The right choice in the long run

Take a look around any Kiwi neighbourhood and you’ll see it everywhere. It’s become New Zealand homeowners’ go-to for quality, reliability and ease of installation.

We’re talking long run steel roofing, a staple material for architects, specifiers and builders alike. 

So what are the reasons behind this popularity? It’s human nature to go with the flow and, at the very least, take guidance from the choices of others. But it’s not that there aren’t other options.

John Chaplin from Christchurch-based firm Chaplin Crooks Architects has been recommending and using long run roofing for much of his career. In fact, his own home features a long run roof that’s still intact and doing its job 40 years after it was first installed.

In John Chaplin’s mind the product itself has never been in question. Its combination of lightweight construction, ease of installation and cost effectiveness makes it an all-round solution for homeowners in any region.

“Long run steel offers great, durable performance at a manageable cost. From an aesthetic point-of-view, it’s also moved on quite significantly from early days. You can pretty much choose any colour you like now and there are a wide range of profiles available as well.”

The main watch-out, as John Chaplin sees it, and this applies to almost anything in the building industry, is to keep an eye on quality control during installation on-site.

“Good roofers, and the vast majority are good, will be very particular in the way they handle and treat the product, pre-installation. It’s vital in the interests of maintaining product integrity.”

Around half of the roofs Chaplin Crooks Architects specify are constructed from long run steel.

COLORSTEEL® is perhaps the best known and most widely used brand in New Zealand within that general category.

COLORSTEEL® is highly regarded for the comprehensive warranties that sit behind the product itself. A wide range of potential performance outcomes are taken into account and New Zealand Steel steadfastly supports both its trade and general customers.

Perhaps the defining attribute of long run steel, however, is a virtue of its widespread use. Put simply, because so many tradespeople and architects have longstanding familiarity with the product and its relevant applications, there are few, if any, surprises in-store. Installation practices are almost universally understood and adhered to and, as a result unexpected snags or delays are the exception rather than the rule.

Choosing a roof is one of those “once-in-a-generation” type decisions (providing you make the right  choice at the outset). A range of factors need to be considered: cost, climate, personal preference and beyond.

Whatever decision you settle on, make it one you’ll happily be able to live with in the long run.