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The roof is an extremely important component of any add on
including three season rooms. It is the one that protects
you from heavy snow falls in winter, hail and extreme heat
in summer. There are 2 types of roof systems typically used
in three season sunrooms. They are the Stress Skin Panel and
the Flat Pan Roof.
Let's discuss the two in detail:
Stress Skin Panels - these are structual panels designed
to carry a tremendous amount of snow yet yield a high R-value
to protect you from the sun. They are made with aluminum skins
and poly-styrene. The skins are laminated to the poly-styrene
creating an amazingly strong bond. It is so strong it is backed
by a 10 year manufactueres warranty. The only way to peel
the skin off is to physically and intently pull it off with
plyers or pry-bar. DO NOT BE FOOLED by competitors demonstrations.
Do some homework and you to will realize why over 95% of sunroom
companies in North America use Stress Skin Panels. They are
4' wide by the complete length of the roof. When they interlock
there is no possible way water will penetrate the seam. The
panels are thermally broken as well. This is very important
for most sunrooms will be quite warm inside from the suns
rays. If the roof is not thermally broken the heat will penetrate
the cold metal and cause ice and frost. Spring time dripping
is unavoidable once this occurs.
Flat Pan Roof - flat pan roofs where the first roof
system used by sunroom companies dating back 30 years or more.
They are made by a flat piece of aluminum being fed through
a rolling machine to form a u shaped pan. The pan is approximately
12" in width and interlock every 12". Without any
insulation they are extremely noisy when it rains, very hot
when the sun is shining and have to be replaced if hail occurs.
The only way to insulate a flat pan is by manually inserting
styrofoam between the pans, installing plywood/particle board
over the entire roof and installing a metal skin over the
plywood as a barrier. The problem still remains the pans are
not thermally broken. Now you have a new problem. Frost will
still form because heat will transfer through, but you now
have a material that will deteriorate. Thats right - plywood/particle
board. They have sealed that wood air tight so it won't have
a chance to dry. You do not have a maintenance free room now.
The plwood will have to be replaced plus you will still have
dripping in the spring. It is unstoppable. There is still
one company left in Winnipeg using the Flat Pan Roof so BUYER
BEWARE.
SLIMLINE SUNROOMS USES ONLY STRESS SKIN ROOF PANELS. YOU
SHOULD TOO!!
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