Every metal roof ends somewhere — at a ridge, a hip or a gable edge — and every one of those terminations needs capping. Barge and ridge cappings are small line items on a quote, but get the quantities or profiles wrong and you’ll be waiting on a second delivery while your roof sits open. Here’s what they cost, what drives the price and how to order them right the first time.
What’s the Difference Between Barge and Ridge Capping?
Ridge capping runs along the horizontal apex of the roof where two sloping planes meet, and along hips on hipped roofs. It’s folded to match your roof pitch and typically scribed or fitted with profile-matched infill strips so it seals over the corrugations.
Barge capping runs down the sloping gable ends of the roof, covering the junction between the last roof sheet and the barge board or wall frame. One face sits on the roof; the other drops down over the edge.
They look similar in cross-section but are folded to different angles and cover widths — which is why they’re ordered as separate items.
What Do Cappings Cost Per Metre?
Supply-only pricing in Colorbond, standard 0.55 BMT flashing material:
| Item | Typical price per lineal metre |
|---|---|
| Ridge capping (standard roll-top) | $15 – $22 |
| Barge capping (standard) | $13 – $20 |
| Hip capping | $15 – $22 |
| Wider or custom-girth cappings | $20 – $32 |
| Zincalume equivalents | roughly 20 – 25% less |
The main price drivers are girth (the total width of steel across all folds — wider cappings use more material), colour group (Matt and Ultra finishes carry a premium, just as they do for sheets — see our Colorbond price per metre guide), and quantity.
How Much Capping Does a Roof Need?
Measure it out before you order:
- Gable roof: one ridge (the length of the house) plus four barge lengths (two per gable end).
- Hipped roof: ridge plus hip cappings running to each corner — hips are longer than they look, so measure the slope, not the plan.
- Skillion or flat-pitch roof: barge capping both sides plus a top apron where the high side meets a wall — see apron flashing installation.
Add 150mm of lap per join, and always round up. On a typical 3-metre standard length, one spare length is cheap insurance.
For a worked example: a 16m × 8m gable-roof home with a 20° pitch needs roughly 16m of ridge and 17m of barge — around $450–$700 in cappings, or about 6–8% of the total materials bill.
Standard vs Custom Cappings
Standard-profile cappings suit most corrugated and trapezoidal roofs and are the cheapest option. You’ll need custom-folded cappings when:
- Your roof pitch is unusual (very low or very steep)
- You’re matching an existing older profile
- The design calls for wider cover, shadow-line folds or box-style barges
- You’re capping parapets or unusual junctions
Custom cappings are ordered the same way as any flashing — a simple end-on sketch with face lengths and angles. Our guide to ordering custom steel flashings online walks through the process step by step.
Installation Basics
Cappings go on last, after the sheets. Ridge capping is screwed through the crest of every second corrugation into the battens beneath, with profile infill strips keeping weather and birds out. Barge capping fixes into the roof face and down into the barge board at roughly 500mm centres. Always lap joins 150mm and lap away from the prevailing weather.
Ordering Cappings With Your Roof
The golden rule: order cappings and sheets together, in the same colour batch, on the same delivery. ClickSteel cuts cappings to your exact lengths — enter your measurements online alongside your corrugated roof sheets and everything arrives ready to install.
Price your cappings now: browse ridge flashing and barge flashing with instant online pricing, delivered Australia-wide. Call us for any further assistance.