I woke with a start.
The room was cold and pitch black. The dark, cold, ‘witching’ hours before the dawn when anxieties and fears set in when doubts assail us.
What had woken me?
Outside a storm was raging. I could hear the buffeting wind, the drenching rain. I heard the dreaded drip drip from the roof above me.
I leaned over and clicked on the light. The red numbers on the alarm blinked at me accusingly – 3:15 am. I peered up blearily with sleep addled eyes. Saw with shock the ever widening damp on the roof above me. In fact, the roof seemed to sag threateningly over me, a bulge that could erupt in any second in a torrent of water and plaster. Come crashing down on my unsuspecting head. I huddled closer to Rambo, my poor, vulnerable damp dog. We scuttled to the end of the bed, as far away as possible from the looming bulge above us.
My safe haven violated, my protection from the outside world, from the dark, from the rain, from intruders.
I felt, yes I’ll admit it; I felt scared, I felt unsafe.
My roof was apparently corroded, rusty, with holes exposing me to the cruelty of the elements?
Time for action, time to take charge, time to fix my roof. But how? How do I ensure that my family’s future will be secure again?
How do I ensure I have the best roof possible?
In the confronting daylight, I saw the problem – corrosion on my metal roof meant a replacement was necessary. After numerous phone calls and hours of intense research, I knew what I needed.
I needed roofing steel made with a high-quality protective coating that I could depend on. I needed a roof made from steel that had been pre-coated and pre-painted prior to forming to ensure a totally integral protective layer.
But how is this done?
Pacific Coilcoaters (Auckland) Limited are leading manufacturers of pre-coated steel coil. With expert skill and ability they receive high-grade steel in coil form, carefully unroll each coil and ensure that all surfaces are subjected to a thorough clean and de-grease.
Next, to ensure that the material is the best it can be for my new roof, they immediately subject the virgin steel to a corrosion resistant surface protection regime. To ensure that this treatment is effective, it is essential that all moisture be driven from the wet coating prior to final curing and chemical bonding of the paint coat.
When upgrading their plant recently, Pacific Coilcoaters engaged Jonassen Industrial Projects Limited (JIPL) to design, install and commission a highly-efficient in-line drying oven to complete this task.
The specific airflow and heat transfer approach developed by the in-house design team of JIPL and utilised in the new drying unit meets all the requirements necessary for a high quality outcome, and operates at a considerably lower temperature than the original oven. This same advanced heat transfer technology can also be applied to cooling of metal components.
The new JIPL oven also provides major savings in energy and gas usage. These savings contribute significantly to Pacific Coilcoaters on-going commitment to sustainability and continuous product and process improvement, reflected also in their reuse and recycling of scrap materials generated during production and the minimisation of water usage with on-site cooling, recirculation and recycling processes.
When thoroughly dry the pre-treated steel then receives the application of a base coat then a top colour coat chosen from over 44 ‘New Zealand specific’ ColorCote® colour options. Finally, the thoroughly dry painted steel is recoiled and supplied direct to roofing manufacturers for either press forming or roll forming into my new roofing product.
So there it is – a summary of how roofing steel is treated and how Pacific Coilcoaters and Jonassen Industrial Projects worked together with sustainable technology to ensure maximum protection for me and my family.
Does that make me (and Rambo) feel better – you bet!
My family is safe, my home protected and the world is a better place – stay warm, stay dry and sleep tight.
Another example of how JIPL takes pride in its ability to listen to their customers, applies and cross transfers technologies and ideas to provide innovative, practical and efficient engineering solutions that meet their customer’s needs.
Contact JIPL [email protected] for more information on this project or advice and help with process or product development.