Do you have a flat roof, such as a porch roof, car shelter, shed, garage or extension? Have you been thinking recently about replacing or repairing your roof in order to make sure that it is fully able to cope with the inevitably awful weather forecast for this winter? If so then you would be wise to consider fibreglass roofing, or as it is commonly referred to today, GRP roofing.
Fibreglass roofing offers several key benefits, and today looks considerably different from the kind of fibreglass roofing which you may have seen in the past. In fact today it is very easy to assume that there is much less GRP roofing around today than there ever has been, despite the fact that it is more popular than ever before.
The reason for this misunderstanding is simply that today fibreglass roofing can be manufactured in a wide range of styles and appearances, so that it looks quite unlike fibreglass, and can often take on a very convincing appearance which looks like wood, tiles or even lead roofing. But by combining an appearance of a classic style of roof with the many advantages and benefits which fibreglass roofing has to offer, homeowners are able to benefit from the best of both worlds.
So specifically what are the key benefits of GRP roofing compared to other forms of roofing such as wood, tiles, felt roofing and lead? The first factor is fairly easy to appreciate, and is simply the cost.
Today, whatever home renovation or improvement is being planned, the cost will be one of the most important aspects considered throughout the process. Fibreglass is one of the cheapest materials that can be used to provide roofing, and is extremely cost-effective both to manufacture, and to fit. Fibreglass roofs are light, and can be manufactured off site, and then brought to the property and fitted in a very short space of time, and often by a single fitter. Compare this to a wooden beamed construction, or tiling, or even the cost of purchasing, checking and fixing lead roofing, and it is easy to see that one of the most significant advantages of choosing fibreglass roofing compared to other forms of flat roofing is that the overall cost from start to finish is significantly lower.
But although we say start to finish, often the cost of any kind of roof is never finished, with long-term maintenance costs needing to be kept in mind. Almost any kind of roof will require a certain amount of maintenance, and quite probably a certain amount of repair too. However, GRP roofing is incredibly tough, and 100% waterproof, which means that its maintenance costs are virtually negligible, and often the life expectancy of a fibreglass roof is many years longer than any other form of roofing.
This means that even once your roof is fitted, the cost of maintaining it and repairing it will still be lower if you choose GRP compared to other materials. The durability is another factor that needs to be considered, because clearly any roof has to be durable enough to withstand the weather which we experience in the UK. Some materials such as felt roofing really are unsuitable for many roofs in the UK because felt roofing has a tendency to absorb water, to stretch, expand, split and warp, all of which inevitably means that water is able to seep through the seams and become absorbed into the wooden frame underneath.
As the wooden frame absorbs the water it expands, splits, and warps, adding to the amount of damage caused, and the amount of dampness able to enter into the roof space and eventually into the property itself. This poses a very real health risk, and can be entirely prevented by using fibreglass roofing, or GRP roofing, which does not warp, split or distort, no matter what the UK’s weather can throw at it.