Page 31 - HW April 2022

RAINWATER INNOVATIONS APLENTY
Hamilton is where Roofing Industries’ lead rainwater goods branch is located, and Paul Ross describes the facility as “an extremely innovative place”.
“If anything,” he says, “the Level 4 lockdown periods possibly freed up some time to work on new developments, however the supply situation with coil and raw materials is another matter.”
In terms of developments, he continues; “We’ve recently rebranded all our rainwater management products as Ezi-Flo gutter, downpipe and spouting systems, and we supply these in a wide range of materials and surface finishes.
“It’s also worth noting that the bends we now use in our downpipe systems don’t have the restrictions that others have. Flow through the downpipe is much more efficient, enabling cost reductions in some cases, as you can use a smaller downpipe instead of a larger one to get the required flows.”
On the gutter protection front, Paul Ross identifies one of the drawbacks of these systems is if they are permanently fixed in place, and he notes that those made from steel can present a rust issue.
“We’ve brought a system to the market called Ezi-Lok, which is both a gutter screen and a valley screen. Ezi-Lok is a very light, pre-painted aluminium screen system and it can easily be cut to lengthandsnappedintoplaceonallexistingguttersystems.
“A problem with existing systems is that seeds, mould and
moss still go through the holes in the screen and then accumulate underneath. And there’s no way to remove that build-up, short of getting a water blaster and blasting down through the holes and covering the house in grime.
“With our system, however, you just lift the screens up out of the spouting system or valleys, clean them out and snap them back into place.”
Roofing Industries has also recognised that changes in weather conditions bring with them the requirement to respond in the residential space.
“For example, our new range of half-round spouting system is getting larger, it’s aesthetically pleasing, and features internal and adjustable external brackets. The days of the rusting downpipe have gone because the zinc-aluminium-magnesium composition that we now use is quite different from steel and much more resistant to the effects of salt and corrosion.”
Are finishes also changing, like the weather? “While a few people still opt for a strong contrast, the trend is to match spouting and downpipe systems to a cladding colour to disguise them.”
Roofing Industries has also observed a trend towards very dark colours and that its traditional quarter-round spouting (now in two different sizes) with matching-colour external brackets has become“moreofanattractivearchitecturalfeature”.
And yet another product variant that Paul Ross suggests is set
rainwater management
MORE AT www.facebook.com/nzhardwarejournal
APRIL 2022 | NZHJ 29