Page 12 - Buyers Guide - Tiled Conservatory roofs November 2018.cdr

Check your window and door frames:
Essentially, the weight of your new Tiled or Solid Conservatory Roof will
be dispersed through a ring beam which will be installed around the top
of your existing windows and doors. Your existing windows and doors
will need to have internal strengthening to support the weight of the
new roof. You can check out if your windows and doors are reinforced with
either box aluminium or galvanised steel supports, by using a ‘stud finder’
or simple metal detecting device. If you have a smartphone, you can also
download a free app which effectively turns your phone into a mini metal
detector and allow you to check your existing window and door frames
for the required reinforcement. Just search for ‘Metal Detector or
Stud Finder’ in your app store.

If your windows do not have any reinforcement, many of the top Tiled and Solid Conservatory Roof
manufacturers also have the option to install reinforced roof supports that effectively support the
ring beam and sit on the dwarf wall, thereby eliminating any stress on the existing frames.

Check the pitch of your existing roof
Almost all of the tiles and slates currently on the market require a pitch of at least 12.5 degrees to

effectively work. Now, although the vast majority of existing structures have a pitch of 12.5 degrees or
greater, if you have a lean to conservatory (especially on a bungalow), or an existing roof that has a
very low pitch, you will have to consider a roof redesign tin order to have a Solid or Tiled Conservatory
Roof installed. A roof redesign is almost certainly an option in most cases of an existing low pitched
roof, but will increase the costs and may require extra materials and work including box gutter installation.

If you have a smartphone, free apps are available which allow you to check the pitch of your existing
roof if you are in any doubt.

Check for access
A Solid or Tiled Conservatory Roof generally arrives with as a large amount of new roofing bars or

roofing timber along with pallets loads of insulation material and roof tiles. The installers will need to
have access to get these materials to the vicinity of your conservatory. Check that there is a way of
delivering these materials to the required location and also a way of removing the rubbish and debris
that will generated with the removal of your old roof. Worst case scenario, is this will be through your
home!, but something to consider as part of your project preparation.

Also of great importance, is check the access to all sides of your conservatory. Installers will need to
work on every side of your current structure, especially with the finishing touches of new fascias and
guttering. Would you need to get permission from your neighbour if there is limited access on a
particular side of your conservatory. Again, something to consider early on, to ensure a smooth and
successfully completed project.

3 Consider natural light.

Converting your current roof to a Solid or Tiled Conservatory Roof, will almost certainly have an effect on
the amount of natural light coming into your room. Polycarbonate or glass roofs, let a certain amount of
natural light not only into your conservatory, but also into any adjoining rooms. It is important to consider
what effect reducing this light may have on these areas. Although most conservatories benefit from a
good number of windows and doors, which provide for more natural light coming into the rooms than in
other living areas, you may definitely want to consider including roof windows (e.g. Velux) into your
project detail. As a rule of thumb, if you measure the height of your current windows and times this
measurement by 2, this is how far natural light will reach through vertical windows or doors. With Roof
Windows, this increases by 3 fold. The benefits of a Solid or Tiled Conservatory Roofs in terms of
temperature control and making the room useable are overwhelming, however, the benefits of
maintaining natural light with Roof Windows are never to be dismissed lightly. (editor apologises for the pun)
In a conservatory roof conversion it is recommended that your Roof Windows should take up an area

equal to 15-20% of the room’s floor space to bring in the right amount of natural light. For instance,
a conservatory with 20m2 of floor space would greatly benefit from four medium Roof Windows.