What Installers Need to Know About Building With Zinc

One of the world’s leaders in rolled zinc for construction is leading the way to educate North American sheet metal installers about the benefits and characteristics of working with its products. Across the United States and Canada, VMZINC® now offers a comprehensive series of instructional seminars on the use of zinc building materials and related products. Called VMZ Pro-zinc classes, they’re held in special training centers in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Mesa, Arizona, and run from one to two days long. Training at the VMZINC centers are offered at no cost, but off-site training is also available for a fee.

“First and foremost, we are all about the education of installers, with zinc as our product,” says VMZ Pro-zinc trainer Richard Thorne, who’s worked with more than 200 installers in 11 years. “Then there’s some artisan work and old European style details in the class. They’re generic but important details.”

American or European artisans with extensive experience in working with the metal are presenting the seminars. They’re trained to transfer meaningful and useful information to those already familiar with sheet metal (a working knowledge in other metals is a prerequisite for all attendees). Moreover, the seminars are offered in Spanish, French or other languages, by request.

A key goal of the program is to build lasting relationships with sheet metal workers and help them deliver value to their customers. The company has been building those kinds of relationships since 1832, when its parent company, Umicore, was established. Today, VMZINC specializes in manufacturing and marketing rolled zinc products for building envelopes and interior wall cladding.

The classes help installers develop their craft skills and provide project-specific support and education about the benefits of using zinc materials. “They gain confidence,” Thorne says. “A lot of them are not overly educated about zinc when they land their jobs, so we educate them about what they can and cannot do. They become confident about what can be done with this material.”

Each installer walks away with six key points about building with zinc:

· Patina versus corrosion and the difference between the two
· Expansion and contraction — understanding that zinc will move, so proper detailing must be implemented
· Malleability
· Interaction with other materials
· Cold-weather installation
· Handling and storage

The seminars explore one-of-a-kind installation considerations for VMZINC materials — and participation is required from all installers of VMZINC materials. For project-specific seminar instruction, Umicore Building Products will provide a mock-up, if requested, for an additional fee.

Among the current offerings are:

Introduction to Working With VMZINC
VMZ Pro-zinc hosts a one-day seminar to give an overview of working with zinc. The benefits and characteristics of zinc materials are reviewed, as are installation principles of the VMZINC pre-engineered panel system, VMZ Adeka.

VMZ Pro-zinc Module 1 – Wall Cladding
This VMZ Pro-zinc two-day seminar looks at frequently encountered installation details found with common wall systems, like corners, windows and parapets. Soldering and bending techniques are also reviewed. While many installers find some elements of traditional wall systems — whether interlocking, flat-lock or corrugated panels — to be largely self-explanatory, this seminar builds on the students’ basic knowledge to work with VMZINC more effectively and efficiently.

VMZ Pro-zinc Module 2 – Slope Roofs
This VMZ Pro-zinc two-day seminar teaches the basics of installing VMZINC roofing on roofs with a slope of 4:12 and more. The seminar focuses primarily on the Double Lock Standing Seam technique, the most common roofing application for VMZINC roofing materials. Hip, ridge, eave, head flashing, panel layout, seaming, corners, penetrations, skylight flashing, soldering and more are examined and discussed.

About Umicore and VMZINC
Umicore is the world’s leading producer of architectural zinc as a building and construction material. For more than 160 years, Umicore has been providing innovative solutions for building owners, architects and contractors. Umicore has offices and representatives worldwide. In the US, Umicore Building Products USA is based in Raleigh, North Carolina.