Some Fielders steel roof and wall cladding is designed to be pierce fixed (where a fastener penetrates the sheet, securing it to the substructure), while others are made to suit concealed fixing. This is where specially engineered clips are secured to the substructure or frame, onto which the cladding is then pushed and locked into place.
Whatever fixing is needed for your cladding, having the appropriate fasteners is vital to the long-term performance of the roof or wall – the last thing you want is to choose beautiful and durable cladding expecting it to look great year after year, only to be let down by low quality fasteners.
Fasteners come in a variety of materials, finishes and colours to match the COLORBOND® pre-painted steel material, and the particular cladding profile. When choosing fasteners, they should meet Australian Standard AS 3566:2002 Class 3 or better, to ensure they go the distance in Australia’s demanding conditions. For more extreme environments, AS 3566 Class 4 fasteners should be used, and for the most severe conditions such as near (closer than 100m) the beach, stainless steel fasteners should be chosen.
Another point to note when selecting fasteners is that they’re made from material that’s compatible with the steel in your Fielders cladding. For example, fasteners made from or containing stainless steel, lead, copper and copper containing alloys (such as MONEL) shouldn’t be used with galvanised steel, unpainted ZINCALUME® steel or any grade of COLORBOND® steel. Using these fasteners could result in a corrosive reaction.
Also be mindful that the preferred washers used with the fasteners to fix the cladding, should be made from EPDM rather than neoprene, as they offer better UV and Ozone resistance. In the case of nails used to fix the clips of some concealed-fixed cladding to the timber supports, galvanised steel should be chosen.