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Where there is rain, there is water...bring on the down pipes

6/29/2015

2 Comments

 
This week on stuff, I'm talking about cladding. Getting it finished, finally! It means that we are in a mad rush to finish off the outside of the building completely so we can get the scaffolding down. All that scaffolding stuff is booked out on a per week basis, and those weeks are mounting up...along with the bill. 
One outside job we haven't quite been able to work with corrugate, has been the down pipes to take all that water our roof will produce away (and into tanks). There are options in steel but they don't come in the right size for our capacity, and we because the water tank is above floor level, the down pipes need to hold water (not something that's so good in steel). So instead we're using good old PVC. Trouble is, there are a lovely range of colours available, just not black... Given the whole house is black, except for the splash of cedar, it seemed odd to suddenly have something else in the mix, and when you hold the nearest colour (ironsand) next to the black, well, it's not black, is it. Anyone say #firstworldproblems?
There is good reason that PVC drainpipes don't come in black, says Mr BuildingBoxes. Sun equals heat, equals movement in PVC, equals issues with the joins, and stability of those precious down pipes. Of course for us, given the down pipes we're talking about are on the southside, it's not really a problem, but still, no premade black PVC down pipes for us, or you.
Still, if you've paid all that money for the house to look sleek in black, you want it looking sleek and black. Solution? Mr BuildingBoxes and his spray gun. The trick to getting such an even finish, he tells me, is to go at it with long even waves of your spray gun, you're painting after all, so do it in strokes, with a steady hand and at an even distance. Don't, however, balance your newly painted drainpipes precariously and let them fall to the hard, unyielding garage floor. Because they will smash. And you will have to glue that smashed piece back in, sand the crap out of all the sealant you put in to put the puppy back together, and then paint it all over again. Just saying...

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Mr BuildingBoxes mid spray
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Samples of the colours available in PVC
2 Comments
Scott Townsend link
7/1/2015 10:24:48 am

Hi there Michael, James, Fox and Huxley,

Scott Townsend from Marley here - great to see you are utilising our Marley RP80 80mm round downpipe system and looks like a great project so far!

The other advantage with all our PVC spouting and downpipe systems when used with a water tank is that they are certified for use with the collection of drinking water (to AS/NZS 4020) and they are easy to seal/connect to any PVC stormwater pipes going into your water tank.

Just to clarify a couple of points - while we currently don't offer Black in our Marley Stratus Design Series range of coloured spouting and downpipe systems, it isn't due to expansion and contraction...just that we are new to the colour game and we want to ensure each colour is of the highest quality, finish and durability before we launch it to the market!

Darker colours will expand and contract more than light colours but this is generally not an issue with the downpipe system as it has enough allowance for the movement up and down. Unlike spouting where it can be restricted at each end by a barge board hence the need for further actions.

If our colour range doesn't suit then painting is absolutely an option but you just need to make sure you prime the spouting or downpipe first so that the paint adheres properly and you achieve a long-lasting finish. We recommend a mineral-based undercoat and two coats of 100% weatherable acrylic paint but your local paint supplier may have other options.

Apologies for the thesis but if you have any more questions i'm happy to help

Cheers,

Scott Townsend
Group Product Manager
Marley New Zealand

Reply
BuildingBoxes link
7/1/2015 01:36:45 pm

Thanks Scott,
We stand corrected and yes, the primer was key to get that black paint to stick. Thanks for dropping by and giving further instructions to readers - appreciate it! And let us know when you get your black range!

Reply



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