Guidelines for Maintaining Your LYSAGHT® Roofing and Walling

This page provides some basic information on recommended maintenance of LYSAGHT® roofing.

1. Access & Safety issues

When maintaining the roof, care should be taken not to damage the surface of the cladding, gutters and flashings.

• Soft protection should be placed on any equipment used to provide access, where it impacts on the roof cladding.
• Some roofs (ie patios and verandahs) are not designed for foot traffic, and these roofs should not be walked on.
• In high traffic areas of the roof, protection of the cladding with a proprietary roofing system, such as LYSAGHT ROOFTRAK® is recommended.
• When walking on unprotected roofing, soft soled shoes should be worn, and walking on at least two ribs, as close to supports as possible is recommended. Point heel and toe loads should be avoided.
• Avoid dragging any hard materials across the surface of the cladding, as this may result in scratching.

All relevant OH&S requirements, as well as statuatory and regulatory body requirements should be adhered to when accessing the roof, to ensure a safe working environment.

2. Maintenance Requirements & Frequency

Maintenance should be carried out at least every four months, preferably including the end of autumn and end of spring. In the case of extreme events (storm, tempest or other "Acts of God"), inspection should be carried out and abnormal maintenance carried out as required.

Details on maintenance for the cladding, gutters and flashings are shown in the sections below.

Gutters and Roofing

(includes internal roof box gutters, eave gutters and any other gutter situations, and all cladding not covered by any of the other specific areas of this document)

Twigs, dust, leaves and fungal matter (debris) should be removed using the following recommended procedure, taking care to ensure no damage occurs to the gutter during debris removal.

• Sweep debris into a pile using a stiff, soft bristled brush (shovels or hard tools should not be used).
• Place debris into a receptacle and lower to the ground.
• The whole roof and gutter should then be washed down with a hose, including high ends of gutters possibly protected by overhangs, rain heads, water spouts and overflow locations.
• If significant fungal growths are found they should be identified and removed in accordance with the BlueScope Steel - Technical Bulletins TB-27 "Identification of Fungus in the Field and Recommendations for its Removal".
• Any metallic staining should be investigated to determine whether the cause is from a metallic deposit on the surface, or from the breakdown of the coating. Metallic deposits on the surface should be completely removed immediately. Breakdowns in the coating would generally result from poor maintenance techniques and scratching and can be restored as deemed necessary in accordance with BlueScope Steel - Technical Bulletins TB-2 "Overpainting and Restoration of COLORBOND® steel Sheet" and BlueScope Steel - "Painting Zinc-Coated or ZINCALUME® steel Sheet".
• Stubborn stains and dirt not removed in the hosing can be removed in accordance with BlueScope Steel - Technical Bulletins TB-4, "Maintenance of COLORBOND® steel Roofing". The application of soaps and detergents are detailed in this document.

Downpipes

(includes the whole stormwater pipe disposal system from the gutter to the street water table)

• Downpipes made from BlueScope Steel products should be cleaned using a pressure water hose directed down each of the downpipes.
• The hose should then be fed into the pipe from the inlet down to the outlet, to ensure there are no obstructions. Constrictions in the downpipe system may make it necessary to access the pipe from inspection points downstream of the downpipe inlet location. Any noted blockages should be removed immediately, to avoid water back-up in the gutters.

Penetrations, Flashings & Cappings, Joints, Platforms & Walkways and Unwashed Areas

(includes; all penetrations, flashings and all general ridge, valley, barge and fascia cappings including flashings; all joints that occur in the installed roof cladding; all cladding mounted access walkways, ie LYSAGHT ROOFTRAK®, and elevated platforms supported on frames that penetrate the cladding; and all areas of the external cladding that are sheltered from rain washing, eg under eaves, underside of exposed gutters, exterior ceilings, upper sections of walls and doors partially protected by overhangs)

• Build-up of debris or organic matter (debris) should be completely removed, using a stiff bristled soft brush to sweep the debris into a receptacle and remove from the roof. No hard tools should be used.
• The area should then be washed down with a pressure hose. Care should be taken to ensure that debris is not lodged between sheets or the sheeting and flashing and that water from the pressure hose is not driven into the building.
• Stubborn stains and dirt not removed in the hosing can be removed in accordance with BlueScope Steel - Technical Bulletins TB-4, "Maintenance of COLORBOND® steel Roofing". The application of soaps and detergents are detailed in this document.
• All unwashed areas are to be effectively hand washed using a pressure hose.

Fasteners

(applies to all fasteners, including washers, used in the fixing of the cladding material to the supporting structure)

• All deteriorated washers and fasteners are to be removed and replaced. Replacement fasteners and washers are to be placed in accordance with the recommendations of Chapter 3, of the LYSAGHT® Roofing and Walling Manual: Install LYSAGHT® Steel Roofing & Walling current at the time of installation.

For more details on recommendations for inspection and maintenance Download LYSAGHT® Maintenance Manual for Roofing & Rainwater Goods (260 KB)