Metal Roof Replacement
Metal roof replacement or Colorbond roofing is becoming the most popular roof replacement choice for Perth homeowners. Over the last ten to fifteen years. Some of the main benefits of a metal roof include durability, anti-corrosion properties and its long-lasting and vibrant colours. There are many styles to choose from. Making sure you find the perfect roofing solution for your home has never been easier.
A question that people commonly ask with an old metal roof requiring maintenance is. “Should I just opt for roof repairs, replace the whole roof with a new colorbond. Re-roof with a zincalume or should I have my roof restored, with rust neutralizing, pressure cleaning and roof painting? It’s not an easy question to answer but we will always give you our best professional Roofing advice.
First, you must speak to a professional. Powerdrive Roofing specializes in all options for all your roofing problems. Our professional team members will give you the facts and offer you unbiased opinions. We will tell you what we would do if it were our roof. But also give you all other options and help you weigh up the pros and cons of each. Secondly, all solutions have their advantages and some disadvantages. There really isn’t a simple blanket answer that covers every scenario. It often comes down to working out which option best suits you and your individual situation.
Re-Roofing or Metal Roof Replacement:
Brief History
When a metal roof gets to the point of no return, where it is beyond reason to consider repair. Your option is a Re-Roof to either a tiled roof or a metal roof replacement. Back as late as the 19th century, all galvanized corrugated roofing sheets were manufactured using wrought iron. The galvanizing process required sheets to be dipped in molten zinc. From 1890 to around 1910 the process and manufacture methods got substantially better. Consequently, wrought iron was replaced with Mild Steel as the roofing material of choice. Galvanized Steel had a fairly limited life span and due to its oxidizing properties. If not looked after correctly it would corrode easily, not what you want as your first line of defence.
The manufacture and use of this galvanized steel product continued to be the only metal roofing material until about 1976. BHP had introduced a new coating to their product consisting of half Zinc and half Aluminum. They called this product ZINCALUME®. Galvanized steel is still produced today however ZINCALUME® is a much more widely used product. Both products are available in an oven-baked, pre-painted finish which provides for much longer-lasting durability and colour fastness.
Metal Roof Replacement Process
Removal of old roofing material
Once we have chosen your new roofing material. Including gutters, downpipes and flashings in your choice of colour, it’s time to strip the old roof. Safety railing is often a mandatory requirement before work starts. This is installed and the old sheeting and old guttering is removed from the roof in sections. Anticon will also be removed and replaced Battens will be assessed. Generally, they can stay in place even if new battens are being installed with the new roofing.
Generally, a small metal roof can be stripped and re-sheeted in one day. However, a bigger or more standard-sized roof would have to be done in two or sometimes three or more sections. We will always leave a roof watertight at the end of each day. We only strip an area we are confident we can recover the same day. A tiled roof replacement is a much more labour-intensive removal project and requires more time.
Tiled roofs require two or more days to strip tiles and ridge capping and get them in the skip bins. Even longer if the tiles are being salvaged. In which case the tiles and ridge capping are placed on pallets and taken back to our yard. Although, in general, the tiles have perished beyond their use-by date and are of no use. The tiles are thrown into a large skip along with battens, valley and any other mess leaving your home spotless.
New roofing sheets installed
Prior to installing the new roof or colorbond roof sheets. Anticon is installed, back in the day, it was up to the homeowner or installer whether it was used. Now thank goodness it is in the Australian standard and must be used when performing a metal roof replacement. Having insulation under your roofing sheets stops the build-up of condensation underneath your roof sheets. Stopping leaks into your roof space. We then lay down the insulation paper and Re-batten where necessary already for your new roofing sheets.
Making sure that we use the longest lengths practical to minimize any joins when we lay the sheets. As we mentioned earlier If the job is to be done in two sections. We make sure that the roof is left watertight at the end of the day. Offcuts or any unneeded materials considered dangerous placed in the skip provided. Tools and all items of value are the tradesmen’s responsibility. Powerdrive roofing urges them to remove them from the site each day.
If the fascia boards are to be painted. It is recommended to be completed now while the gutters are off prior to being installed.
Gutters installed
Gutters and downpipes are usually installed at this stage. Downpipes are best to run in to soak wells away from footings and foundations. If this is something that you have not had previously, we highly recommended speaking to our staff about solutions. As important as your roof is. It is not going to do you much good if it is working against the foundations of your home.
Capping and Flashing installed
Your new metal roof and gutters have been installed ahh job done, nope, not quite. The capping and flashings are still needing to be secured. These fixtures play vital roles in your roofing system, preventing water ingress. Now metal roof replacement is complete. A final roof inspection will be completed by either the owner Dean or our quality control officer. We also welcome our customers to source independent inspections prior to the final invoice. They can feel secure knowing that their roof is 100% up to if not exceeding the current Australian standards.
Please keep an eye on our Blogs as I will soon delve more into the re-roof procedure. Including the use of tie-downs etc. A lot of companies throughout Perth especially through the early 2000s were tearing off tiled roofs. Then replacing with metal roofs, but were too gung ho and there were a lot of things overlooked. Leaving many Perth homes with roofs that have the potential to become a kite with the right scenario.
