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several years ago there was a home on the cover of FH that featured a roofing matial that rusts. it is also used for many other applications, but i need to know where to find flat sheets. as i understand it is fairly popular in the pacific northwest. I would be greatful if anyone could supply any information.
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It's called "Cor-ten" if I remember correctly. Supposidly it was supposed to rust till it formed a natural oxidation barrier. Last word I heard, though, it keeps rusting...
The runoff will also stain stuff, and clothing, if you brush up against it. Not good from a liability standpoint.
I'd prefer a Galvalume surface, prepainted with Kynar if you need color.
There are some links to Sweets files and other architectural databanks on my webpage if you need to look up Corten.
Gary Wheeler, AIA
http://home.att.net/~g.wheeler
*Yes it is called Cor-Ten. Mainly used for water tankers and underwater fabrications. I can't comment as to who makes it for roofing. I can tell you that it will always be rusty, though the base material actually takes tens of years to corrode away.Philosophically, I'd rather install a material that is painted and treated to prevent corrosion, than one that does it at a slow, steady rate. I guess what's the lifespan of the building?-Rob
*A local university built a parking deck using that steel.When I attended that university back in the very early '80's there was a major repair project under way on the Deck.We were told Core Ten was the culprit.Stephen
*Although, Corten steel is still used in some applications, it is no longer manufactured as roofing, because of repeated problems with improper installation.
*Mike,You were kind enough to respond to my question about copper/brass/bronze kitchen countertop, so let me reply to yours about Cor-ten steel in general, though I don't know about the roofing in particular.About 20-30 years ago, Cor-ten structural steel was very in fad. It was supposed to oxidize to a protective coating which had an attractive rust-colored patina. It didn't need maintenance, since the oxidation stopped at the surface, like aluminum or lead or copper.There turned out to be one slight problem: it makes a bloody mess that never stops. The "protective" film ain't so protective after all, but sloughs in a dark red-brown stain which concrete absorbs beautifully; it comes off on your hands; it does no good to clean uup the mess because it all just comes back.So Cor-ten went to join that great debris box in the sky, along with greenboard behind tile,polybutylene water piping, copper-in-concrete floor heating systems,galvanized nails in unpainted redwood and cedar siding, and other swell ideas that just didn't quite work out. Obviously, my swell idea about copper countertops may turn out to be in the same category.
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several years ago there was a home on the cover of FH that featured a roofing matial that rusts. it is also used for many other applications, but i need to know where to find flat sheets. as i understand it is fairly popular in the pacific northwest. I would be greatful if anyone could supply any information.