Advice on fitting 25mm Polycarbonate sheets - Updated

Hello all,

after some urgent help,

this weekend we are fitting a roofing kit from CASupply, they are 6m long sheets, and just over 1M wide.

It is the frame supported kit:
http://www.casupply.co.uk/acatalog/25mm-Polycarbonate-Roof-Kits.html
Stupidly I did not ask about how to fit it, other than what amount of support, and what kind of wood it would need.

It was delivered yesterday, and on coming to fit it, I am unable to find any installation guide

So I thought, that's ok, there will be a guide I can print off on the website - but I am failing to find one........

I have found a few installation guides for similar sheets, but the expansion gap it mentions seems to vary between 4mm and 20mm, which is a huge difference.

I wonder if anyone on here who has fitted this kit or similar could please give their input, it would really be appreciated.

Gutted at my stupidity not to speak to them to find out if there was an installation guide, and if not how to fit it, and now it is a bank holiday, by the time they are back at work, so am I, so that is not an option

Look forward to any replies,

Many thanks

Dan

http://www.casupply.co.uk/acatalog/datasheets/Marlon_ST_Guide_1.pdf
http://www.brettmartin.co.uk/roofing/polycarbonate/marlonst/index.aspx

Is there any wood up there at the moment or is it just an empty space?

Hello chaps,

thanks very much for those replies, very helpful, thankyou!

I printed out the instructions, but still have a couple of questions if any helpful soul can help...........?

We have been looking at the metal strips that run along the joists, and they come with a white plastic strip that it appears you can slide on to the bottom of it, which then sits between it and the joist.

However as we have 6m to run along, we get about 3m along and then it jams up, and we are unable to see what purpose they serve.
Does anyone know if they are critical?
I am wondeing as they are white, whethe rthey may just be cosmetic, and for when you are using them in a conservatory and want a white underside as opposed to an aluminium one?

Secondly, the plate that fits onto the josts is in a T shape, where the sheets butt up to each side, and then another T shaped PVC trip part gets hammered into the middle, and locks the sheets in place.

On the Wickes ones my girlfriends dad used on his workshop it has rubber seals, that makes it waterproof, but there seems to be nothing of the sort on this one.
Do you think we need to run sealant along the entire length of the bar on both sides?

In which case we will need to get some more tubes tomorrow, as we will need 60m worth of sealant

I have to say I was hoping to not have to use any sealant up there, as I can imagine it deteriorating over time, and causing a dreaded leak which is what this was all meant to fix in the first place.

Can anyone advise who have used these sheets before by any chance??

Would really appreciate any input.

And MW Roofline - it has metal purlings going cross ways, and we are putting in 6X2 joists running along the entire length of the aluminium T panels - we are also going to run some uprights from the existing metal purlings to the underside of the joists for added support.

I'm going to try and give them a call tomorrow, but I have a nasty feeling they will nto be open........

And just to add to my confusion - there is this on the website:

Each kit contains: - 25mm polycarbonate sheets in a choice of Clear, Bronze or Opal, With white avon glazing bars with end caps & edge beads, sheet end closures, wall flashing & fixings, eaves fillers, aluminium & vent tapes, stainless steel screws and high grade silicon.

Click to expand...

Now I ordered 5 tubes of silicon, but these were for the windows - that is all I have in my order, they have not sent anymore.

So now I wonder whether:
A: The kit does not need silicon, and maybe the silicon is just for the kits that are designed for fitting into the side of a house
B: The kit does need silicon and they have forgotten to provide it

Many thanks in advance

Dan

The white plastic strip you slide along the bottom is usually U shaped with rubbers along the tops. Its those rubbers that the poly sits on as shown here



But these are usually on self support glazing bars.

So do your glazing bars look a bit tlike these ones?

Sorry about huge pics, just did a quickie direct link



If so then you don't need to attach the whte strip, it will be cosmetic only. A bit of spit or fairy liquid will help you ease it on.

As long as you hammer the T piece down nice and tight then there won't be any need for the silicone. If a little water does get in, it will just drip into the channel and leak out the bottom.

Its up to you but personally I wouldn't bother with the silicone. But then again the decent T pieces are rubbered both sides...

Hello again,

many thanks for your reply

Yep it is not a self supporting one, and looks a lot like the second one, except for the fact that the one you have pictured appears to have some black rubber at the bottom, where as mine is just aluminium.

I was wondering if the water would just run along the channel anyway....

Thankyou for confirming my thought about the while plastic strip - I think that can be done away with, it serves no purpose ontop of a joist in a garage, just an added complication for no gain.

Unloess of course it helps it keep watertight - will have to investigate properly in the morning.

If CABP are open tomorrow that would be such a blessing, but I very much doubt they will be.

If I can't speak to them, I will just have to make a judgement call on it.

What do you thiknk the logisitcs would be of applying sealant one the roof is fitted - I can see this being a lot more tricky, as it is a 5.7 X 5m roof, oh and the degree of pitch is 5 degrees by the way.

Many thanks once again

Dan

Just aluminium with no rubber at the bottom either? they must be bog standard bars or something.

a 5 degree pitch of roof and no rubbers on both top and bottom of the glazing bars concern me a tad.

Some bars come with the rubber seperately and you feed it onto the aluminuim bar manually along a channel. I'd call them tomorrow just to make sure you have the right kit.

Alas no rubber at the bottom either

What concerns you, the potential for leakage?

I will try and call them tomorrow, trouble is if they are not open, I have to fit it tomorrow, and over the rest of the weekend, as on Friday we go on holiday for 2 weeks

Bugger. Not ideal at all.

Cheers

Dan

Yes , leakage, i'd at least want rubbers on the bottom. In that case I would buy some silicone and run a small bead along the bottom before gently laying down the sheet.

Well I tried to ring CABP this morning, and then the shop, or outlet they have, the answerphone message said they were open Saturdays, but clearly they were not

So we went for it, had to, poured over the delivery note, and nowhere is there the mention of silicone in the roofing kit, so we have gone without, and so far have 2 sheets fitted - it's raining now, so it will be apparent soon if it is going to work.

Fingers crossed.......

Dan

Cool. Good luck! As long as those bars are hammered down nice and tight i'm sure it will be fine

Thanks MW!

Worst case I will need to get up on the roof and silicone it afterwards - fingers crossed though.

Knackered after a hard days roofing, off to bed!

Dan

Any pol-carb sheets ive fitted has the black rubbers seals that fit onto the glazing bars.I have used a few different types and all have had the black rubber that fits onto the glazing bars.Im not saying yours should but if i had to give an answer id say they are supposed to be there.I would definitley look into it. Also once the sheets are fitted the plastic cap that you hammer into place to secure the sheets can be a right barsteward to remove. so make sure you know about the seals before fitting this.

There'll be a new thread in a few weeks from the OP saying I've just got back from holiday and my roofs been leaking!

freddymercurystwin said:

There'll be a new thread in a few weeks from the OP saying I've just got back from holiday and my roofs been leaking!

Click to expand...

Or the sheets have blown off somewhere