It can hail quite often in Australia and not just when it’s cold. And when these hailstorms arrive, it’s often with little notice, but with plenty of punch. Some climate experts also say that hailstorm frequency will likely increase in the future because of a more unstable atmosphere caused by climate change.
So if there’s a likely increase in these weather events, what does it mean for your home? We already know that larger hailstones can make a mess of vehicle bodywork, but how will your Fielders® roof cladding stack-up when ice falls from the sky?
Luckily, the short answer is, ‘generally quite well’.
Fielders® roofing profiles are pretty tough, and the cladding will normally absorb the hailstone impact while remaining structurally sound. There could be some occasions though, under heavy conditions where the roof might sustain some indentations and loss of paint topcoat (in the case of cladding being made from COLORBOND® steel rather than ZINCALUME® steel).
In situations where a hailstorm has impacted the roof as described, it shouldn’t affect the life of the roof or cause any performance concerns. In some instances though, clashes with hail may cause problems.
With their flatter surfaces, low pitched roofs potentially face more direct impact from hail and will take harder hits, which can lead to harsher indentation. If this happens within the pans, it can result in ‘ponding’ – this is where water and dirt can gather and gradually promote corrosion.
Also, on roofs where sheet overlaps have been significantly deformed, the anti-capillary effect can be lost, and water could be drawn into the sheet lap, which could again lead to corrosion.
If either of these scenarios take place, the affected sheets should be replaced as soon as possible to ensure the life and integrity of the roof is maintained. In the case of loss of paint topcoat, this will be aesthetic only. Of course, if the appearance does bother you, the affected sheets can also be replaced, but don’t overpaint the affected areas.
Why replace the whole sheet if the paint damage is minor and only in one or two spots?
The COLORBOND® steel undergoes a curing process during manufacture, where the paint is baked onto the metallic coated steel substrate. Other paint systems such as aerosol sprays are air dried, and these paints have different weathering characteristics to oven cured. So even if the paint colours are correctly matched, the two surfaces will weather differently, so will vary in appearance.