Clearview National November 2016 - Issue 180 | Page 53

CONSERVATORIES FROM A STRUCTURAL POINT OF VIEW »»LEADING TILED ROOF manufacturer, Supalite, is issuing all potential customers with a copy of the LABC produced ‘Viewpoint’ home-owner advice leaflet to ensure they are aware of potential dangers when buying a replacement roof for their conservatory. Operations Director for Supalite, Steve Hacking, explains: “Replacement tiled roofs for conservatories are a reasonably new product. As such, there is a limit to the amount of information available to homeowners looking to replace their existing conservatory roof with a new tiled roof and they need to be aware that there are product types in the market that do not necessarily meet all the criteria they should. “I am particularly talking about ‘wrap-over’ roofs, where an installer will simply wrap a new tiled roof over an existing conservatory roof installation. They look for all the world as good as a full replacement, but there are inherent potential faults in the installation from day one. “The original conservatory will have been designed and manufactured to carry a certain weight-loading for the roof. A ‘wrap-over’ roof installation adds to that weight and it was never designed to withstand that from a structural point of view. “Under Building Regulation guidelines, all solid replacement roofs need to be submitted for approval by the appropriate council authorities and this entails the provision of structural calculations to ensure that the new roof takes into the account the strength of the original conservatory. “To simply fit a new roof on top of an existing structure is fraught with danger and is the roof solution most likely to cause over-stressing of the existing walls and, in extreme circumstances, can lead to issues such as collapse. “It is important that suppliers, such as ourselves, help to get the message out to homeowners who are potentially considering going down this route. It is not about Supalite, it is about the consumer, and using an independent third party home-owner leaflet to provide the information gives it total credibility. “LABC has responsibility for ensuring that building regulations are met at all times with regards to replacement solid roofs and it is important we give homeowners access to the information they provide,” Steve concludes. www.labc.co.uk; www.supaliteroof.co.uk Image courtesy of Lancashire Conservatory Roofs Ltd. SUPALITE REQUIRE COMPANIES TO BECOME FABRICATORS OR APPROVED INSTALLERS Fully LABC Approved Replacement Roof System we require companies IN YOUR AREA We at Supalite are receiving an ever increasing amount of retail enquiries for replacement conservatory roofs. Therefore we are looking for companies to become SupaLite Fabricators or Approved Installers for your area. All of our SupaLite Roofs are now available with Full Building Regulation Approval why choose SupaLite WHAT WE OFFER  Retail Enquiries & Lead Generation  Marketing & Showroom Support  Training Both On & Off Site  Dedicated Customer Service  Your Own Exclusive Areas  National Advertising 01772 82 80 60 [email protected] www.supaliteroof.co.uk C L E A RV I E W-U K . C O M » N OV 2016 » 53