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| Gauge | Thickness | Tolerance | #'s per sq. ft. |
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| 20 | .036 | .0436 .0356 | 1.4356 |
| 24 | .024 | .0316 .0236 | 0.9456 |
| 26 | .019 | .0247 .0187 | 0.7414 |
| 28 | .016 | .0217 .0157 | 0.6189 |
| 30 | .013 | .0187 .0127 | 0.4964 |
Bethlehem Steel developed this product back in the 1960's and since then has been perfected by BHP. The mixture of 55% aluminum, 1.6% silicon, and the remainder zinc, by weight, demonstrated superior corrosion protection when compared to galvanized. Other names for zincalume are galvalume and aluzinc, depending on the supplying mill.
Zincalume steel has been proven to outlast galvanized G90 steel by two to four times longer depending upon the climate conditions. This translates to approximately 25 years of protection in all but the most severe marine climates. The following graph demonstrates this:
Another advantage that zincalume has is that it is completely paint-ready. No need for any surface preparation or primers. Paint adhesion is excellent once you verify the material is clean and dry prior to painting.
The drawbacks of zincalume are few. Spotwelding zincalume requires a hotter weld and closer attention must be made to insure a good weld has been accomplished. Any direct contact with or the runoff from lead and copper products should be avoided, as accelerated corrosion of the zincalume coating will occur.
Here at Bay Cities, we make a majority of our products out of zincalume steel.