Expanded Metal

What is expanded metal and how is it made?

Expanded metal is produced by slitting a flat sheet with offset blades and stretching it in the same movement. Nothing is removed from the sheet; the material simply opens out to form diamond-shaped apertures. That is why the process leaves no scrap, and why a square metre of expanded metal is noticeably lighter than a square metre of solid sheet. The angled faces created during slitting behave like small ribs, so the sheet gains stiffness out of its own plane.

That structure makes it the material of choice wherever a job needs load capacity and air movement at once: platforms, walkways, under-machine gratings, stair treads, handrail infill, warehouse partition panels, facade sun breakers and machine guards. We sell the product from our base in Ostim and ship it to all 81 provinces of Turkey; the sheets are galvanized and are sold by the piece.

The other advantage is cost. Covering a given area takes far less steel than solid sheet would, and because the process produces no offcuts, every kilogram of raw material ends up in the product. The trade-off is that expanded metal is not a flat sheet: its face is slightly raised and its cut sections sit at an angle. On decorative work that calls for a perfectly smooth face this texture is sometimes unwelcome, while on industrial work it turns into an asset because it stops feet slipping.

Stock mesh sizes and technical data

We hold two variants. Thickness rises with mesh size, and that is no coincidence: as the aperture grows, a heavier gauge is used to make up for the loss of cross-section.

The two figures in the mesh size give the short and the long diagonal of the diamond aperture. The sheet size quoted is the expanded size, in other words the finished dimension; the blank sheet before slitting is smaller than that. This distinction is the one customers mix up most often when ordering, so work out your running meters from the expanded size.

Choosing between the 15x30 mm and 30x60 mm aperture

Three questions settle the choice: what will pass over the sheet, how much load it will carry, and how much of what sits behind it you want on show. The 15x30 mm aperture gives a tighter surface. It is the one to use on walking surfaces where footing and heel safety matter, on under-machine gratings where small parts must not drop through, on handrail infill that needs partial screening, and for sieving fine material.

The 30x60 mm aperture is far more open, passes plenty of air and light, and covers the same area for fewer kilograms. It is the usual pick for rough walkways, warehouse partitions, sun breakers, compressor and transformer enclosures and livestock pen divisions. Its 2.0 mm gauge means that despite the larger opening it stands up better to point loads.

The two apertures also screen very differently. Seen from an angle, a 15x30 sheet hides most of what lies behind it and only opens up when you look at it square on, an effect deliberately exploited on privacy screens and balcony infill. With the 30x60 aperture that effect is weak and the sheet reads as open from every angle. Where screening comes first, laying the sheet so that the long diagonal of the apertures runs parallel to the ground narrows the viewing angle.

Load capacity, span and support spacing

The load capacity of expanded metal is set not by thickness alone but by the support spacing and by the direction of the long diagonal. Lay the sheet so that the long diagonal runs at right angles to the direction of travel and deflection drops noticeably; turn the same sheet the other way and it behaves far more flexibly. That is why orientation has to be marked when platforms are fabricated.

A rule of thumb: on surfaces that will carry foot traffic, keep the support spacing at or below 60-70 centimetres and always frame the edges. Where vehicle or equipment loads are involved, do not rely on the sheet on its own; build a load-bearing frame underneath and let the sheet serve purely as the surface element. On walkways this arrangement is the standard one.

The second factor in any load calculation is how the sheet is held at its edges. A sheet framed on all four sides deflects markedly less than the same sheet supported on two edges only. Keeping tack welds at 20-25 centimetre centres stops the edge lifting and kills vibration. On crossings with heavy pedestrian traffic, adding one more supporting flat bar under the sheet is a much cheaper answer than stepping up the thickness.

How it differs from perforated sheet, and where each one belongs

Perforated sheet is punched: its face is perfectly flat, both sides look identical, the process produces scrap and the open area is generally lower. In expanded metal the openings come from stretching the material instead; the face is slightly raised, which reduces slipping, and at the same weight it delivers greater stiffness.

The decision comes down to this. If you need a flat, clean face, measured air flow, a decorative look or accurate sieving, take perforated sheet. If you need a surface that will be walked on, loaded, kept non-slip and free-draining, take expanded metal. Either will do for screening; expanded metal gives away less of what is inside while still leaving the view out from within.

How to work out quantities and weight

Because the product is sold by the piece, start by working out how many sheets you need. One sheet measures 1x2 metres and therefore covers 2 m². Divide the area to be covered by 2 and add 8-10% for cutting waste. Example: a 46 m² platform surface comes to 46 / 2 = 23 sheets, so ordering 25 sheets with the waste allowance is the right call.

To estimate shipping weight, reason like this: a solid sheet of the same size weighs roughly 23.6 kg at 1.5 mm and roughly 31.4 kg at 2.0 mm. Expanding it removes weight in proportion to the open area, so within the usual open-area band a 15x30 sheet drops to about half that figure and a 30x60 sheet lands lower still. We confirm the exact weight against the batch data as you place the order.

Since it is sold as whole sheets, drawing up a cutting plan in advance keeps waste down. If you are cutting 95 centimetre pieces from a 1x2 metre sheet you get two pieces per sheet and throw away 10 centimetres; round the piece up to 100 centimetres and the waste falls to zero. On small jobs that single adjustment saves a sheet or two, and on large ones the difference shows up in the pallet count.

Cutting, framing and welding

Cutting expanded metal leaves the free ends of the apertures exposed and sharp. Those ends are both an injury risk and the reason sheets work loose over time, so always frame cut edges with flat bar or box section. When you fix the sheet to the frame with tack welds, welding at the rib overlaps holds far better than welding in the middle of an opening.

A galvanized surface gives off zinc fumes as it is welded, so ventilation is essential. Once welding is done, seal the areas where the heat has stripped the zinc with a zinc-rich repair paint. Skip that step outdoors and corrosion will always begin at the weld.

What determines the price of expanded metal?

The cost drivers, in order, are these: the current tonne price of galvanized sheet as a raw material, the thickness of the sheet, the mesh size and with it the amount of blank sheet consumed per finished panel, and the slitting and stretching labour together with tooling wear. The 30x60 product is made from heavier sheet, so its weight per unit and its cost structure differ from the 15x30.

Order quantity, requests for non-standard sizes and delivery distance all move the price as well. All our prices include VAT and exclude carriage. Current figures appear in the price table on this page; raw material costs move constantly, so we do not quote figures in the body text.

One point to watch when you compare quotes: the same mesh size can be produced in several thicknesses. Reading the aperture and skipping the gauge is how you end up on site with a sheet floppier than you expected. Always confirm the two values together; in our stock range the 15x30 aperture comes in 1.5 mm and the 30x60 aperture in 2.0 mm.

Ordering, site survey and delivery

To place an order, all we need is the variant and the number of sheets. Tell us what the material is for and we will steer you on mesh size and support spacing; picking the wrong aperture is a mistake that cannot be put right on site. The site survey is free within Ankara, and our team comes out to assess dimensions and service conditions in person.

Delivery is always charged; carriage is calculated separately, deliveries within Ankara included, and confirmed clearly before the order is placed. On no shipment is the carriage cost rolled into the product price. Installation is not one of our standard services; our teams attend site only on perimeter projects of approximately 1000 metres and above. On sheet orders the material is handed over to the fabrication team doing the work. If the same project also calls for ready-made systems such as panel fence, we can combine them into a single order.