Roofing A new age for dry fixing
Andrew Cross of Klober addresses the gap in quality and performance of dry fix systems and how a new British Standard could help specifiers navigate the growing market
W
ith housing associations and local authorities investing significant sums to ensure the long-term thermal efficiency and build quality of their properties, greater attention is being paid to
design life rather than the lowest tendered cost. By contrast, some private sector landlords have been slower to adopt such changes in the procurement process, which often means the cost of maintenance and remedial works 20 years down the line could be significant. Understandably, many consider that relying heavily on a ‘commodity
approach’ rarely leads to cost-effective results. Part of that problem stems from performance comparisons that are based purely on third party accreditation, such as that provided by the British Board of Agrément. However, even the most cursory examination of certificates can reveal quite
how marked the product variation can be. This is because few check that manufacturers of products sold on price can get away with selling them as ‘like-for-like’. Despite the saying that “there is hardly anything that someone can’t make a little worse and sell a little cheaper”, many companies are clearly prepared to let this be their primary strategy in pursuit of quick market share.
CHOICE APLENTY – BUT WATCH WHAT YOU PAY FOR The roofing sector is a case in point, with products such as dry fixing accessories being offered at increasingly lower prices as a means to compete with market-established brands. For those involved in social housing provision, roofing accessories offer
benefits out of all proportion to their cost. Dry ridge, hip and verge accessories have been used extensively for long enough to demonstrate proof of performance.
“The new standard is designed to provide a benchmark for quality and to force manufacturers to publish specific product performance data”
The use of mortar however had become increasingly problematic, to the
point where the National House Building Council and the British Standards Institution felt they had to make additional mechanical fixing mandatory. Indeed, the level of claims had reached the point where insurance underwriters thought their widespread incidence and cost had become unsustainable. While problems associated with the use of poor quality dry fixing
accessories may not appear as quickly as those related to the use of mortar, there had been instances where ‘failure’ within a fraction of the solution’s projected design life have been documented.
SETTING A STANDARD As an increasing number of new dry fixing products have been launched to the market in the past five years, the absence of a British Standard has made choice increasingly difficult for contractors. Despite being supported by little more than promises about performance, the attraction of low cost products remains irresistible for many specifiers and roofing merchants. Factors such as durability, colour retention, dimensional stability and weathertightness can
www.housingmmonline.co.uk | HMM September 2017 | 43
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