Grp Roofing - The Most Common Questions People Ask

Grp Roofing - The Most Common Questions People Ask

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Although it's widely known that GRP roofing, or fibreglass roofing as it's commonly referred to, is highly durable and an excellent alternative to many traditional materials, a great many people still have certain reserves about buying it. In the UK especially, where weather conditions are, to say the least, interesting, it's especially important to think about getting the right choice of roofing, and in many cases that's GRP roofing, But what are the typical concerns or questions people have about fibreglass roofing, and what are the answers?

One of the first concerns some people have about GRP roofing is the way it looks. Often these are people who think back to pre 1980s fibreglass roofing which, to misquote Henry Ford, you could have in any colour you like as long as it was white. Fibreglass roofing used to be plastic, white and that was about it. It wasn't especially attractive, and there was a limited amount that could be done with it.

The problem was that although GRP had been around for decades, people had only really just started looking at more domestic uses for this incredible material, and as such there was relatively little done to create attractive features for roofs. The emphasis was much more on functionality than on beauty.

This is even easier to understand when you consider what fibreglass had previously been used for. It was primarily the choice of material by the RAF for the bodies of their planes and by the Navy for the hulls of boats. Certainly this made it clear that the material could withstand extreme temperatures, was very waterproof, and could be moulded into virtually any shape. Certainly it was durable, but neither the RAF or the Navy were very concerned about aesthetic design. When GRP roofing was first introduced people raved about its waterproof capabilities, but there wasn't much concern about the way it looked.

Fast forward a few decades and today manufacturing methods and techniques have come on a very long way, and GRP roofing can now be made in an almost endless array of styles and architectural designs, as well as being manufactured to look exactly like alternative materials. So it's now possible to have fibreglass roofing which looks just like lead roofing, tiles, slate or even felt roofing if you so wished. So as far as appearance is concerned, this is certainly no longer an issue. In fact you've probably seen a whole variety of GRP roofs in your neighbourhood, but not even realised it.

The second concern people have is whether fibreglass roofing is really as durable as people make out. After all, you can't argue with the durability of lead, and even slates and tiles seem more rigid than the few millimetres of plastic material which fibreglass resembles. It's understandable, of course, for people to doubt the strength of something which seems so much less thick or rigid. But these doubts are again unfounded.

The problem with lead is that it is extremely heavy, and certainly far from 100% watertight. As moisture enters the roof cavity the wooden beams absorb this moisture, and swell a little. This causes the wood to warp, twist and even split, and with the extra weight of all the lead, the roof can easily start to warp, allowing yet more water in. Repairs are usually very expensive. Slates and tiles can easily be chipped, cracked or fall off, and felt roofing very easily becomes warped and stretched, allowing water to pool, causing even more damage until it splits completely and allows moisture to enter.

GRP roofing is the only form of roofing which is completely watertight, including the seams. It's designed to allow water to run off, not to pool, and as fibreglass doesn't warp, crack or split, it is actually significantly more resilient than any of roofing material. GRP roofing offers a surprising amount of strength, and a whole range of benefits, coupled with almost no need for you to worry about maintenance. When compared to other materials, it really is the most affordable, both in the short term, and the long term.

About the Author:
For more information about GRP roofing visit Architectural Fibreglass Mouldings Ltd, where you can explore a gallery of example products, including GRP door canopies, porch canopies and patio canopies.



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


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