It’s a well-known statistic that the built environment generates around 40 per cent of our global carbon emissions – a figure that the industry is working hard to reduce. With embodied carbon driving specification choices, product durability is more important than ever. Pre-finished steel can lead the way when it comes to whole-life carbon, providing design advantages, maintenance benefits and corrosion resistance.
Product Durability
Product durability is a vital part of achieving more sustainable building envelopes that deliver in-use benefits, maximising the project’s lifespan and reducing its carbon footprint. While a building is generally expected to have a long lifespan, the reality can be very different, with its location, usage and materials used all contributing to the design life. Imagine a cladding system that doesn’t even last a decade before it deteriorates and requires remedial work…
Instead, by making informed specification decisions and choosing long-lasting, high-quality solutions backed up by comprehensive test evidence, we can do our bit in helping to build the sustainable structures of the future.
Pre-finished steel
It’s easy to see why pre-finished steel has fast become one of the most popular building envelope solutions worldwide, thanks to the design advantages, maintenance benefits and corrosion resistance it can offer throughout a building’s lifecycle.
That said, it’s important to note that not all pre-finished steel products can offer the same performance levels. A key feature of pre-finished steel is the numerous layers that make up its composition, with paint layers, primers and pre-treatments all applied to the steel in an automated and carefully controlled process. It is the quality, type, thickness, consistency and application of these layers that dictate the overall durability and quality of the steel, resulting in a material that is truly robust, versatile and aesthetically pleasing.
Colorcoat HPS200 Ultra®
A product of 60 years’ evolution, Tata Steel’s Colorcoat HPS200 Ultra® pre-finished steel combines outstanding performance with exceptional durability, designed to withstand even the most demanding and aggressive environments. Its nominal, 200-micron thick structure incorporates a robust and durable topcoat and is up to four times thicker than many other options. It also utilises the Galvalloy® metallic coating, made with a special mix of 95 per cent Zinc and five per cent Aluminium. Having been installed around the world in many demanding environments, including the Middle East, South America and the Far East, Colorcoat HPS200 Ultra® surpasses the requirements of Ruv4 and RC5+ as per EN 10169:2022, proving excellent colour and gloss retention and corrosion resistance.
Furthermore, the product is chrome free, REACH compliant, and comes with the industry renowned Confidex® guarantee. This offers up to 40 years protection for industrial and commercial buildings when registered for online – the most comprehensive guarantee on the market – and is direct to the building owner, with full rectification in the event of a coating failure.
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Source: Architecture Today