Colorbond Steel Has A Standard To Follow To Insure The Best Quality 

Quality, standard or call it however you want, it matters. Especially when it comes to the security of your residential, industrial or commercial property. It definitely matters when it comes to the degree of excellence of the fencing type installed. One of those fencing types used is Colorbond steel fencing. Let’s take a look at Australian Standard AS1397, and what does that standard mean for Colorbond steel.

Colorbond steel is one of the Australia’s most beloved building materials. Be it for fencing, roofing, or anything else, but it has been around for decades and there’s a reason why. There’s a reason why it has been used by so many Australians and that reason is quality! Like with anything else really, you do buy or use a product and keep on going back to using it because you were happy with your initial experience. That’s clearly why builders, home owners and many others are going back to Colorbond steel solutions again and again.

When it comes to the warranty of Colorbond steel, then that one thing you should know, is who makes Colorbond steel. In Australia it is BlueScope. They are Australia’s largest manufacturers. If you’re a builder or an installer of Colorbond steel, then you should have received a pre-approved warranty if you met the eligibility criteria. You can take a look at BlueScope’s online Warranty Management System at www.bluescopesteel.com.au/warranties . There’s a specific warranty code you can use to create a profile and activate your warranty. If you are a home owner or a factory owner and have no idea of the code and the Colorbond steel warranty, but something has happened to your Colorbond steel fence, roof or any other Colorbond steel application, then turn to your builder or installer and they should be able to manage it for you.

Colorbond Steel standard follows Australian standard AS1397. What is AS1397 exactly? It’s the standard that specifies the requirements for continuously hot-dip metallic coated sheet steel and strip.

The Australian Standard for continuously hot-dip metallic coated sheet steel and strip (thicknesses up to and including 5.0 mm) covers the following:

1. Formability grades of steel

2. Structural grades of steel

3. Classes of zinc coating, including differential coatings

4. Classes of zinc coating converted to zinc/iron alloy

5. Classes of zinc, aluminium coatings

6. Classes of zinc, aluminium, magnesium alloy coating

7. Classes of aluminium, zinc alloy coating

8. Classes of aluminium, zinc, magnesium alloy coating

9. Surface finish.

Latest Australian Standard (2011) also updates the  AS 1397—2001 and adds 3 new coating types:

1. Zinc and aluminium (Type ZA)

2. Zinc, aluminium and magnesium (Type ZM)

3. Aluminium, zinc and magnesium (Type AM).

All Bluescope Colorbond steel is complies with Australian Standard and therefore all the Colorbond steel strips or sheets are made to have a superior outdoors performance. The standard is in place to make sure that the Colorbond steel provided has the best properties to serve you for as long as it possibly can!

You should remember that when it comes to Colorbond steel then the coating type is important and it’s A to AZ, meaning aluminium to aluminium/zinc. Coating class shows not only the type, but also the mass (weight) of coating per square metre of steel sheet. Why is that important? Because the life of a metallic coated steel sheet, in our case Colorbond steel sheet, is dependent on the thickness of the steel coating and not the thickness of the steel base itself. This is where many people could go wrong.

Australian Standard also determines the mechanical properties, and by that we mean the yield strength that indicates the mechanical properties that the steel obtained prior the hot-dip. Why is that important to know? Because yield strength shows the the point to which the steel can be stressed before it deforms. And of course the higher the yield number (expressed in megapascals) the stronger the structural strength.

It is in your best interest to make sure that the Colorbond steel you’re purchasing from a builder or installer, or fence provider, complies with Australian Standard AS 1397 because that guarantees you the best possible Colorbond steel that will service you for decades.

If you purchase Colorbond steel then it doesn’t have to comply with the Australian Standard, it’s not mandatory. Therefore before ordering be sure that your provider offers the best Colorbond steel that complies with Australian Standard.

Be smart as in a long run purchasing Colorbond steel that complies with Australian Standard can save you a lot of time and money. Making sure using the steel that has an appropriate thickness of the coating, base steel strength, and any other associated materials and of course installation, will guarantee a longer serving Colorbond application. Therefore purchasing Colorbond steel that shows Australian Standard As 1397,  you know that you’ve done your best to have the best Colorbond steel on the market.

Where can you use Colorbond steel? Below are few of them:
1. Fencing
2. Roofing
3.Guttering & Fascia
4. Garage Doors
5. Walling
6. Sheds
7. Water Tanks
8. Patios & Pergolas

If one of the above is an interest of yours then you can turn to us, Diamond Fence, as we offer Colorbond Steel fencing solutions for commercial and industrial purposes, and  of course the Colorbond steel that we offer meets the required Australian standard!

Call us on (03) 9753 4566, shoot us an email on info@diamondfence.com.au, or just get a FREE online quote. With Diamond Fence you can rest assured that your Colorbond steel fence meets the standard and will serve your commercial or industrial property for decades to come!