Hi l have a Colorbond roof 12 years old and l live 4 km from the coast, l noticed about 10% of the roof screws have some rust on them and the other 90% look OK.
What action should l take now, should l get the rusted screws replaced or get them treated for rust with a rust converter, perhaps should l get all the screws treated with rust inhibitor, would a plumber be able to do that or would l need a roof professional.
What sort of cost am l looking at?
If you feel safe walking on your roof,
This.
There are some things in life not worth risking and just paying an insured contractor to undertake
If a person can make a realistic assessment of their abilities they might be able to do it.
If you have to ask ozbargain then yes get a contractor.
The problem is they are all made in China from inferior metal.
But I doubt the screws will rust out faster than the metal roofing sheets.
Surface rust on screws is nothing to worry about
No l cannot do it myself, do all the screws need to be replaced or just the rusted ones, what sort of cost is it for an average sized house
I would not use a plumber big $$$
Have a look for a local highly rated handyman, ensure they have insurance.
If it was my house - I would replace all.
Cost = depends on who you get to undertake the job, just get a couple of quotes.
As you live relatively close to the coast, replacing these on a general schedule would be considered good maintenance practice.
I would replace all the screws, as the ones that are not yet rusting would not be far behind those that are already rusting (whilst you have someone there, get them to replace them all).
As @Carussell noted, replace them with 'new galvanised roofing screws with rubber washer'. The rubber washer separates the screw from the colorbond roofing, minimizing the chance of galvanic corrosion (the galvanised coating being zinc, and zinc being the less noble anode, which sacrifices itself to protect the colorbond steel cathode, and the surface area ratio being highly against the small anode side of the equation).
As for price, I have no idea. Just call around and get some quotes.
Shouldn't really need to replace these multiple times. If they are rusting out early, may just need class 4 fasteners instead.
Got any pics of the rust?
Maybe an MSPaint diagram instead
they already have rubber rings under them, l guess thats good as the rust wont spread to the roof.
Someone mentioned a handyman to do it, would Hire a hubby be good, l have used them before,they said they do roofing do they have insurance incase something goes wrong
Prob one of the more expensive ones being a franchise operation. At least they less likely**** to stooge you with shoddy work and leaving you on read in event of needing a remedy
Get several quotes.
Try hire a hubby, airtasker etc.
Do some rough measurements of roof, approx number of screws (buy the screws yourself), , ect and list that info on the job task.
Is your place single storey?
Top tip for metal roofs- never get on one first thing in the morning (morning dew makes them slippery AF)
Yeah get a couple of quotes, it really is an easy job.
I would recommend you sourcing and supplying the screws so you know they are using the right ones and you could even count the screws to ensure they have replaced all screws as instructed, the screws are most likely going to be 12gx50 in the color-bond color of your roof, get class 4 galvanized.
I would politely ask the contractor to please not leave any screws in the gutters if they accidentally roll down the roof
thanks anyone give a guess of what sort of cost it will be to replace the screws on an average sized 3 bedroom single story house, also l was thinking only 10% are rusted the rest look good, what about just replacing the 10% that are rusted and treating the remaining 90% that are not rusted with some rust guard paint to stop them from rusting , would that be alot cheaper
If you can see rust, then there is always more rust you can't see.
What happens when the next batch of unswapped screws go rusty in 6 months time? Are you going to pay to replace those then? It won't be cheaper to do 10% versus 100% in terms of labour time. Not to mention painting screws will not be faster - you'll need MORE time per screw than just replacing them.
It should only take a couple of hours of labour assuming there's no other issues like rivets or rusty gutters that cause complications.
Bit of rust not an issue especially if it's only 10% of them. If the rubber seals look good I'd leave them as is
Just replace affected screws, Consider using stainless steel if budget allows
Stainless next to colorbond might not be a brilliant idea depending on the interaction with the metals. You are better off having screws that rust rather than roof sheets.
Neoprene washer acts as an insulator
They'll can still touch where it goes through the sheet. Probably why only certain ones are rusted.
It does not
http://www.bluescopesteel.com.au/howto/avoid-incompatible-me…
"Stainless steel fixings and fixings containing copper should also not be used with ZINCALUME® steel or COLORBOND® steel."
so do you think its not something that will need to be done soon, l can wait a year, as if only 10% look to be rusted it must be early stages and any idea of the cost for an average house, could it be as bad as $5,000 or do you think it would be less
It depends on the amount of rust on the screws. If its just a little surface rust its no big deal. If the screws are rusting through, youll want to get them replaced before the roof blows off.
It will take a mediocre handyman a couple of hours to replace all the screws. I guess the screws themselves might be $100.
You are screwed !
Who checks their roof screws for rust!?
Even Galvanised screws can form a small amount of corrosion.
I think there was a bad batch of colourbond screws at one stage. I went to stratco and got the same size and the correct colour. I just replaced the bad ones. This was about 5 years ago. None of the good 'originals' have rusted. YMMV.
How did you determine it was 10% that are rusted?
its more like a 25% maybe more
But how did you determine that? Are you able to see some of them from a window etc? Did you extrapolate from a small sample in one spot?
l rang my plumber on the phone he said he could replace all the screws in a day for $1,000 , but that seems too cheap to me do you think $1,000 must just mean his labour and he didnt includ the cost of the screws
Ask him and find out! In any case, you could probably get it done for cheaper by using a handyman rather than a qualified plumber.
Would be amazed if it took more than half a day.
$800 sounds reasonable for a day's work. Under $200 for screws. Its not a very difficult task, but accessing the roof does add some risk.
You do realise he will just have his apprentice on your roof all day.
ANyone guess the cost of roofing screws for an average 3 bedroom house
https://www.thefastenerfactory.com.au/colorbond-roofing-scre…
1000 is many more than you will need. My place has a couple of hundred.
You could probably count a few rows and estimate many you need relativly quickly.
l got the quote he said it would take 2 guys a day and a half and cost $2,000, is that too expensive or fair price
It's fair - is GST included in that price?
Warranty? Colourbond use to have a 20 year warranty? Dont know about the screws. Did you get it installed?
The company that build my house 12 years ago went out of business so l dont know who to contact for a warranty
Replace with new galvanised roofing screws with rubber washer.
If you feel safe walking on your roof, then do it yourself.
Non slip shoes, Portable drill, Hex drive bit, bag of roofing screws (make sure they are the screws with the rubber washer pre-fitted) …go for it.