Aluminum for my skin

[reddz]

Greetings All. Been making progress on my TD. I'm to the point where I can to 'skin' it. I've been looking for 5 foot wide aluminum at 20 foot long for several weeks now but can't find anything near me. And if I find something it costs more for shipping than the material does. Since I bought my wall materail and had it shipped and damaged, I am reluctant to go that route agian.

Does any one know of a vendor / source near northern Delaware? I can travel a day to pick it up as I am now 'retired' with some free time on my hands. NJ, PA, MD or DE? Thanks for looking and any suggestions will be appreciated.

[Terran]

Not sure exactly what you're looking for, but i know that some of the big commercial roofing suppliers around here carry both Mill Finish and Anodized aluminum in 4x8 sheets and varying thicknesses.

[Miriam C.]

Have you tried semi-trailer repair places? Might be useful to look at the yellow pages online.

[aggie79]

You might also try suppliers of sign materials. They typically have clear anodized or white painted aluminum in 5' x 10' or 12'.

Do you really need a 20' length? You probably have a break in the roof skin at the hatch, so you might be able to use two shorter pieces.

There was some other thread here, I believe for someone looking for aluminum in Pennsylvania, which I think you said was in your drive area. Someone sent them a supplier for the wider and longer coil sheets.

[reddz]

Hi again All,

I tried the Yellow Pages on the Internet 6 months ago with no luck. The only outfits I found repaired garden trailers, not tractor trailers. But what the heck I tried again this morning. And was I ever surprised. I got over a dozen offerings for Yellow Pages. I scrolled down and tried one. I then typed in Tractor trailer repairs and found 5 pages of listings. I scrolled thru them and found two only 10 or 12 miles from my home. No luck. No material available. One more try 60 miles away. The answer I got was, “Yep I got a 29 foot roll of the stuff sitting right here.”

So here I am home again with 20 feet of 102 inch wide roof material. It’s 0.040 thick and real shiny!!! I can’t wait to get some electric shears and cut it down to my roof size. I can cut one length 13 feet and the second 6 feet to have a seamless roof and galley cover respectively.

Now if only it would get warm enough to work in the driveway. Come on Spring!!!

[Terran]

I'm guessing it's either made by Alumnet or Atas metals right?

[bbarry]

If you don't mind saying, how much did that cost you?

[reddz]

Terran, I didn't think to ask but I can if you need to know. I was just so happy to get it.

bbarry, I paid $14.50 a linear foot. 103 inches wide, 0.04 inches thick. I got 20 feet for $290 (no taxes in Delaware).