Structural, Tilt-Up & Fire-Rating Coatings

Structural steel

Steelwork fails by corroding, and corrosion rarely announces itself — it starts as surface rust, becomes scale, and eventually eats section thickness away. Coating is the control, and the control only works if the preparation is right.

What we do:

• Assess the condition — rust grade, scale, pitting, remaining section
• Prepare by abrasive blasting or hand and power tool cleaning to the standard the coating system requires
• Coat with a primer, intermediate and finish coat system specified for the exposure and the environment
• Document the system, the products, the dry film thickness achieved and the date, for your building file

Tilt-up panel exteriors

Tilt-up is the default construction for warehouses and industrial buildings across most of Victoria, and it has three recurring problems:

1. Failed panel joint sealant. The single biggest cause of water ingress and the first thing we check.
2. Rust staining from fixings and embeds.
3. Coating breakdown from UV exposure and chalking, usually worst on the sunny elevations.

We seal, repair and coat the whole elevation so it is one consistent system rather than three trades visiting separately.

Fire-rating and intumescent coatings

Where steel is required to have a fire resistance, an intumescent coating forms part of that assembly. This is a specified, documented system — product, dry film thickness, surface preparation standard and application records.

We will give you the paperwork. Application records and product data matter when a building is sold, insured or audited.

Environment matters

Coating specification is not a one-size answer. The same steel in Docklands, in Geelong's industrial estate and in regional Victoria is in three different environments, and the correct system changes with it. Salt-laden coastal air is the most aggressive; a sheltered inland shed is close to mild.