Frequently Asked Questions

Dam Buster products are truly revolutionary,  high performance devices;  they have totally rewritten the book on box gutter roof drainage in Australia.  They are the only informed, sensible choice for a building project of any size that requires box gutters. 

Off-the-shelf, fully engineered Dam Buster products have been extensively tested by leading industry experts and are all simply selected based on box gutter flow rates (in litres per second). Specific technical information can be found on our website including at Technical Downloads. 

Depending on the location of installation, Dam Buster products may be either Deemed to Satisfy or require a Performance Solution, but if the latter is required, all documentation you need under the National Construction Code is available free on our website.

Precision made Dam Buster products make the whole job a dream.  They are very simple to select, extremely cost effective to buy and also really fast and easy to install.  With their highly innovative labour saving and high performance features, all our products quickly achieve full compliance anywhere in Australia including for side outlets and direction changes for box gutters.  No more audit grief! No more call backs! No more insurance claims! No more dramas! Simple and Easy. Your customers will also love you because Dam Buster products not only look great but are fully engineered to perform and will reliably protect their property even in extreme rainfall events of at least 1:100 years intensity. 

Absolutely Yes.  We've done the hard yards and all Dam Buster products achieve full conformance and compliance with the relevant NCC Performance Requirements via two methods, more details of which you can find here under Compliance.

Don't forget that "Performance Solution is also Compliance", so if a proposed installation is not (or may not be) considered Deemed to Satisfy, an appropriately prepared full Performance Solution is another fully permitted alternative pathway.

Remember: fake copies of Dam Buster products don't meet any standards, are Non-Conforming Building Products under the NCC and an automatic fail for any plumbing audit.  Fakes are complete junk, and if you buy them you have been ripped off, so just don't do it. 

Yes!  All Dam Buster products have been tested for extreme performance by leading industry hydraulic engineering experts such as Associate Professor Terry Lucke of the AHSCA Research Foundation (in the case of our rainheads) and Associate Professor Dr Robert Keller of Monash University (for all other products).   Dam Buster products are the only off the shelf box gutter drainage products on the entire Australian market which actually have been tested and certified by anybody, so they can be 100% relied on for compliance and also to work when it matters. Test Certificates and other technical downloads can be found on our website.

It depends where you are.  In Victoria, the VBA currently requires (2024) a Performance Solution for all Dam Buster product installations.  In other states and territories the situation varies, but Dam Buster products may also be considered Deemed to Satisfy via Expert Judgement as allowed in the NCC.  If there is any doubt, Performance Solution under the NCC is the easiest way to go for all our products across Australia.  You can find all of the necessary documentation for all jurisdictions in Australia on our website HERE - and it's free. There is also more information about Compliance and Conformance on our website.

Not any more!  Because Dam Buster has a totally unique system of fully tested and certified, standardized products, we have been able to hugely simplify the entire process for the installing plumber and everyone else involved.  It's basically 'plug and play' or like using Lego.  But of course you can only use our system and technical information for genuine Dam Buster products.  You can access the Performance Solution templates, including a Performance Based Design Brief and all of the required supporting technical information for our products including the Evidence of Suitability, Product Technical Statement and Installation Manual, all for free, at our Technical Downloads Page.

Definitely!  Dam Buster currently makes the ONLY fully tested, conforming, high performance and integrated range of off the shelf box gutter drainage products in Australia.  Our products comply with all required codes including the National Construction Code and AS/NZS3500.3:2021.  Unlike vastly inferior, usually cheaper and non-compliant alternatives which often used by plumbers and builders trying to cut corners either on purpose or through ignorance, our products actually work and will protect your house from flooding even in very severe storm events.  All Dam Buster products have been tested to perform in rainfall events which are at least 1 in 100 years intensity - this is the minimum performance standard for all roof drainage in Australia.  The safety and security of your home and family rely on it, so don't let anybody try and sell you anything less than Dam Buster.    

