Steel Talk

Corrosion be gone with COLORBOND's new AM125 coating. The new AM125(aluminum,ainc and magnesium) coating massively extends the life of coating. AM125 introduces magnesium into the aluminium-zinc alloy coating, which improves galvanic protection by activating the aluminium. The result is more effective corrosion resistance. Next generation ZINCALUME® steel AM125 has a tougher protective coating that's more resistant to scratches and scuffs encountered during construction. SO WHY SHOULD YOU CELEBRATE? With the outstanding performance capabilities offered by the new AM125 our warranty period has been extended to an additional 5 years. The new active technology also allows for better formulated paints which last longer.

Are you interested in making your house more energy efficient, adding a beautiful and striking major design element, and never having to replace your roof again? Consider a metal roof. While the cost of a metal roof is significantly higher than a shingled roof, it will likely last a lifetime and it is practically maintenance-free. The practical advantages of a metal roof are that it makes your home safer particularly for Trinidad and Tobago's harsh weather and it can significantly cut down on your energy bills. Aesthetically, a metal roof is versatile in design to complement many architectural styles, from a century old farmhouse to a contemporary home. A few of the advantages are

Proven performance expectation of 50+ years
Beautiful styles to match any home or neighborhood
Interlocking panels for maximum wind resistance
Fire resistance Energy efficiency by keeping homes cooler
Low weight to help preserve structural integrity and life

While the benefits of metal roofing are well-known, our company takes things even further with The VARMA Advantage. Varma Advantage benefits will not be found with many competing products and will rarely, if ever, be found in one family of systems the way they are at VarmaSteel Roofing. Consider these unique benefits

Concealed fasteners for beauty and weather tightness
COLORBOND's® Paint Systems and/or Hylar of Kynar 500 coatings
Unique forming methods provide today’s most intricately designed metal roofing profiles
Wide range of colors to meet today’s home design trends
20 Year + Warranty on Corrosion
Guaranteed miniumum of 300 MPa
Guaranteed Coating class of min AM 125 for roofing and Z275 for purlin and decking material
COLORBOND’s® Thermatech® technology absorbs less heat from the sun, protecting your roof and its supporting structure from extremes in heat.
Proven manufacturer with 20+ years of experience
Product lines with 20+ years of field use
Caring Customer Support Team always available to help homeowners
Warranty transfers to all future owners with no transfer fee·
Available factory-formed custom flashings
Recycled content of up to 95%

The principal meaning is ‘a standard measure of weight or size to which objects can be compared’. In American orthography it is spelt ‘gage’. The word is pronounced as ‘geidz’ (g as in ‘get’, ei as in ‘table’, d as in ‘day’ and z as ‘si’ in ‘occasion’). In itself, a gauge is not a unit of length like an inch, a millimetre or a foot. It is a comparative standard, a defined set of sizes or thicknesses. There appear to be about 55 different gauges, including Twist Drill & Steel Wire Gauge for drill rod, English Music Wire Gauge, National Wire Gauge for steel wire, Standard Wire Gauge, Stitching Wire Gauge, Stubs Iron Wire Gauge, Warring- ton Wire Gauge, Yorkshire Wire Gauge and 28 different Birmingham Wire Gauges. All these gauges differ more or less in range, size and inclination or declination with higher gauge numbers. There are also letter gauges, using letters instead of numbers. One US gauge for sheet metal is based on the weight of the sheet, not on the thick- ness. In most cases, a higher gauge number means smaller size in terms of overall thickness.

Those fungus patches growing on your roof are unsightly and represent a huge aesthetic problem. But before we get to the good part of how to get rid of it, lets dab deeper into what causes these patches to grow. First of all, that black stuff isn’t the deadly Stachybotrys (aka Black Mold) that we all know and “love” but rather a roofing algae called Gloeocapsa magma (a blue-green algae) mixed with dirt and other contaminants from our environment. So why does it grow? Well that depends on the composition of the paint baked onto the sheet metal. Within Trinidad and Tobago most roofing manufacturers use the organic paint systems rather than the recommended synthetic systems. Anything organic as we know from biology 101 disintegrates over time (well at a faster rate than synthetic paint systems). This, combined with our warm, humid environment in Trinidad causes the organic elements in the paint systems to decompose fostering an environment for algae growth. Bright coloured roofing sheets are more susceptible to this rather than darker colours because they contain a greater level of organic materials which is used to achieve these bright colours. So What Can You Do? Well here are a few of your options

1) Before buying any roofing ask your supplier about the organic paint systems and if it complies with a recognized international regulatory standard such as AS/NZS 2728
2) If you are building a new roof ensure that the pitch of the roof is at a level to allow for proper water runoff. If the roofing area is flat, water will accumulate in that area fostering a perfect environment for the growth of roofing algae.
3) Trim the trees around your roof. Ensure that your roof isn’t in an area where leaves and dirt constantly accumulate on the roof
4) Finally, CLEAN YOUR ROOF. Like the clothes you wear or the dishes you use, your roof needs cleaning but not that often. It is recommended to clean your roof every 6 months. This prolongs the life and colour of your roof. To find our more on how to clean, refer to our installation manual or give us a call and we can help.

When making any significant investment on your home never be fooled by the word “Quality.” Challenge the supplier to prove it. Quite often we at VarmaSteel hear complaints of poor materials, the wrong gauge, the colour fading, corrosion after 2 months from materials they bought at other suppliers. The only way to cure this epidemic and yes we are calling it an epidemic is to be a good consumer. Here are a few tips when purchasing steel :

1) ASK QUESTIONS: This is your home, it is your money, so don’t make it easy for suppliers to get a hold of it. Ask questions about the quality of material. Get as much information as possible about the mechanical, physical and chemical properties of the item(s) being purchased. If the sales associated cannot answer you, ask them for someone who can before you purchase.
2) CERTIFICATES! CERTIFICATES! CERTIFICATES! This is important always ask for a mill test certificate (certificates that provide information on the properties of the item purchased) and any other material supporting their claim of quality. Though, we have caught suppliers providing forged or inconsistent certificates. This problem leads us to our next point.
3) DO YOUR OWN TESTING: If you are unsure about the material or suspicious of the certificates there are several agencies including ourselves who offer testing services. The local testing agency for Trinidad and Tobago is CARIRI. Our testing service though not as thorough as CARIRI, is a free service we offer to customers or anyone seeking to test.
4) KNOW YOUR RIGHTS: Quite often customers are unaware of their rights. Know what you can do and cannot do as a customer. Know the procedures for filing claims or pursuing a claim against a supplier. Recently, the consumer affairs division of Trinidad and Tobago together with the Bureau of Standards have launched an awareness campaign identifying the key properties in steel that buyers should look for. To find out more go on Trinidad and Tobago's government portal: http://www.ttconnect.gov.tt and research consumer affairs.

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