenson Shear products. In addition to the SnapTableHD, Swenson Shear makes the Towable SnapTable Pro, the all-in-one panel preparation system for standing seam metal roofing. It accommodates panels between 12″ and 24″ and is equipped to notch, slit, and hem up to 60″ offsets for hip-valley roofing cuts for any commercial, industrial, or residential jobsite. The Towable SnapTable Pro saves an average of 35% in labor cost, comes with a 2-year manufacturer’s warranty and optional trailer, and is proudly made in the USA.

For eaves, the newest addition to Swenson Shear’s collection is the all new Eave Master, which accommodates panels between 12″ and 24″ and is equipped to notch and hem eave cuts. Designed for use in any commercial job, the Eave Master is jobsite transportable, weighing just 125 pounds.

Installing or repairing metal roofs can be very challenging and time consuming work. Snaptables from Swenson Shear make the job easier and faster. Swenson Shear has a lengthy history of innovation, beginning with its founding in 1959, continuing through its introduction of the original SnapTable, the Model 205, in 2002, the second generation of SnapTable (ST3000, ST4000, & ST5000 Models) in 2003, and the new SnapTable HD in 2013. Since our newest model was released in 2016, The SnapTable Pro is now fully towable and just this year we released the new Eave Master!

To learn more about the innovative SnapTable from Swenson Shear, visit https://s30926.p217.sites.pressdns.com/snaptables/