That's 100% FALSE.  All Dam Buster products fully meet all of the roof plumbing standards and codes right across Australia including AS/NZS3500.3:2021 (and all previous versions).  The method of compliance may however vary from state to state.  For Victoria, the Victorian Building Authority (VBA) has specifically advised (Fact Sheet March 2023) in relation to Dam Buster products that:  "The VBA does not endorse any specific plumbing products and is satisfied as long as the products are fit for the intended purpose & meet the relevant Performance Requirements of the NCC Volume Three."  All Dam Buster products 100% meet these performance requirements of the NCC Volume 3, PLUS they also meet all of the requirements for NCC in all other states and territories in Volumes 1 and 2. You can easily get more details about compliance with the National Construction Code on our website.

When calling up Dam Buster products by name and size, you should firstly state "NO SUBSTITIONS PERMITTED" on your drawings.  You should also follow up on site during the build to make absolutely sure what you have spent your valuable time and professional skill designing is actually constructed.  Sadly, once they've got the approved plans, far too many builders and plumbers take short cuts and either change the design without consultation, or else substitute inferior fake products which might be a few dollars cheaper.  Checking the site ensures that someone in ignorance or complete disregard, doesn't burn your very hard earned professional reputation or get you involved in a dispute that is none of your doing. 

If you aren't happy with the rainheads on your house, the very first thing you should ask your builder or plumber to supply is documentary Evidence of Suitability for the rainheads they have installed.  This is a legal requirement Australia wide under the National Construction Code.   Evidence of Suitability is provided by the product manufacturer (nor by the installer or the builder).  It shows (in writing) how the product has been tested by the maker and also more importantly, how it actually complies with the mandatory standards including AS/NZS3500.3:2021.  In most cases, no such Evidence of Suitability is available in Australia for roof drainage products like rainheads, except from Dam Buster. 

A home owner should not accept ANY rainheads for which Evidence of Suitability does not exist.  No Evidence of Suitability = Non-Conforming Building Product.  Non-Conforming Building Products are a risk and therefore prohibited from installation anywhere in Australia. 

Important: The plumber's Compliance Certificate is NOT Evidence of Suitability, nor is a Performance Solution.

You can easily find Dam Buster's very extensive Evidence of Suitability on our Technical Downloads page.

To justify visually unacceptable rainheads, home owners may also be told things like 'the regulations have changed'  - FALSE.  Quick Fact: the regulations on rainheads have not changed since at least 1998 when AS/NZS3500.3:1998 first became mandatory nation wide. If your builder or plumber tells you anything like that, sadly they are trying to mislead you and hide. 

If you are in dispute with your builder, check with an independent expert such as Metropolis Solutions or Site Inspections and seek their advice about whether your roof plumbing is compliant.  You should not pay any final instalment to the builder until you are 100% happy your entire home is up to all legal standards.  

Dam Buster products are completely revolutionary and have rewritten the book on box gutter roof drainage world wide. Nobody had ever designed products like these, so we have protected our innovative ideas using Patents and other forms of Intellectual Property in Australia and various other countries overseas.  That means nobody can copy our design features without permission. Anybody who does, deliberately or by accident, is potentially in very serious trouble.  IMPORTANT: changing the method of manufacture, means of assembly, method of sale e.g in two parts instead of one,  changing dimensions and all sorts of other 'variations' DO NOT avoid patents in any way.  Such things are a complete fantasy, even if they are Urban Folklore in the metal roofing industry.  Breach of Intellectual Property is theft and as a consequence, all breaches, including for poor imitations or partial copies will be fully pursued. 

If you are a reputable manufacturer and want to make or sell Dam Buster products under licence, please reach out to us at enquiries@dambuster.com.au 

Really easily!  All Dam Buster rainheads have a security marked metal identification plate riveted inside the base of the overflow chute.  Very cleverly, this also acts as a drip plate to stop any overflow water running under the rainhead and down the wall.  All Dam Buster sump products have a security marked metal identification plate incorporated into the internal weir device.  All Dam Buster Direction Change and Chute Lid devices have security marked identification physically cut into the products themselves.   All Dam Buster products also have a unique long life adhesive sticker inside each product; this security marked sticker also carries a range of other details including fully traceable serial number information for the product.  All of our products are also marked with a range of other discreet security features which cannot be easily identified.  Fakes have none of these features; if in doubt please ask your supplier to provide documentation to prove they are supplying genuine Dam Buster products or else please Contact Us.  Reports of any fake copies of our products should also be made immediately to Dam Buster. 

