As an area of the South Island known for its wide-open spaces, Omarama in the Mackenzie District experiences some high winds and harsh highs and lows. When installing roofing in a rural and mountainous area such as this one, the best solutions are ones that are quick to build and allow for changes in temperatures without causing problems for workers, stock or the products being harvested.

For this busy shearing shed, COLORSTEEL Dridex ticked all these boxes. With a thin layer of absorbent fleece on the underside of the COLORSTEEL sheet, the use of traditional underlay is negated. This means the roofing can be installed quickly. It also means that in wet conditions, Dridex can absorb accumulated moisture to keep the internal space healthy for those who use it, and the stock dry within.

For building contractors FarmBuild South, getting the roofing on a building of this size as quickly as possible was paramount to the success of the build. “We found the Dridex very easy to handle and work with. With the fleece lined underside, you don’t need to use building paper, which can blow around and get damaged with the weather,” says Builder Pat McCarthy. “It saved us a lot of time and meant we could deliver a good-looking finished product without hassles.”

The Dridex roofing also enabled some cost savings in terms of the construction, when compared to the use of the usual ply or paper used for buildings of this scale. Long term, the underside fleece will not be affected by corrosion of netting and bird damage to the underlay, which often occurs with conventionally designed open buildings.

"For us, working and shearing in this shed year round in various temperatures, we find it to be a comfortable space that keeps our product and equipment clean and dry," says farmer Henry Williamson.

"The ceiling also looks a lot cleaner than some of our other farm buildings and eliminates the potential habitations of rodents and pests. We are expecting that it will stay looking good long term."

While Dridex has proven its worth across factory and commercial settings across the country, this project is testament to the benefits of the product’s use in agricultural settings, for the comfort of all creatures, fleecy and otherwise, who spend time here.