TitanZinc - An Introduction

Zinc has been used as a roofing and cladding material for centuries. Traditionally it has had a strong presence in European countries where it has been the roofing material of choice for some of Europe’s most classic buildings. Over time Zinc develops an attractive grey carbonate patina which acts to protect the surface from corrosion.

Modern technology allows us to reproduce this natural process in a “pre-weathered" Zinc Titanium alloy, avoiding the need to wait years for the natural patina to develop. Modern Zinc is alloyed with tiny quantities of Titanium, Copper and Aluminium resulting in a malleable material that can be readily formed into complex architectural shapes for todays building designs.

TitanZinc has a smooth slightly grained surface finish which is the result of a chemical process that accelerates the formation of Zinc’s beautiful grey patina. This attractive neutral finish blends effortlessly with a variety of commonly used architectural surfaces. 

Benefits of TitanZinc

Long service life if correctly specified and implemented.

Excellent formability if fabricated above the minimum recommended field temperature of 9°C.

Aesthetically pleasing – Beautiful grey patina.

Versatility – Can be easily formed into a variety of products.

Fire Safe – Will not melt, burn or release toxic gases in a house fire.

100% Fully recyclable. TitanZinc has a recycling rate higher than most industrial metals.

Corrosion Resistance in New Zealand Conditions

IMPORTANT !  -  PLEASE READ

Titanium Zinc products have proven  to be a long lasting and corrosion resistant architectural roofing and cladding solution in many applications all over the world. When specifying our TitanZinc products for use in New Zealand we recommend that the following matters should be considered at the design stage of a project :-

• TitanZinc roofing or cladding applications in parts of New Zealand can be unforgiving to designs that do not offer adequate ventilation and drainage in the cavity behind the metal. In areas of New Zealand that experience high humidity with high temperature variability, failure to address this correctly can lead to issues with pitting corrosion. Many of today's highly insulated building designs serve to exacerbate the moisture build up in the cavities created behind roofing & cladding materials. 
• TitanZinc structures or parts of structures unwashed by regular rain in heavy salt spray environments can be affected by unsightly white Zinc chloride staining. It is recommended to manually apply fresh water to these areas regularly to wash off the Zinc chloride before the staining becomes permanent.
• TitanZinc products must be protected from direct, or in some cases even indirect contact with, and must not receive water run off, from certain other materials. See material compatibility section below.
• TitanZinc products used for roofing & cladding applications should be installed with an approved ventilation underlay product such as EnkaVent to provide a ventilation and drainage plane across the underside of the metal cladding. This will help alleviate the problem of moisture build up on the back surface of the metal, but is no substitute for designing adequate ventilation into the roofing structure from the outset. Failure to protect TitanZinc products this way will expose the metal to the risk of pitting corrosion from within the building cavity. 

Care should be taken when specifying our TitanZinc products for use in many of New Zealand’s severe corrosion zones or high salt spray coastal marine environments. We believe that our TitanZinc products are an excellent choice for a variety of interior and exterior cladding solutions if the design and implementation of the project takes the above recommendations and applies them correctly in a “New Zealand” context.

We can offer alternative roofing and cladding solutions such as TCS II Satin (Similar naturally weathering grey patina as Zinc or Lead), or Copper for use in corrosive or high salt spray areas, as either will react to these conditions in an aesthetically pleasing way. These alternative products also have a greater tolerance to the humid conditions that can develop within the cavities in todays buildings. Correctly applied, they do not normally exhibit the same sensitivity to the various other dissimilar elements that share those cavities with the underside of our roofing and cladding materials.

Material Compatibility

TitanZinc should not come into contact with or receive water runoff from the following :-

METALS : Copper or it’s alloys / Steel / Iron / Chromium or any more “noble” metal on the periodic table of elements.

TIMBERS or LAMINATED TIMBERS (Plywood) with a high acid pH factor or that have been chemically treated with material intended to retard fire in such materials, or ACQ (Alkaline Copper Quaternary) or CCA (Chromated Copper Arsenate) treated timber.

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