Chemical Delignification in Melville

Chemical Delignification Treatment in Melville: the short version

Lignin is what makes timber rigid. Lose it and the wood still looks like wood while failing to hold anything. This treatment restores and protects the fibres that remain. Background sits on our service page.

What that means for chemical delignification treatment in Melville

Salt air is part of the exposure history on most affected roofs we assess near the water. Older stock within reach of the sea breeze is where battens most often fail to hold a fixing and the tiles above them are usually perfectly sound.

Near the river we frequently find condensation as well as leaks contributing to roof space moisture. Both matter for timber and only one of them involves the tiles.

Damp ground means slower drying after every rain event and roof timber that spends more of the year moist. That is the exposure profile behind most of the roofs we end up treating.

Near breaking surf the whole roof assembly works harder. We assess battens, fixings, valleys and flashings in one visit rather than returning for each, because in this environment they deteriorate together.

Ventilation matters here as much as the treatment. A roof space that never dries keeps working on the timber, so we look at airflow and where extraction fans discharge while we are up there.

Local conditions in Melville

Historic SWAMPY FORESHORE limited early settlement, the low, near-river/foreshore ground can carry a high water table, soft/organic soils and drainage issues on affected blocks. Establish elevation relative to the old swamp margins.

Near the Swan River (Melville Water), salt air a real-ish consideration on the northern/near-river blocks: delignification worth checking on older tiled roofs.

Early-1900s through modern, very wide era span; establish the build (heritage/character on the oldest).

Established, gentrifying, renovation/extension activity to trace.

We cover the whole of the City of Melville. Around Melville that takes in Stirling and Applecross. Short drives keep chemical delignification treatment affordable on smaller jobs and most of ours are smaller jobs.

Materials and specification

This is a patented treatment rather than a generic timber product and it is the only one of its kind in Australia. That matters because the alternative on offer is frequently a coating sprayed over degraded timber, which changes appearance and nothing else. Where treatment is not the right answer we will say so and a re-batten and relay using your existing tiles is usually the alternative rather than a full replacement.

A little about Melville

Settlement minimal until the 1890s due to isolation and the limitations of the Swampy Foreshore; growth gradual late-1800s-early-1900s (~2,000 people by 1913) Namesake suburb of the City; named after Melville Water (Swan River section, named by Stirling 1827 after Viscount Melville); Melville Park Estate 1896 None of that decides what your roof needs. It does tell us what to expect before we get the ladder out in Melville.

What the work involves

• Treat, restore and protect. The patented treatment restores and preserves the timber and guards against further chemical attack. It carries a transferable 10-year warranty, which matters if you sell
• Roof void assessment first. We get into the roof space and test the timber physically rather than looking at it, because affected battens look normal. That establishes how far it has gone and whether treatment suits your roof

What we look at first in Melville

Every Melville roof gets the same opening assessment regardless of what you rang about. Ridge and hip capping for cracked bedding and perished pointing. Valleys, cleared enough to see the crease where rust starts. Flashings at every abutment, chimney and skylight. Penetrations, including anything a solar installer added later. Gutter Replacement Perth, laps and the fascia carrying them. Then the roof space if the manhole allows it, looking at battens, sarking and any staining on the timber that shows where water has been travelling. It takes about an hour and it is what separates a quote from a guess.

Checking the quote before you sign

Ask what was actually inspected. A quote produced from the footpath, a photograph or satellite imagery is a guess, because mortar condition, valley corrosion and batten integrity determine most of the work and none can be assessed remotely. On a Melville roof that difference regularly amounts to thousands.

Getting a quote in Melville

Ring 0421 768 842 and we will look at the roof properly. You get photographs of whatever we find, a written itemised price and a straight answer about whether chemical delignification treatment is the right work for your Melville property or whether something smaller would serve you better.