Conservatory roof solid panels

[Gazman16]

What do you guys think to fitting white door panel in a conservatory roof?

There are quite often people coming on here saying their conservatory roof is to hot in the summer.
Ultraframe seem to have something similar in their Livin roofs (although they also add extra insulation underneath).

I know that insulated door panel wouldn't have U values as good as a DGU but for keeping the heat out it could be a cheap way to go. Leave in a couple of glass roof panes for light and change the rest.

There do seem to be some special obscure glass units on the market like this http://www.tuffxglass.co.uk/ambi-fusion.html but I would guess they are quite expensive.

 

[crank39]

Slightly off topic here gaz, we're getting a lot of claims coming through atm with these solid tiled roofs, nightmare right now, I guess there's a lot of newly formed suppliers out there that haven't got a clue, think all our engineers are going on fitting courses just to give them the heads up as the main structure is hidden unlike a standard poly or glass roof

 

[Gazman16]

Yes I think alot of company's are just banging those on without thinking about the extra weight, Building regs or planning consent needed.
I would be interested to hear some of the problems you have come across.

I saw an ad in a trade mag for the product I linked to above and from the pic in the ad I thought it was a straight solid panel replacement. Colored outside and white inside and though it was a good idea. It was only when I went on the site today that I saw it was an obscure glass unit.
Door panel would do the same thing but be cheaper, Easy to cut on site and fit, Just not as good thermally.

 

[crank39]

I've seen a system using white panels, I guess woodgrain would be available also, where the panel sits on the rafter and pushes into the ridge it's 25/35mm but the rest is 100mm, foam filled, so it's like a sheet of 100mm kingspan with a 25/35mm border, obviously made to measure.

Problems with solid roofs right now are: insufficient footings, underpinning required, missing tie bars pushing sides out, leaks around velux windows, sagging box gutters, poor plastering, and the crucial one if ever someone asks you to fit one is IT VOIDS THE WARRANTY on the existing conservatory, the roof installer needs to purchase a separate policy for his product, if he doesn't and then ceases to trade the original insurer will likely not want anything to do with the solid roof, some will even declare their policy void because the conservatory has been modified

I went to look at a leaking roof once, turned out it was mould growing on the dot and dabs on the inner walls i.e. condensation and cold spots, took photos of that as well as the whole conservatory, claim was declined because as far as the insurer was aware they'd sold a policy for an 800mm dwarf wall, white conservatory with polycarbonate roof, the one the customer had was more of an extension, had brick pillars between each frame as well as the corners, stone lintels and a proper concrete tiled roof with a roof space above the ceiling, I was unwary of this discrepancy until they rang me and asked if I'd been to the right house lol!

 

[ronniecabers]

is that the sort of thing Gazman http://www.greenspaceconservatories.co.uk/products/the-thermotec-insulated-roofing-system/ .. before you ask I don't work for them , customer told me about it after extensive research . In fact I need to price it up as the customer wants these!

How much more do things like Guardian roofs weigh than a conventienal polycarb roof? ... it does beg the question as to how many are a/ being missold as a straight swap , and b/ going to have issues if we have a lot of snow , or settling , as the corner posts probly won't be strong enough , and would have to be load bearing?

 

[Gazman16]

I think most corner posts are probably fine. Most have a 1-3 ton rating at average lengths of 1.2-1.5m. If its a floor to ceiling frame/post that rating drops quite quickly though. I think off the top of my head at 2.1m my posts drop to about a third of a ton rating.
I think the biggest problem is the footings and the rest of the window frames and as Crank mentioned lack of tiebars.