Don’t risk it!
A high quality, made to measure conservatory roof upgrade with a proven track record is usually more expensive than ‘Clad Over’ alternatives as the differences are quite obvious:
WHAT IS A CLAD OVER ROOF?
A clad over roof is often sold as a good way to upgrade your existing conservatory roof but never includes removing the old, often decaying glazing – clad over roofs merely pickle the outdated, failing roof material! This is not a good practice as you’re permanently enclosing a material that really should be upgraded and are adding extra weight by simply adding extra layers – a risky ploy that can have a devastating outcome.
- Internal Clad Over – This is where an internal layer of insulation is fitted to the ceiling area by screwing directly into the roof beams or by attaching timber batons and then adding a finishing board (plasterboard or a PVCu sheeting)
- Internal & External Clad Over – As above but with the addition of boarding the external roof surface then fitting panels of metal sheets that resemble roof tiles
- Solid PVCu panel inserts – Existing roof glazing sheets are replaced with a 28mm plastic flat panel that is usually used to glaze door or full height windows
FACTORS TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION:
WEIGHT – Clad over roof methods can add considerably more extra weight to existing structure; frames and/ or brickwork; critical areas that maybe weren’t designed to take such in increase
STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY – Your conservatory roof would have been carefully designed to be glazed with polycarbonate or glass where snow loading and wind rating is factored in. By adding lots of extra materials to the roof and thus massively increasing its burden you’re affecting all the factory calculations that made your roof safe to sit under. Also movement can become a problem as the extra weight repositions your roof and puts strain on the roof bars.
FIRE SAFETY – Clad over roofs are rarely fire-rated as they’re often a jumble of materials put together onsite in an ad-hoc way.
BUILDING REGULATIONS – Clad over roofs often will not be Building Control compliant as in many cases they are not sufficiently thermally efficient and/ or cannot meet the necessary structural calculations.
RETURN ON YOUR INVESTMENT – If a clad over roof is not Building Control compliant then your conservatory cannot be classed as a habitable room when you come to sell the property so you will not see a true return on any investment.
WARRANTY – As clad over roofs are a recent occurrence then few suppliers have outlived any warranty they choose to offer so their methods and products often do not have a proven track record.
FIXINGS – As your conservatory roof was never designed to be cladded over roof then certain modifications will need to be made by drilling into beams/ cover caps that should really be uncompromised so the structural integrity can be affected and leaks can be easily created.
CONDENSATION – Drilling into thermally clad roof bars and breaching thermal breaks can encourage condensation so clad over roofs can be prone to damp spots or condensation.
GUARANTEE – By cladding over your conservatory roof you can void your existing guarantee so if a problem occurs then you could be faced with a repair bill or in the worst case scenario have to replace the whole roof .
WHY CHOOSE THERMOTEC
Thermotec high performance, thermally efficient roof panels are a strong yet lightweight upgrade designed to replace the conservatory roof glazing without adding any extra stresses or strains to the structure. The panels are extremely thermally efficient so in turn are Building Control complaint so rest assured you’ll seen a huge improvement in both thermal and acoustic roof efficiency.
Thermotec is extremely versatile and can bet fitted in almost any conservatory; pitch, shape, colours, glass options are almost unlimited – it works well in almost any application undoubtedly adding further structural integrity to almost any roof whilst massively improving the conservatories’ aesthetics and ergonomics
Thermotec is a true retro fit product that requires no drilling, fixing or existing roof modifications so it does not interfere or compromise the existing structure and what’s more it usually fitted in just one-day so there’s little fuss, hassle or disturbance to the home-owner.
Overnight a Thermotec conservatory roof upgrade will literally transform any underperforming/ outdated conservatory into a user-friendly room that can be use all year round whilst radically improving the overall appearance both inside and out.
Thermotec by Spire have been trading for nearly 30-years and over the last decade have carried out thousands on Thermotec installations so we can confidently guarantee our roof upgrade for 10-years but with a life expectancy of 40-years.