It's sometimes thought that stone-coated steel panel roofs are hard to walk on and that when you do walk on them, they could be damaged in the process. This is not the case with our modern Tilcor Craftsman Shake roofing profile, as it's substantially stronger than the older style profiles. In fact, it has even better "walkability" than most long run iron roofs.

In this blog, we explain that when you use Tilcor Craftsman Shake roofing you're using a strong, practical product that has passed independent point load testing, with impressive results.

Want to learn more about Tilcor's performance in independent testing? See more here. 

THE FOCUS OF THE INDEPENDENT TESTS

In order to prove the strength of Tilcor Craftsman Shake roofing and determine its resilience when being walked on, independent tests were conducted. The Craftsman Shake profile produced remarkable results, displaying that it can be used with confidence and does not fall into the same category as some of the older, less advanced, metal panel roofs.

The point load testing was carried out at New Zealand Metal Roofing Manufacturers' testing facility under the supervision of engineers, independent of Tilcor.

The testing was undertaken to assess the concentrated load bearing performance of the stone-coated steel roofing panel when installed on a roof structure - this was to see how it would perform if roof access was required for maintenance, and walkways were not provided.

Another purpose of the testing was to determine the load required to produce product failure, described as unacceptable residual displacement. Failure was produced by increasing the concentrated load on to the stone-coated steel panel until it became distorted and not able to deflect back to its original state.

OUTCOME OF THE TESTS

Our Craftsman Shake profile passed an impressive 286-pound point load test. The panels were tested by applying a concentrated (point) load in three positions on the panel, which were released after one minute. The displacement was measured under the load and the residual displacement was measured one minute after the load was removed.

The results tell us that our Craftsman Shake panel can handle approximately 286 pounds of load on any part of the stone-coated steel panel, which could be thought of as approximately the same as the foot pressure of a large man. This means that walking can be on any part of the roof, not just over the battens or purlins.

WALKABILITY

It is important that you can trust that your roof can resist pressure and can confidently be walked on. By using Craftsman Shake profile you know that future maintenance can be carried out without concern of causing damage, and in the case of a new roof, there is no fear of a member of an additional trade damaging your roof (plumbers, or aerial installers, for example) before construction is finished.

COMPARED TO OTHER ROOFING MATERIALS

• Concrete- Walking in the wrong place on a concrete roof could crack panels, which could lead to a leak in your roof.
• Long-run iron- Walking between the purlins (the support timber which is generally 900mm apart) on a long run iron roof can lead to denting. When you dent a long run iron roof, it is difficult to repair as it generally requires a large section of iron to be replaced.

The worst-case scenario if a stone-coated steel roof panel is dented is the need to replace a single small panel, which is comparatively easy, and as it would never leak, replacing it would be purely for aesthetic reasons.

Want to work with Tilcor's superior roofing products? Learn all you need to know in our brand new guide.