Thickness of Aluminum Foil

Aluminum foil rolls and sheets come in a variety of thicknesses, widths, and lengths. Manufacturers often make the width and length of the foil roll easy to find, but the thickness of the foil is often not advertised. Most manufacturers use terms like standard duty, heavy-duty, and extra-heavy-duty to describe foil thickness. Finding the actual thickness from a foil box or manufacturer's website is not likely.

Let's look at some common foil thicknesses and the best way to measure for finding foil thickness if you can not find out from the manufacturer. Understanding how aluminum foil is measured is the first step to obtaining foil thickness. Being familiar with the increment of measurement will help in understanding the thickness once obtained. Manufacturers measure aluminum foil thickness in Mils. Below is what a mil is and how a mil appears numerically.

1 Mil = 1 Thousandth of an inch.

1 Mil Numerically = .001

Standard Duty Aluminum Foil - Most standard duty aluminum foil rolls are economical foil rolls for commercial and home use. Home use standard duty foil rolls are often between 75 ft. and 250 ft. long, offered in a variety of widths. The majority of foil rolls labeled as "Standard Duty" are between .0004 thick and .0007 thick. Which at best is slightly over or one half of a mil in thickness.

Some users prefer a thin pliable foil for a variety of home use and commercial needs. Most standard duty or economy foils are often much more affordable than heavy duty or extra heavy duty foils. Some users do not prefer the standard duty foils because of easy tearing and burning when baking.

Heavy-Duty Aluminum Foil - By far, the most common aluminum foil used for home and commercial use. Most home users buy 75 ft. rolls of Reynolds aluminum foil or a comparable brand for home use. Heavy-duty foil provides extra strength and tear resistance. Many cooks use it for baking, grilling, and storage. Most Aluminum foil rolls labeled "Heavy Duty" are between .0008 thick and .001 thick. The extra three-thousandths of an inch makes a big difference for a variety of applications.

Extra Heavy Duty Foil - A harder thickness to find, but some manufacturers do produce extra heavy-duty foil. It provides excellent tear resistance and works well with everything the heavy-duty and standard foil can be used with. Most aluminum foil labeled "Extra Heavy Duty" is between .0011 thick and .0016 thick. Finding a stock aluminum foil much thicker than this is often hard to find and requires a custom order.

How To Measure - The easiest way to measure the thickness of the aluminum foil is with a micrometer. A micrometer measures small precise measurements. There are a variety of micrometers available. The best to use is an outside micrometer that uses an inch system. Users can easily measure the thickness of foil without having to convert from metric.

Where To Buy Foil - We sell all of the aluminum foil mentioned in this post online. Users can find the foil they are looking for from our online store and can place orders online or over the phone. We offer price breaks on all foil orders of five or more rolls. Call us for a quote or click here to request a quote online.