Polycarbonate sheeting - which one to buy?

[Wandle2]

I have a plastic roof on my extension that has gone all yellow and desperately needs replacing. It's made of the old-style, opaque polycarbonate sheeting and doesn't let much light in.
Today in Wicks I saw what looked like much superior polycarbonate sheeting, which was clear and would obviously let in more light, but there were two thicknesses - 10mm and 16mm.
Can anyone tell me which would be the best thickness, from the point of view of light, visibility and strength?
At Wickes one sheet cost £49 but it seems much cheaper buying it off the Internet. The only trouble is, knowing whether there are differences in quality and which is a good one to go for.
Can anyone advise me?
Thanks!

 

[Xenon]

16mm is probably triple wall, do you need thermal performance?

All Lexan type glazing will yellow eventually, is a glass conversion possible from a structural viewpoint?

 

[Wandle2]

Hi Lexan
Thanks so much for replying so quickly.
I thought of glass but Paul, my partner, is worried that it would be too heavy and too difficult for him to put in and he wants to do the work himself.
Our neighbour has put a glass roof on his extension and it really is lovely looking up at the trees and the sky from inside.
I was thinking that the clear type of polycarbonate would be a compromise. It doesn't matter about the thermal qualities, we just need lots of light to come in, as this extension is built across our dining room. The dining room window is an internal window, looking on to the extension, and the dining room itself is very dark.
We didn't know anything about polycarbonate sheeting and thought they were all opaque like ours, until we were in Wickes yesterday.
On looking on the Internet, though, it seems there are many thickness, some as much as 40mm, but I can't find any explanation or advice on which thicknesses are best for what uses.

 

[joe-90]

The thicker Wickes stuff is much better. I bought both once a few years ago when they had a half price offer on (Shows how much is profit). It has never yellowed in the slightest and that was about 6 years ago. Glass is better still but is a bit heavier and pricier.

 

[Wandle2]

Sorry Xenon for getting your name wrong. I wrote Lexan, which actually I hadn't heard of until I read your message, because I must have remembered it instead. ! That's the trouble with answering a post as you have not got it in front of you.
Is Lexan what polycarbonate sheets are called?

 

[Wandle2]

The thicker Wickes stuff is much better. I bought both once a few years ago when they had a half price offer on (Shows how much is profit). It has never yellowed in the slightest and that was about 6 years ago. Glass is better still but is a bit heavier and pricier.

Hi Joe
Would the 16mm Wickes sheeting be OK then? Is that the same as the one you used?

Julia

 

[Wandle2]

Hi Joe
one more question: the sheet we saw in the 16mm size was £49. What we want to know is, is the Wickes stuff the same as the polycarbonate sold over the Internet, which seems much cheaper?
Are there just one or two manufacturers churning it out?
It's worth paying the £49 if it's better quality, but not if it's the same.

 

[breezer]

we saw in the 16mm size was £49. What we want to know is, is the Wickes stuff the same as the polycarbonate sold over the Internet, .

hi, did you know you can use the

button instead of making a new post?

how will joe-90 know which stuff wickes sell and which one you are looking at on the internet?

 

[Wandle2]

HI Breezer
thanks, I didn't know about that editing technique. I must try it out.
Re the polycarb sheets, I just wondered whether there was a great difference in quality among the various makes, but I can't quite work out what the makes are !!!
I mean, are there lots of factories churning out stuff and is some much better than others?
It's easy, for example, to get feedback on makes of fridges because you can get so much information from users on the Internet, ditto cars, but this polycarbonate sheeting is not quite the same.

 

[Deluks]

All generally the same stuff. You'll be able to get the wickes stuff from builders merchants, probably a bit cheaper too, depends where you are, shop around.

If the dining room window seperates the extension from the house, (and assuming you have a door out to this extension as well), then thermal performance is probably not an issue.

If you ever heat this room then the more walls the sheeting has, the better it will be at keeping your expensive heat in.

 

[Wandle2]

All generally the same stuff. You'll be able to get the wickes stuff from builders merchants, probably a bit cheaper too, depends where you are, shop around.

Thanks Deluks, that's just what I wanted to know. We will shop around, as you suggest.

If the dining room window seperates the extension from the house, (and assuming you have a door out to this extension as well), then thermal performance is probably not an issue.

The door into the extension is from the kitchen. It's as though the extension is a bit of the garden that has been roofed over. It's ice cold in winter and boiling hot in summer!

If you ever heat this room then the more walls the sheeting has, the better it will be at keeping your expensive heat in.

It's a tiny space and we are not likely to heat it. But would the thicker sheeting also keep it cooler in summer, as well as warmer in winter?
It certainly would be good if the extreme temperatures could be modified a bit!


thanks for your help.

 

[Wandle2]

Sorry, Deluks, I did that wrong and wrote the first part of my message into the quote from you. Hope you can see it OK!
thanks for your help.

 

[breezer]

HI Breezer
thanks, I didn't know about that editing technique. I must try it out.

not today them? There is also a preview button

 

[Deluks]

A bit misleading to call it an extension, what you have is a lean-to. Whatever thickness you go for won't make much difference to temps, so don't remortgage, general purpose 10mm twinwall will be ok. How big is this lean-to? Wickes do different lengths, 2.5, 3 and 4metre.

It will stay continue to stay ice cold in the winter, and boiling in the summer, because as you say, It's a bit of garden that's been roofed over.

A greenhouse heater in the winter to slightly take the chill off, and blinds/extractor fans in the summer are your only real choices.

 

[Wandle2]

Hi Deluks
It's not really a lean to. I suppose it is really an extension in that it's solid brick, with a proper floor. The wall facing on to the garden has proper windows in it. It's just the polycarbonate roof that makes it seem like a lean to!
It's about 8 ft by 10 ft. If it had been me doing the extension, I would have extended the dining room outwards, not put a room in front of it, which is what this effectively is, but we are stuck with it now. REally, it's a question of making the best of a bad job.