Colorsteel, you have probably heard of the product. It is advertised as New Zealand's favourite roof and they are sponsors on TV3's The Block. New Zealand Steel, manufacturers of Colorsteel, state that their pre-painted steel is hard-wearing, with a baked-on paint finish designed to impede flaking, peeling and fading to deliver long-term, low maintenance performance. For residential paint finish, New Zealand Steel offer a 15 year warranty for Colorsteel.

This is our Colorsteel roof. It was manufactured in June 1999 and installed sometime after this. As the photo shows, 16 years later, there is virtually no paint remaining, it's pretty much bare iron (no, the dark patches are not dirt, they are the only remaining paint).



Full size image here



Until recently, given its poor condition, we assumed our roof was a cheap iron product with an inferior paint finish. It was only when we had a pre-paint inspection completed last month that we learned it was Colorsteel. Our roofer says this is the worst level of paint loss he has ever seen.

Initially I was relieved, New Zealand Steel have a good reputation (don't they?) and should look after a customer with faulty product? So I contacted New Zealand Steel, forwarded photos, and asked if they would consider a warranty repair for a Colorsteel roof that has clearly failed to meet their specification.

New Zealand Steel refused any assistance. They advised that, at 16 years, our Colorsteel roof falls outside the 15 year warranty period.

I explained that we had only discovered this year that Colorsteel had been installed and it is plainly obvious that the significant paint loss had began well within the warranty period (it clearly didn't just fall off in the last 12 months!). So I asked if New Zealand Steel would at least be prepared to provide some remedy for faulty product and meet just half the cost they would have been liable if we had contacted them last year?

Again, New Zealand Steel refused any assistance.

I accept that New Zealand Steel are within their rights to refuse to warranty assistance. Just as I am within my rights to use social media to highlight a company who, in my opinion, supplied inferior product and refuses to provide any customer remedy simply on the basis that they are not legally obliged to.

New Zealand Steel claim they manufacture New Zealand's favourite roof. Well, Colorsteel is definitely not my favourite roof, nor a product that I would use again or recommend to others.

Ok, got that off my chest. Now off to find a roof professional with integrity to upgrade my paintless roof.