Unless the maker has a formal manufacturing licence to do so from Dam Buster, it is illegal to make copies which have any of the patent protected features of our products.  IMPORTANT: Changes in size, materials, methods of assembly, number of parts etc do not avoid the patents in any way; anybody who tells you so doesn't know what they are talking about and is definitely trying to fool you - probably so they can sell you a complete fake instead.  It is also a breach to sell, purchase, install or use an infringing copy of any patent protected product.  Intellectual Property laws in Australia are very strong and it also doesn't matter if you know about the situation or not. 

Apart from all this, under the National Construction Code (NCC), unauthorised fake copies of any building product (including roof drainage products) are automatically deemed Non-Conforming Building Products and prohibited from sale or installation anywhere in Australia.  That also means they cannot be legitimised in any way e.g by a Performance Solution or Plumbing Certificate of Compliance. 

Point of Sale laws in various states including NSW and QLD also now make it a very serious offence to be involved (knowingly or otherwise) in the "Chain of Responsibility" for any product which does not meet the strict requirements of the NCC.

If you are, or know someone who wants to make our products under a simple licence arrangement, please contact us here.

Take it straight back and get a full refund today.  Fakes cannot legally be certified as compliant in any state or territory as Deemed to Satisfy because they carry no Evidence of Suitability to satisfy the National Construction Code.  They also do not meet the requirements of the mandatory standards including AS3500.3, HB39 and HB114 and because of that they are a significant risk to the building and occupants. As a result they will automatically fail any audit. Fakes are a very serious risk to you, your business and your reputation and sadly if you have bought one, you have been ripped off.  We welcome all reports about unauthorised manufacturers and others selling potentially infringing products - please contact us here.

This is also 100% FALSE. Patents anticipate such things and strictly prohibit it.  This includes all sorts of variations such as dimensions, materials, number of components, method of assembly, who assembles it, how it is sold and so on.  If you don't believe us, speak to a suitable lawyer or patent attorney.  And don't forget that any fake copy of a Dam Buster product is 100% non-compliant and will also fail any audit by a regulator.  It's just crazy to try and copy a patented design, plus it's THEFT.  Also please ask yourself what you would do if YOU had invented and patented something and others were just copying it. 

Absolutely Not.  For pretty obvious reasons, our technical information is only able to be used for genuine Dam Buster products, not fakes.  It's also copyright to us and using it for other purposes is theft.  Please consider if you had a great idea, spent your hard earned money developing it, then patented it and wrote all the technical material for it, but someone just came along and stole it to sell fake copies of your product for their own profit.  You wouldn't cop that. Neither does Dam Buster. 

If you still aren't concerned, you need to consider that no matter what documents they might have purporting to validate them e.g a Performance Solution you or someone else has written up using some or all of our technical material (or something else) or a Plumbing Certificate of Compliance, all fake products are automatically deemed Non-Conforming Building Products under the National Construction Code.  That means they are not permitted to be installed on any building, will not pass any audit by a regulator and will also not be accepted by any Building Surveyor or Certifier anywhere in the country.  They also won't pass any check by a plumbing expert in the event of an insurance claim being made against you, and your reputation could quickly be in shreds, along with your trade licence.  Just don't do it. 

The simplest solution is just to buy genuine Dam Buster products because that way you get the very best products money can buy, plus you also get our full factory and technical support for absolutely free. 

Dam Buster stands behind all of its products and offers a comprehensive warranty. You can find it on our legal info page.

Absolutely! Just flick us the question via our contact page and we will reply to you within 1 working day.