Maroochydore roofing specialist Regan Projex (RPX) put the LYSAGHT LOK-KLIP® solution to the test recently on the Brightwater Market Place shopping centre site at Stockland’s newest Sunshine Coast development.

An ALDI supermarket is the anchor tenant for the shopping centre, and the new store sits below a skillion roof with an area of approximately 58 metres from top barge to the lower gutter and 65 metres from gable to gable.

Roofing requirements were based on LYSAGHT KLIP-LOK HI-STRENGTH® concealed fix COLORBOND® steel cladding in the colour Surfmist®.

“When we looked at our options” Ashley Regan, owner of RPX said. “Lysaght mentioned the possibility of using their recently developed LYSAGHT LOK-KLIP® solution for the step joint half way along the skillion roof. We were working with sheet lengths up to 29.3 metres, so thermal expansion is an issue.

“We do a lot of long length roofing, not just around the Sunshine Coast, but also at mine sites in Central Queensland. Fixing the sheets is a pretty quick process, but expansion joints take time, especially if you haven’t got a good system to use.

When roof installation time arrived, Lysaght product specialists and technical staff went to the site to brief the roofers on the correct way to use the LYSAGHT LOK-KLIP® system to create the step joint.

“Actually it’s not very complicated,” Ashley Regan said. “Our crew went cautiously at first because they hadn’t used the LOK-KLIP® system before, but after four or five sheets it was a breeze. It’s very simple.

“We had seven men on the job and four of them had never used any step joint bracket system before, so it was a good test to see how the system worked.

Fixing the LOK-KLIP® brackets to the ribs of the lower sheet only requires standard fasteners and then the weather-seal infill strips are laid which hold them in position until the upper sheet takes on that role when it is clipped to the LOK-KLIP® brackets.

Positive locking is achieved by foot pressure and confirmed by the “snap” engagement sound generated.

“You need to use your weight to get that engagement,” Ashley Regan said. “That’s probably a good thing because it gives you confidence that the LOK-KLIP® system is going to keep the sheets in place.

“The quality of the LOK-KLIP® brackets was excellent. There wasn’t one that we had to refit or throw out. They all worked fine. “The Lysaght support was excellent. Not only were they there on the day, but they also followed up a couple of days later to confirm that all went well, which it did.

“Because of the number of long length roofs we install up in Central Queensland I was very interested to see how this new system went.

“After the experience on this job I won’t have any hesitation in using the LOK-KLIP® system for future work that’s for sure. I won’t even be looking at other systems. This has worked out well and that’s what I’ll be basing my quotes on.”