Lifetime Warranty for Zinc

elZinc have issued the only lifetime warranty available for zinc. Find out more about what it means here.

elZinc is the hugely successful manufacturer of zinc roofing and cladding products based in Spain, with whom SIG Zinc and Copper have had a unique trading relationship for many years. elZinc products are behind some of our clients’ most successful buildings such as the Alchemist in Salford Quays and the Red Zinc clad House in Blunham, Bedfordshire. This warranty is the latest in a series of innovations by the company.

What does the warranty cover?

An introduction to the warranty is set out in the Explanatory Leaflet.

elZinc have announced that they will guarantee:

• the manufacture of their range of elZinc Alkimi® surface finishes in compliance with the requirements established in standards ASTM B-69, EN 988 and EN 1179, and with elZinc ́s own specifications, for the duration of the service life of the product.
• That the surface finish of elZinc® Natural and those of the elZinc Alkimi® will not crack*, blister, peel, flake or chalk, and
• That elZinc Alkimi® finishes will not discolour or fade towards a colour that is not characteristic of, or cannot be associated with, naturally weathered or naturally weathering zinc during the service life of the product.

The warranty does not cover elZinc Rainbow or elZinc Advance products.

What does Service Life mean?

Over a very long period, water runoff gradually reduces the thickness of zinc roofing and cladding. The ‘Service Life’ of the product is deemed to be the period from installation until the zinc reaches half of its original thickness due to natural wear, for example from 0.7mm to 0.35mm.

How long does this take? elZinc have produced an estimation document which sets out the expected lifetime of correctly installed zinc roofing and cladding, according to the ISO 12944 corrosion categories of the environment in which they are installed.

Here is one of the tables from that document showing the Expected Service Life in years:

As an example, London is classified as a C3 (medium) corrosion category, due to its urban characteristics. A 0.7mm zinc panel would be expected to have a service life of a minimum of 100 years. In an industrial area or coastal area with moderate salinity (C4) the estimated service life of the same panel would reduce to a minimum of 83 years. In aggressive environments it is elZinc’s longstanding recommendation to use elZinc Rainbow® or elZinc Advance®, which have protective coatings to increase protection against corrosion.

Read the estimation document in full here, including details of the corrosion categories and caveats.

What makes this Lifetime Warranty for Zinc so special?

This Lifetime Warranty is the first of its kind in the world; normally the maximum warranty you can get on Zinc roofing and cladding is 30 years, and in exceptional circumstances, 40 years.

The company have invested heavily in cutting edge technology for the manufacture of their products, which allows them to be 100% confident about how their elZinc Alkimi® range will behave over long periods of time.

What are the conditions for a lifetime warranty for zinc?

elZinc set out the process in their explanatory leaflet. To guarantee your project, you will need to:

1. Handle and install elZinc® products in accordance with the guidelines established by elZinc® and the applicable rules and regulations.
2. Complete and sign the quality certificate attached to the guarantee within a maximum of 3 months after the installation of elZinc® This certificate includes details of the project, the client, supplier and roofing contractor; and lastly
3. Provide the documentation specified in the lifetime warranty, which include records of periodic maintenance.

There are some exclusions as you would expect. For example, the guarantee does not cover ponding of rainwater or growth of moss or algae, incorrect cleaning, misuse, vandalism or accidental damage.

Make sure that you follow good practice for design, installation and maintenance and advise your client on these exclusions, so that they are aware of how to look after their zinc roofing and cladding. We are more than happy to advise you on best practice in design, detail and installation and our installers are all FTMRC members.

If you’d like to see a copy of the lifetime warranty, please contact us for details.

Can you get a Lifetime System Warranty?

This lifetime warranty only applies to the elZinc Alkimi® material itself; the rest of the system isn’t covered by the lifetime warranty. However we can offer a system warranty alongside this lifetime material warranty.

The type of warranty we offer will depend on what products we supply for the build up. Normally SIG Zinc and Copper can offer a system warranty of 30 years to include the insulation, build-up, composite panels and accessories. We will continue to do this but if there are any claims on the elZinc Alkimi® material this will be referred to elZinc under the lifetime warranty.

More Information

Download the documents:

• elZinc Alkimi® Lifetime Warranty Explanatory Leaflet
• Service Life duration estimation of zinc roofing.
• elZinc Alkimi® Weathering Characteristics Statement

If you’d like to see the sample Warranty or would like specific advice or further information, please contact us.