Concealed fastener systems--standing seam roofs have no exposed fasteners.  The roof panels are attached with a clip, which is placed over the edge of one then is covered by the next panel.

Exposed fastener systems--are roof panels in which the fasteners penetrate through the panel and into the roofing substrate. These systems are usually fastened with screws with neoprene washers and are often used on commercial applications such as warehouses.

Energy efficient--standing seam roofs can be insulated with almost any amount of insulation. add the radiant barrier effect to this and they are the most energy efficient of any roofing system. Fiberglass blanket insulation is installed directly under the panels  and stretched over the supporting structural members to reduce energy costs and dampen noise. Foam insulation blocks also can be used between roof panels and substructures to prevent thermal loss.

For retrofit roofing, the standing seam system can be installed directly over an existing roof with minimal tear-off required and little or no interruption to activities below. A sloped sub-assembly system can be attached to an existing flat roof surface to create additional pitch and ensure adequate drainage. The "attic" created also makes it easy to add insulation, greatly increasing the rooftop's thermal performance.

Radiant Barriers work by blocking the transfer of heat from the sun to your attic. Heat travels through your attic primarily as radiant energy, rather than by conduction or convection. The Sun radiates heat to the roof surface--as high as 190° on a black roof and 160° on a white roof. The heat conducts to the underside of the roof deck and radiates down to the top of the ceiling insulation, then into the room below. A radiant barrier (e.g., metal roof) between the Sun and the ceiling insulation breaks the chain. Heat can no longer radiate through the rood deck. A radiant barrier reflects 97% of the radiant heat back up to where it came from.

Gauge is the system for measuring metal thickness. Fourteen gauge is slightly less than an 1/8th inch thick.

Extruded Aluminum Gutter--often referred to as seamless or continuous--is machine formed on the job site.  The terms "seamless" and "continuous" are misnomers as it is only possible for straight runs to be seamless or continuous. Miters (corners) are seams which change the direction of the gutter.

Pitch--the pitch of the roof is the roof's slope. Architectural slopes are measured according to the number of inches of fall in 12 inches of travel. To measure the pitch of your roof, hold a yardstick or other straight edged measuring instrument against the roof at one end with the instrument level (parallel) to the ground. Twelve inches from where the yardstick touches the roof, measure straight down to the roof's surface. Like so:

This measurement is the pitch or fall of the roof. Roof pitches are expressed as 1 in 12 for a low slope or nearly flat roof up to 24 in twelve for a steep sloped or mansard roof.  The roof pitch for most homes falls between 3 to 12 in 12.