by Tom Stortz | Aug 14, 2019 | Education
Soldering is Expensive New irons and tips replace worn out equipment. Bar solder needs are a constant expense. Once you buy a certain brand of iron, it makes sense to stick with it for economical sense. Learn why the Sievert line of irons may be worth your hard earned...
by Jeff Stortz | Jul 31, 2019 | Education
We Have Added Fixed & Expansion Cleats to our Product Line! Clips are an integral part to any roofing system. Incorrect clip selection, installation, or quantity can result in total roof failure. We offer fixed and expansion cleats for both 1″ &...
by Tom Stortz | Jun 26, 2019 | Education
Slate holds about a 1% foothold in the overall roofing material pie chart, maybe less. A simple goal would be to grow it to 2%. If natural slate is going to continue to be installed on exterior and interior projects, the industry is going to have to join together....
by Tom Stortz | May 17, 2019 | Education
Notching Panels Hemming Panels Notching the seams/ribs off is required when preparing standing seam panels for installation. Depending on the seam type and metal thickness, notching can be simple or rather difficult. After the panels are notched appropriately, the...
by Tom Stortz | May 6, 2019 | Education
Natural Slate vs Synthetic Slate The topic of this post addresses the appropriation of the term slate. Appropriation is the action of taking something for one’s own use, typically without the owner’s permission. The manufacturers of synthetic slate have...
by Tom Stortz | Mar 29, 2019 | Education
SOLDERING 101: Essentials for Roof Soldering ✅ Solder ✅ Forming Equipment ✅ Abrasives ✅ Flux & Flux Bottle + Brush ✅ Heat Source / Soldering Iron ✅ Sal-Ammoniac Bar & Cleaning Mixture ✅ Fire Safety Equipment Solder Solder is defined as a low melting alloy that...
by Tom Stortz | Feb 25, 2019 | Education
The type of metal you are working on has a lot to do with what finishing details you are able to perform. Copper and zinc, being softer materials, are able to form and maneuver easily. When working with 24 gauge painted steel, you are more limited. This series of...
by Tom Stortz | Feb 21, 2019 | Education
Slate Roof Accessibility 1. Acro Slate Brackets The Acro Slate roof bracket is a shear necessity if you are setting up staging on a slate roof. The tongue portion hooks onto a roofing nail (at least a 16 penny nail, 3 1/2″) and then 2 more are then used to...
by Jeff Stortz | Feb 5, 2019 | Projects
Organization and workflow on a job site is crucial to meeting deadlines on any roofing job. Natural Metal Associates specializes in Zinc installations on commercial and residential projects around the country. This blog will take a look at a high end residential...
by Tom Stortz | Jan 18, 2019 | Product Reviews
Curious as to what our top sellers are for the metal roofing industry? In this post we review not only the most popular, but the highest rated metal roofing tools from 2018 in the Stortz catalog. Take a look below and find out what you’re missing! Biegetec...
by Jeff Stortz | Dec 13, 2018 | Product Reviews
The pictures below document the installation of a Sieger heavy duty snow guard on a slate roof. While retrofit hook snow guards are quick and simply installed, there is a case to be made regarding the fact that the nail is already serving a purpose of holding the...
by Jeff Stortz | Nov 30, 2018 | Product Reviews
How do these pliers differ from what you may find at your local roofing supply store? Strength – The size and weight of the pliers allow for ample leverage on any metal. The heavy duty models allow for a particularly strong grip and the handles offer minimal...
