Waterproofing membranes: a new world of colour

13 June 2018

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Waterproofing membranes have generally been designed for low-slope roofs that were mostly unseen, and as such, the colours available have been limited. That’s becoming less of a reality as we build on more complex sites and in higher density around cities, and colour now plays a central role. We had a chat to Viking Roofspec about a new colour offering in waterproofing membranes.

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Predominantly, waterproofing membranes have only been available in white, black or grey, and those tones have serviced the New Zealand waterproofing industry for half a century.

But times are changing: we’re building on more complex sites, and in higher density, in and around our cities. More low-slope roofs are becoming visual and in many cases, being used as a key feature of a building’s design.

And it’s in this context that colour becomes important, whether it be that the building needs to blend in with its surrounds, or simply that an element of interest is required.

“We often come across homes, especially in more rural locations, where the neighbour’s elevated home looks down from the hills onto the roof,” Viking Roofspec’s Brendon Sutton says.

“It’s in these situations, black can look coarse, or the harsh glare from a stark white roof for example, can be deemed ‘unneighbourly’. Some councils even require a building’s cladding materials (including the roof) to have LRVs (light reflective values) of no more than 40% in order to minimise ‘visual pollution’ caused by glare. Additionally, it’s great to have the option of some earthy colours that will blend in with natural surroundings better than the classical black, grey or white.”

The same can be said for urban environments where higher density invariably means low-slope roofs become visible to neighbouring properties.

And so it is in this contemporary environment that Viking Roofspec developed and released a new colour range in its Enviroclad roofing membrane. “The new colour palette offers a range of earthier tones,” Brendon says.

Comprising four new colours: mansard brown, rock brown, patina green and slate grey, the options open up a vast set of design possibilities to blend in with the environment, or add an element of interest to a rooftop.

“The Enviroclad membranes of all shades are frequently installed on homes and buildings near the ocean because they deal comfortably with extreme climatic conditions; especially salt spray, that corrode some other roofing materials. But these are also often the areas where a desire to blend in with the surroundings is important, which the new colour range allows.”

Because of New Zealand’s higher than average UV exposure, the question of colour integrity is one that is commonly raised in terms of materials such as these. In order to ensure the new colours would perform well in our unique but harsh climatic conditions, they were all vigorously tested in the United States.

“Xenon-arc testing determines the ability of construction materials to deal with harsh UV exposure,” Brendon says. “Each of these colours has been specifically tested to ensure they can handle New Zealand’s vicious UV levels, which are the highest on the planet.”

Viking Roofspec provides a 20-year product warranty across its Enviroclad range.

Enviroclad membranes come in sheet form and are designed for waterproofing low-slope roofs and under floating decks. They are made with a material called TPO (thermo-plastic polyolefin) and can be installed over a ply, concrete, fibre cement board, or rigid insulation panel (warm roof) substrate. They are available throughout New Zealand from a network of Approved Applicator companies; all of whom have completed Viking

Roofspec’s stringent three-staged licensing programme, to ensure the product is installed to specification and to the highest standards.

If you’re looking to introduce an element of interest in your project, or want to ensure your project has a minimal visual impact on its surrounds, get in touch with Viking Roofspec on ArchiPro here to discover the latest colour range.