What Kind Of Rooflights Work Best?

Roofing Solutions

The Benefits of Installing Natural Lighting in Your Home

If you are looking for ways to add lighting to your home, you may want to consider having dome roof lights installed. These are durable lights that are installed right onto your roof, and allow natural light to enter your home from the ceilings. You can get these lights in many different shapes and sizes, and they will suit any type of property. In fact, having this type of natural lighting can actually increase the resale value of your home, because it offers so many benefits.

What are Dome Lights?

This type oflighting is installed when homeowners want additional lighting from a natural source. This is one of the best ways to get natural lighting into your home besides traditional windows. The lights are often made from various materials, with one of the most popular being polycarbonate because it is inexpensive and can resist a lot of impact. That means that the lights are going to hold up to a lot of harsh weather without becoming damaged. They are attached with special bolts that can’t be removed using the tools that most homeowners would have. This makes them pretty much burglar-proof, and you don’t have to worry about anyone being able to get inside your home by removing the dome roof light. You have the option to have a fixed dome or an opening thermoformed dome. The latter offers UV protection.

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Heating Flat Roofed Rooms

Construction

It is not often considered initially, but heating a room which has a flat roof requires a different method of heating than rooms which have space overhead.

Convection currents from the air act differently in rooms which have flat roofs. Compared to rooms which have an attic or other space which makes up the roof above, this can have a considerable difference on how heat moves through the room.

For example, a room with a flat roof, if it is well insulated, will have less room for the air to move the heat around the space, which means the heat will travel less of a distance from the heaters. The room will be very warm around the heaters, but not as much in areas further away.

Because of this flat roofed rooms need to be heated in a certain way, in order to efficiently keep entire the room warm. A different arrangement of heaters will be required compared to standard rooms.

Understanding the Basics of servicing Smoke Vents

Roofing Solutions

Smoke is a very dangerous chemical with the capacity to kill at an instant. Taking this into consideration, most modern buildings as well as architectural designs and ventilation systems have all prioritized the proper handling and disposal of smoke. In addition to the above, the general public is at the moment being sensitized on issues regarding smoke particularly the health related issues. This is being done through different forms of media including television, radio and other wide reaching commercial advertising platforms in towns and cities across the country. What’s more, there are also laws put in place to help provide a clear guide line on how to handle smoke related issues taking into consideration the fact that smoke is able to kill quick. All of this has been done with the sole intention of ensuring the safety of residents.

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The Layers Of A Flat Roof

Flat Roofing

A flat roof is not as simple as the name suggests. While the structure is relatively straight forward, the internal components consist of a layer of several different materials. The layering of the materials gives the roof its strength and insulation.

The layers consist of the following, from top to bottom:

Surface Layer: The top layer of a flat roof consists of surface protection. This consists of a specially hardened material designed for protection against the elements.

Waterproof Layer: The layer below is that of a waterproof material. Another layer added to protect against the damp and water that seeps through the surface layer.

Insulation Layer: The next layer down is the insulation layer. This is designed to keep as much heat as possible within the rooms below.

Vapour Control Layer: Designed to maintain protection from dampness as well as insulation against the air outside.

Deck: A hollow base that the roof sits on. Providing structure as well as acoustic and heating insulation.

Flat Roof Lighting V Electric Lighting

Roofing Solutions

There are two ways to go about flat roof lighting. The first option is to use electric lights inside the building. The second is to use flat roof windows, which utilises natural light to illuminate the rooms inside.

There are advantages to using either option. Electric lights are manually operated, bringing light into a room whenever it is needed. You also have the option of adding brighter or dimmer lights, which will suit different purposes for whatever the room is used for.

Roof windows are used as they use natural light, which is the most effective and energy efficient way to bring light into a room. With roof windows you also have the added ability to ventilate the room inside.

There are also different roof lighting designs available. Fixed, access windows, flat roof windows and smoke windows are all options to chose from and can each be used to suit the room inside.

Support For Flat Roofs

Flat Roofing

Flat roofs have grown tremendously in popularity throughout the UK, and we’re still catching up with other countries where they are more common place. The development of flat roofs has been plagued by a number of different issues, such as how flat roof systems aren’t supported in the same way as gable and pitched roofs.

It is often times impossible to simply replace a pitched roof or other type of roofing system with a flat roof, because buildings need to be built in such a way as to be able to support a flat roof. In order to convert a building to a flat roofed building you’d need to either reconstruct the walls to be able to bare more stress or you’d need to add support columns underneath the roof to spread the burden further.

 

Industrial Cladding – The Pros and Cons

Roofing Solutions

Industrial cladding refers to the closing of the exterior of an industrial building using metal sheet, joined to form an impregnable bonded surface. Metal cladding for industrial applications is now a typical method for enclosing a building from “top to bottom”.

Gone are the days of an industrial building being sheathed in wood or some other product, that at its time may have been the best available. As with the evolution of construction, in general, cladding for buildings has evolved with practicality, taste, ease of construction and longevity in mind.  Continue reading →

Flat Glass Roof Lights

Roofing Solutions

A window in the ceiling is a great way to let natural light flood your property. There is no better way to illuminate a room than with flat Glass Roof Lights.

Glass Roof Lights are simply windows that are placed in the ceiling, allowing for a layer of glass to fill the space between the room and the outside.

Using Glass Roof Lights in a room with a flat roof is a unique way to use the ceiling, that can only be achieved with the use of flat roofing. Make your flat roof a feature of the property.

There is no need to worry about how to get up to the ceiling to clean the windows as Glass Roof Lights are made with self-cleaning glass.

Glass Roof Lights can be a great alternative to using normal windows. Perhaps you are planning an extension or have a room in which it is impossible to install a wall window. Using a Glass Roof Light can be an option you didn’t consider.

 

Factors To consider When Looking For Construction Consultants

Roofing Solutions

Construction is generally not an easy process be it a building, road or a home; it is a process that requires expert knowledge and skill. It is because of the complexity of the whole process that it is essential to seek the services of consultants, professional builders or company. A consultant will help in ensuring that you use the right material, the right amount of money and an appropriate plan in completing your project. The role of a consultant is giving expert knowledge as far as a project is concerned. The following are factors to consider in choosing construction consultants;

 

How long has the consultant been in business?

Given the nature of construction consulting, it is easy for a small team of two or five individuals to establish a consultancy firm, create a website, develop existing relationships to land several projects and give the notion of being a well established, credible enterprise. However, building consultancy as a discipline bears a huge learning curve, a lot of assumptions and negligible margin for error. This therefore means that no more than a solid foundation of years of experience can develop success in this field. Therefore, go for consultants who have years of experience.  Continue reading →

Drainage Solutions For Flat Roofs

Flat Roofing, Roofing Solutions

On many construction projects flat roofs are used as a simple and cost saving method of roofing a build. However when installing a flat roof there are several key issues which will need to be addressed. One issue is that of drainage. During heavy rain a flat roof will collect water on top of it, so a drainage system will need to be installed in order to handle the large quantity of water which will otherwise build up on top of the roof.

A solution to this potential problem is to install a water outlet. A water outlet is simply a piping system with a filter or grate on the top of the system to prevent blockages. There are many different types of outlets in different sizes which can be fitted in different areas of the roof for optimal drainage. A system like this will prevent the roof from overflowing with water during heavy rain, avoiding structural damage to the roof.