Does anyone have any (Practical) advice on what I should do to stop my shed colorbond walls rusting?
Details:
**Built around 7 years ago.
**25Km from the coast.
**Concrete slab went down first, then shed built around it.
**Filled in the gaps between the slab and wall sheets with a cement / mortar mix to prevent vermin entering. (I think this is where the issue is)
**Lined the shed with timber ply sheets and fibreglass insulation.
**Rust is random around the shed, even in parts where there is no scoria.
Is there really a magic cure available or are they all BS?
Thanks
G.
Kill Rust Paint is probably an option that I would try.
Bunnings can probably even mix up the right colour these days. Thick layers of (kill rust) paint over the rusty bits... that's probably the easiest and cheapest "band-aid" solution. Just apply more paint every 3-6 months. After a few coats, you might almost stop it.
Essentially, the Colorbond Sheets would have been cut, so those bottom edges would have effectively had exposed bare steel...
My 2 cents worth...
And maybe take the photos into Bunnings... even easier if on a Camera Phone.
Bituminous paint.... used in roof and gutter repairs.
Should be available at Bumblings..... If you can find someone to help you.... If they have to know what your talking about....If they can remember where it is on the shelf...... Good luck!!!
as a boilermaker i say cut a strip out of the entire bottom edge out with a grinder, & replace it. make sure the replacement strip is well primed and thick with bituminous paint or two part epoxy paint. try to keep a decent gap between the steel and any other surface so dirt & moisture don't collect.
or cut out a strip & substitute with timber or poly so the steel is off the ground.
rust converter, kill rust etc are a hoax in my opinion. once the cancer has started the only way to get rid of it is to cut it out. otherwise you're chasing your tail
check the compatibility of the bituminous paint with the colorbond- lots of coatings have an undesirable reaction with colorbond
Colour bond is supposed to have multiple layers of undercoat that oxidase & prevent rust but it only works when it can dry as u have added morter that plus the lime in the morter has created rust & it won't stop I instal Stratco products bulescope etc &have the same problem with my shed but they are designed with a time limit so the undercoates will not oxides after so many years as they lose there reactive powers so while what is not affected could be good for another 20 years what had will grow u could cut off & replace bottom don't let it be embedded in anything a row of bricks that the sheets sit on after cutting off cancer will save it bit u would have to treat cut ends reactive power is over well it might still be good but if u go to the trouble to cut it back it would b worthwhile
-Dampen surfaces with water,
-Spray with R10 rust converter [from auto-one type shops] bigger bottles are better, and lots more cost effective.
IIRC its non toxic, but wear gloves as it stains your skin.
-Leave for 24 hours to do its magic,
-Spray with penetrol [bunnings- in the paint section]
-After a couple of days drying, its ready for painting.
-If you buy pressure packs of penetrol, make sure you shake the cans heaps- and often while using it- or it will block nozzles.
Penetrol is also in 1 litre tins- I think you can use it in spray bottles [but havent tried it that way myself.]
Penetrol can also be mixed with paint to make it rust resistant, and spread better.
Using the above will be an almost permanent fix.
Then
-I would dig out around the shed, and pour a foundation of concrete hard up against the slab.
-Measure up the height of a couple of rows of bricks and cut the tin with a nibbler [easier than tinsnips] do not use a grinder!
-Fit flashing as you work your way along with the brickwork.
Start at back of shed, or where its out of sight- by the time you do the visible bits you will have learnt how to make it look smickoh.
Stephen
It's hopeless, rust never sleeps. next time build the shed up on piers and posts.
It's sitting right on the ground soaking up water, any fix is just a band aid.
I would cut it off with a sawzall, never heard the bit about high temps from the grinder.
Then I would apply some sort of galvanizing coating to the raw metal.
Replace the section with either some sort of synthetic deck lumber or pressure treated lumber that's rated for ground contact if available.
I would like to think I know what I'm talking about because I'm a building trades contractor.
buy a metal cuting blade (cold saw ) fit it in circular saw cost $70 from bunnings cutting with tin snips around a whole shed you will end up with rsi. Its the quickest easiest way to cut
Thanks for your ideas / recommendations.
I will implement a bit from all of you (Except changing my user name)
Probably wait till next summer and cut it out (Low temp method) and replace with synthetic board and some flashing.
It is going to be a pain to do along the fence line, I will have to do it from the inside...
Thanks fellas.
GG.
Just cut about 100mm off all the main upright supports. Sheets will drop below the gravel line.
Out of site, out of mind
of course you can use a grinder!!!! fit it with ultrathin cutting disc . no wrries
then the biuminous or the penetrol or others.
ahve a look at getting the water away from the edge of the shed as well ,
should have gone zinc alum
The advice re; "don't cut with a grinder" came from my brother years ago (plumber). I own a shed with zinc roof sheeting that's rusted along the top edge due to being cut with a grinder (by previous owner). I've also seen colorbond begin to corrode along bottom edges cut with grinders, although going by the colorbond website, the recommendation of 'cold saw' blades seem ok. The issue seems to be damage to the plastic protective coating.
Living right next to the coast, I take any rust prevention advice on board.
"When sheets need to be cut on site the most suitable technique is with nibblers or power saws with metal cutting blades (tin snips can be used although they are difficult to use on profiled sheeting). The use of cutting discs and grinding wheels is not recommended as they generate very hot particles which can damage the coating.
BlueScope Steel recommends the use of cold cutting saw with appropriate blades."
colorbond.com/why-colorbond-steel
With steel sheds that I've built (or helped friends build), I always opt for footings for the columns, then pour an infill slab. Where the slab meets the iron cladding, I've found the best product to be 10mm 'brickies' polyethylene foam strip fixed to the walls & can be used as a screeding level line. This allows a buffer between mediums and also provides a control for slab movement.