|
Resumo da Biografia
|
Whether you have ever considered installing fibreglass roofs on your property, garage or shed before, or whether it's not something you've even thought about, this summer it would be a wise idea to think about the idea of GRP roofing very seriously, especially after the winter weather we've enjoyed for so many months.
Have you ever looked out of an upstairs window onto one of your flat roofs? Perhaps you have a porch with a flat roof, a shed or garage, a kitchen extension or even a second floor extension. If these are not fibreglass flat roofs then there is a very high probability that during the course of the winter they will have become partly damaged.
At first the damage may be hardly noticeable, and a quick glance may reveal nothing extraordinary that warrants your attention. But unfortunately this is very often the case, and it is only at the point where damage to roofs has become so severe that your home is at risk that the damage becomes easily noticeable.
It is for this reason that spending a few minutes now, as the weather is drying out and becoming more pleasant, checking your flat roofs for telltale signs of wear, tear and damage could save you a great deal financially in the future.
Many traditional flat roofs are made using felt roofing, although you may have noticed that new build properties don't tend to use felt anywhere near as much as used to be the case. Today you'll probably notice that newly built properties usually incorporate fibreglass flat roofs, and this is simply because GRP roofing is quicker to fit, cheaper to install and lasts many times as long as felt roofing, with the added benefit that it requires virtually no maintenance.
One of the major problems with felt roofing is that the felt material itself is fairly flexible, and prone to stretching. This very often means that when it rains the water starts to pool, collecting in the softest, weakest area of the roof.
The weight of this pooling water then causes the felt roofing to stretch even more, and this creates a sagged depression which is then even more prone to pooling in the future. Snow has a similar effect, gathering in a relatively even layer initially, but then collecting together into a pool of water as it starts to melt. These pools of water can remain for several days, and will gradually cause more and more distortion to the roof material.
Because fibreglass flat roofs don't distort or stretch they are immune to this problem, and are fitted in such a way that pooling is impossible. This alone represents a massive advantage over other roofing methods, since it is the pooling which causes more damage to flat roofs than anything else.
With GRP roofing you will be safe from water damage, but with felt roofing the stretching and distortion of the material eventually opens up gaps at the seams, and can result in tears too. These allow water to enter the flat roof cavity, and although initially this is unlikely to result in water entering your home, it will cause the wooden framework of the flat roof to absorb moisture, warping, twisting and cracking, helping to open up the gaps, tears and openings even wider, allowing even more water to enter the roof space.
Very quickly this will result in water entering the home, and the first sign that this is happening is usually a general dampness on the wall, leading rapidly to mildew. This is of course a very real health risk quite apart from looking unsightly, and if left untreated there is every possibility of serious water damage which could be very costly to put right.
But as the weather improves and it becomes easier to check out the state of your flat roofs after the horrendous weather we've been experiencing for the last few months, look for those telltale signs of early roof damage, including warping, distortion, tears, gaps, or even simply a build-up of moss which is a very clear indication that water has been pooling throughout the winter.
|