FAQs

BlueScope Steel warranties require adherence to manufacturers instructions. These usually state roofs must be crest fixed. Contact your roof sheeting supplier to obtain their specific recommendations.

Generally, a metal roof will stand up well to hail storms. The roof sheeting will absorb the energy of the hail stone and remain structurally sound. However, indentations may occur along with loss of the paint topcoat.

In most cases indentations from hail stones do not affect the life of a COLORBOND® steel roof. The only causes of concern will arise from:

1. low pitch roofs with significant hail indentations in the pans. This can lead to ponding and dirt accumulation, which may promote corrosion;
2. low pitch roofs where sheet overlaps have been significantly deformed. The anti-capillary effect can be lost and water could be drawn into the sheet lap, resulting in corrosion.

In the event of ponding due to indentations or damage to sheet overlaps, the affected sheets should be replaced as soon as practicable to maintain the life of the roof. Loss of the paint topcoat arising from impact of hail stones will be an aesthetic issue only and will have no appreciable effect on the corrosion performance of the COLORBOND® steel roof.

Download Technical Bulletin TB 32 - Impact of hail damage to exterior BlueScope coated steel products.

Temperature variations can cause pierce fixed metal roof sheeting to expand and contract, sometimes resulting in roof noise. This is more likely during rapid changes in the temperature caused by such things as heat from the morning sun, afternoon cooling, passing clouds or gusts of wind. What's the technical explanation? When movement is suppressed the stress in the sheet builds up and may exceed the frictional restraint. Energy is then released as noise associated with sheet movement. The level of noise depends on the frictional restraint. For most roofs there may be some minor creaking. However, when there is excessive thermal movement and poor installation practice, frictional forces can build up to create loud, sharp cracking noises. Although noise problems are rare, they are usually associated with dark coloured roofs fastened directly to timber. This is due to the friction characteristics of the steel-timber interface (increased noise if the timber is wet) and the fact that darker coloured sheeting is subject to greater expansion.

It's been found that the risk of this type of noise can be reduced by:

1. using an insulation blanket with sarking between the sheeting and timber supports (this also provides heat insulation, a vapour barrier and reduces rain noise.);
2. using steel battens to support the sheeting;
3. using a reflective foil laminate between the sheeting and timber supports (this also provides heat insulation and a vapour barrier).

The appearance of COLORBOND® steel affected by weathering can often be restored by re-painting. Please contact a roof restoration expert to assess the suitability of the roof for re-painting. If the roof is in a suitable state for re-painting please refer to the BlueScope Steel guidelines for overpainting, found in Technical Bulletin 2.

Download Technical Bulletin TB 2 - Overpainting and Restoration of Exterior BlueScope Coated Steel Products

You're probably looking at swarf stains. Swarf is the term given to the steel debris arising from cutting or piercing operations, and mostly comprises of fine steel particles mixed with abrasive, however, in this context swarf may also be taken to include any other discarded steel objects such as rivet shanks, nails, screws and nuts, which may come in contact with coated products such as COLORBOND® prepainted steel and ZINCALUME® zinc/aluminium alloy-coated steel.

Swarf particles, if left on the surface, will corrode and cause rust stains which will detract from the finished appearance of a project. These stains are often mistaken for early deterioration of the roofing and walling itself.

The following link contains a guide for removing mild and severe staining from prepainted steel sheet and metallic coated steel sheet.
Download Technical Bulletin TB 5 - Swarf Staining

With steel building frames made from TRUECORE® steel, mortar splashes from bricklaying operations are rarely a direct cause for concern. However, TRUECORE® steel, ZINCALUME® steel and COLORBOND® steel (manufactured with a ZINCALUME® steel substrate) should not be immersed in wet cement, as rapid corrosion and degradation of the alloy structure will quickly occur. Should splashing occur, the concrete should be removed immediately before it is allowed to dry, as it then not possible to remove without damaging the product. A few small splashes are unlikely to cause significant damage to the product surface; however our warranty does not cover failure of the product in such circumstances.

Download Corrosion Technical Bulletin CTB 16 - Immersion

Yes. Thermatech® technology that is incorporated into COLORBOND® Coolmax® steel roofing performs in the same way and offers the same product benefits.

The Building Code of Australia (BCA) has classified roof colour into light and dark on the basis of their solar absorptance. The lighter complying colours qualify for a Deemed to Satisfy insulation concession. The New South Wales Building and Sustainability Index (BASIX) has also classified colour into light medium and dark on the basis of their solar absorptance. The lighter and medium colours have insulation and or roof space ventilation concessions.

For more Information see classification of COLORBOND® steel colours for BCA and NSW BASIX.

Yes, COLORBOND® Coolmax® steel is produced to AS2728.

The Total Solar Reflectance (TSR) value of COLORBOND® Coolmax® steel in WhitehavenTM is greater than COLORBOND® steel in standard colours by between 9% and 52% depending on the selected colour.