What Drives the Cost of Custom Flashings
Custom flashing prices in New Zealand vary from job to job, and there is no single figure that fits every project. Understanding what drives the cost helps you plan, compare like with like, and get the best value when you order.
Rather than publishing a price list that would be misleading more often than not, we quote every job on its actual details. A run of simple straight flashings in a standard colour is a very different job to a batch of complex multi-bend cappings in a coastal-grade material — and the price reflects that. This guide walks through the main factors that move the number up or down, so you know what to expect before you send us your flashing schedule for a fast quote.
In broad terms, the cost of a custom flashing comes down to five things: the material you choose, the profile and how many bends it has, the length and quantity you need, whether you want a coated or uncoated finish, and whether we are folding your material or supplying it as well. We will take each of those in turn.
Cost by Material
The material is usually the single biggest lever on the price of a flashing, and the right choice depends on where the flashing is going as much as on budget.
We can fold flashings from a range of sheet metals, and each sits at a different point on the cost scale. As a general guide:
- Pre-painted steel (Colorsteel): the most economical option for the majority of roof and wall flashings. It arrives colour-finished, so for many jobs there is no separate coating step, and it suits most standard residential and commercial work.
- Aluminium: sits higher than pre-painted steel. It is lighter, naturally corrosion-resistant, and a popular choice for coastal locations and architectural or joinery flashings. Aluminium also takes a powder-coated or colour-matched finish well.
- Stainless steel: the most specialised of the three and generally the highest cost, chosen where maximum corrosion resistance or a specific appearance is required.
- Galvanised and Zincalume steel: practical, cost-effective mill-finished options where a painted colour is not essential.
Colorsteel pricing in particular moves with the grade and colour you specify, so a standard colour in a standard grade will generally cost less than a special-order colour or a coastal-rated grade. If you are unsure which material suits your environment, tell us where the flashings are going and we will point you to the most sensible option — durability and finish matter far more than shaving a little off the material cost.
Cost by Flashing Type and Complexity
Two flashings made from the same material and the same length can still cost quite differently, because the shape of the profile drives how much time goes into each fold.
A simple flashing with a couple of bends — a basic apron or drip edge, for example — is quick to set up and fold. A profile with many bends, tight returns, hems, or safety folds takes more setup and handling per piece, which lifts the cost. The overall girth (the flat width of sheet needed to form the profile) also matters: a wider girth uses more material for the same finished length.
As a rough guide to how complexity stacks up:
- Straightforward profiles — standard roof flashings, aprons, and simple trims — are the most economical per metre.
- Multi-bend profiles — barge, ridge, parapet cappings, and tapered or stepped flashings — take more time per piece.
- Special details — one-off penetration flashings, saddles, and bespoke architectural profiles — are the most involved, and are best quoted from a drawing.
If you are specifying flashings for a project, our companion guide to roof flashing details for NZ roofs covers the common profiles and the information we need to fold to your detail.
One-Off vs Trade and Bulk Folding
Quantity has a real effect on the cost per piece, because a lot of the work in a flashing run is in the setup rather than the folding itself.
Every profile needs to be set up on the folder before the first piece is made. Once that setup is done, running additional pieces of the same profile is efficient. That means a single one-off flashing carries the full setup on one piece, while a batch of the same profile spreads that setup across many pieces and brings the cost per piece down.
There is no minimum order, so a single flashing is no problem at all — but if you have several of the same profile, it makes good sense to order them together. Trade customers with regular or repeat runs benefit most from this, which is one of the reasons we offer trade accounts and bulk folding for the trade. If you are pricing a larger job, send the full schedule so we can quote it as one efficient run rather than piece by piece.
Folding-Only vs Supply-and-Fold
Another factor that changes your total is whether you are asking us to fold material you already have, or to supply the material as well.
- Folding-only: you supply the sheet or coil and we fold it to your profiles. This can suit trade customers and roofers who already hold stock or have a preferred material supplier, and it means you are only paying for the folding work.
- Supply-and-fold: we source the material and fold it, so one supplier handles the whole job. This is the simpler option for most customers — a single quote, a single point of contact, and no need to coordinate material yourself.
Neither is automatically cheaper; it depends on the material you can source and how you like to work. Our folding services cover both, so just let us know which suits you when you ask for a price. Because folding, flashings, and powder coating are handled by one team, you get a single point of contact whichever way you go.
Coated vs Uncoated
Finish is the last major cost factor, and it is closely tied to the material you choose.
Pre-painted steel such as Colorsteel already carries its colour finish, so for many flashings there is no separate coating step and no added coating cost. Where you want a specific colour that a pre-painted product does not offer, a colour match to existing joinery or cladding, or a durable finish on bare aluminium or steel, we can arrange a powder-coated finish. That adds a preparation and coating stage, which lifts the cost but delivers a hard-wearing, colour-matched result.
A few things worth knowing when you are weighing coated against uncoated:
- A matched powder-coated colour across flashings, cladding, and trims gives the most consistent finished appearance.
- Where blasting or additional surface preparation is needed before coating, that is arranged as required and factored into the quote.
- Standard stock colours are generally more economical than special-order or bespoke colour matches.
If appearance and durability matter for your project, tell us the colour or finish you are after when you request a quote and we will set out the options clearly.
How to Get a Fast, Accurate Price
Because every flashing job is different, the quickest way to know what yours will cost is to send us the details — and the more you can give us, the faster and sharper the price.
The ideal is a flashing schedule or drawings, but a clear sketch works too. To quote accurately, it helps to have:
- The profile shapes — a sketch or drawing of each bend, or a sample of an existing flashing.
- The girth (flat width) or key dimensions of each profile.
- The lengths and quantities you need of each.
- The material and, for pre-painted steel, the colour and grade.
- Whether you want folding-only or supply-and-fold, and any coating or colour-match requirements.
You can send your drawings or flashing schedule through our online quote form, call us on 09 218 6436, or email workshop@coatinglab.co.nz. Trade and commercial customers can also open a trade account for ongoing work. We aim to come back to you promptly with a clear, no-obligation price so you can get on with the job.
Ready to find out what your flashings will cost? Send us your flashing schedule for a fast quote — custom flashings folded in Auckland by Coating Lab, based in Onehunga.
Frequently Asked Questions
Because no two flashing jobs are the same. The material, the profile, the number of bends, the length, the quantity, and whether you want a coated finish all change the amount of material and workshop time involved. A published price list would be misleading more often than it was helpful, so we prefer to give you a quick, project-specific quote based on your actual flashing schedule or drawings.
As a general rule, pre-painted steel such as Colorsteel is the most economical option for most flashings, aluminium sits higher because of the material and its suitability for coastal and architectural work, and stainless steel is the most specialised of the three. The right choice depends on your environment and finish requirements rather than price alone, so it is worth telling us where the flashings are going when you ask for a quote.
Yes. We offer folding-only, where you supply the material and we fold it to your profiles, as well as supply-and-fold, where we source the sheet or coil and fold it for you. Folding-only can suit trade customers who already hold stock, while supply-and-fold means one supplier handles the whole job. Send us your profiles and quantities and we will quote whichever option works best for you.
Send us your flashing schedule, drawings, or a simple sketch with the profile shapes, girths, lengths, quantities, material and colour. You can use our online quote form, call us on 09 218 6436, or email workshop@coatinglab.co.nz. The more detail you provide up front, the faster and more accurate the price we can give you — and there is no minimum order, so small runs are welcome too.