To fully understand how Colorbond has become an important element of roofing in Australia, one most get a glimpse of its rich history. In 1843, corrugated iron was developed. The English discovered that if a thin sheet of iron was corrugated, it would become both strong and lightweight which can be highly useful in all many of applications.
This early discovery leads to the experimentation of this corrugated iron as a roofing material due to it durability, resilience and suitability for raging climate. This materials was great when it come to stacking, hence, making transporting of the same relatively easy. In summary, it became a perfect combination for building any type of home.
Within decades, corrugated iron was being brought over to Australia where early settlers found it to be a reliable building material. to construct sturdy dwellings to protect themselves from the harsh new environment, corrugated iron was quickly adopted. The material was taken to new settlements for use in construction and in some cases was even carried by camels.
Colorbond has since then been widely accepted all over Australia and even though this effective sheets didn’t need painting, many householders preferred to add some color to it. There are many speculated reasons why the early Aussie decided to engage in painting their colorbonds but when these colors fade very quickly due to the harsh Australian weather, homeowners got into the hobbit of regular roof painting for the next hundred years.
In the early fifties, innovators began experimenting by looking into a better way of presenting Colorbond sheets for ultimate reception by home owners. This curiosity led to a development of a technology that bonded paint to a galvanized base.
John Lysaght quickly recognize the huge advantages this would have for Australian home owners want to keep the look of their Colorbond alive and made a hasty decision to bring the technology to Australia.
Over the years, Colorbond has evolved with innovative ideas being launched at this magnificent product, time and energy has been invested to make it a better roofing material for all Australian homes. In 1966 the first coil of COLORBOND® steel rolled off the painting line at Wollongong.
The uptake of this revolutionary product was fast and its popularity has only grown over the years.
Today, when most Australians think of roofing they think of COLORBOND® steel. COLORBOND® steel roofs now come in 22 colours and almost half of new homes in Australia have COLORBOND® roofs and over 80 per cent of gutters and fascia in Australia are made with COLORBOND® steel.