Slideshow: Custom Fabrication for CarMax Signature Metal Roofs |

When CarMax, the nation’s largest retailer of used vehicles, needs to replace the signature metal roofs that welcome customers, the roofs must look flawless — and stay that way for a long time. Everything has to be just right, from the color and panel fabrication to the weatherproofing installation and finishing touches with blue caulk. If it has a blue canopy entrance, you know it’s a CarMax.

So while we don’t always do metal panel fabrication ourselves, we did for this standing seam metal roofing project. We have a roll former — a machine that converts sheet metal into the exact width, length and profile we need for the roof — that we either bring to the job site or use at our warehouse in Norcross. Since this project was in Tinley Park, a suburb of Chicago, we fabricated the panels at our warehouse. After going to Tinley Park to get exact measurements, we ordered the flat sheet metal from our manufacturer in Austell, GA, who painted it CarMax Blue before delivering it to us in a rolled coil. Our mechanics fed the sheet metal into the roll former to make 16.5” wide panels that ran the full length of the canopy roof so there would be no need for seams. We also fabricated the trim pieces.

We’re fortunate to have done this enough times that we only need to make the correct number of panels and pieces — why inflate the cost of the project by creating extras? We admit we also like the added pressure of having to get it right the first time!

Once the panels were ready, we stacked them onto pallets, loaded them in our truck with all of the tools and other materials we needed, and our six-member team drove up to Tinley Park to begin the installation.