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COATINGSPRO MARCH 2017 69 unaffected panels may have come from a different lot or a different application period in the galvanizing process. Since these spots were considered a manufac- turing defect, it was apparent that corrosion would continue to occur. A Quick Fix? e decision now was to repaint with a thick, low-permeability coating over the roof or to opt for a total roof replacement. Negotiations were intense, and there were reasons argued for each of the options. In the end, it was decided to ask for a replacement of the roof panels. is was an expensive request, but it was within the warranty wording due to the manufacturing defect of the metal panels. e final negotiations and payment arrangements did not result in strong friendships between any of the parties in the project, but the end result was a complete replacement of the roof with the costs of replacement covered by the panel galvanizing/painting entity at the end of our involvement. Since the origin of the spots was not fully identified, the origin of the issue may have gone back to the steel supplier, resulting in their payment, but that information was not supplied. A lthough from the surface, it looked as though the coating was the actual point of failure, the inves- tigation revealed that the cause of the failure needed a more thorough examination, and that the " failure" of the paint was actually the visible consequence of imperfections in the galvanized coating. A quick repaint of the roof would have resulted in continued corrosion and failure of the roofing materials. erefore, it was a smart move by the building owner to look beyond the quick fix, which would not have solved the underlying problem, to a real solution. Key Takeaways At the end of this project, the team put the building ow ner in a troubling situation and the individual members at war w ith each other. T hese may have been avoided if ever yone was not pointing fingers and had been w illing to look at the problem w ith an objec- tive view. Yes, there was going to be some expense, but a quick fix would have wasted money, caused further damage to the interior of the building, and delayed the ultimate resolution of the problem. A lthough potentially painful, it can be seen as good customer service to gather more information before deciding on the quick answer. Having a good specification for the roofing materials in place made the comparison of testing data useful, and that information was then able to determine the ultimate cause for the failure. Make sure to read the spec at the beginning of your projects to understand the scope of your work and how it relates to others' work. ere was no way to visually deter- mine if the roofing material met the specification upon installation, but that specification saved the municipality the cost of having to pay for the roof a second time. CP Va l e r i e Sh e r bon dy i s t he tec h n ic a l m a n a ger — a n a ly t ic a l l a borator y for K TA-Tator, I nc . , a n i nde pe nde nt con su lt i ng a nd e ng i neer i ng f i r m s pec i a l i z i ng i n i n s pec t ion , con su lt i ng , a nd l a borator y ser v ices for t he protec t ive coat i ngs i ndu st r y. Work i ng more t h a n 25 ye a rs i n t he pa i nt i ndu st r y, Sher bondy h a s bee n i nvolved w it h hu nd red s of pa i nt a nd coat i ng fa i lu re i nvest i- gat ion s a nd h a s a n a ly z ed or tested hu nd red s of d i f fere nt coat i ng m ater i a l s for u se i n t he va r iou s seg me nt s of t he i ndu st r y, f rom a rc h itec t u ra l coat i ngs to i ndu st r i a l coat i ngs . For more i n for- m at ion , cont ac t : K TA-Tator, I nc . , (412) 78 8 -130 0 , w w w. k t a . com Merely recoating the metal surface was one idea that was discussed; however, the inspection revealed that this wouldn't have been sufficient to solving the underlying problems. It was determined that the spots were caused by active areas of corrosion, and spread actively due to a lack of a zinc-rich protective layer. Holey Roof Decking