Fibreglass bay roofs
If you are interested in fitting your own Fibreglass bay roof see the links at the bottom of this page…
Fibreglass bay roof windows
More and more people these days are opting to replace their old roof with fibreglass due to the incredibly long lifespan, which whilst similar to lead is normally cheaper and has no scrap value for a thief. This is particularly useful on a low level roof where thieves may be tempted to steal the lead, and a lead free alternative is required.
Fibreglass also lends itself to a Dormer roof a Porch roof or Balcony roofs.
Fibreglass colour chart – Fibreglass roofs can be done in any colour and any design, from simple clean lines to the much more complicated.
Expansion and contraction Lead v Fibreglass
Unlike Lead a Fiberglass bay window roof if laid properly will not suffer fatigue cracks caused by expansion and contraction, in theory this could take them past lead in terms of lifespan. Certainly that is true where the code (thickness) of the lead is too thin for the size of the roof as this tends to prematurely split lead. This makes fibreglass a very good lead alternative.
Trim options
The two most common trims to finish a fibreglass bay window are the AT195 Ext trim and the A170 Drip trim. I tend to use the AT195 in nearly all of my jobs, here are both versions and fitted. Click to pictures to enlarge.
Finishing with flashings
Wherever possible I finish with real Lead flashings not the fibreglass simulated lead flashings C100 or C150 as personally I think it gives a much nicer period look to the property when the roof has weathered. When fitting lead flashings I tend to use about 1 meter or 3 feet lengths to allow for expansion and contraction up to a maximum of 1.5 meters then overlap any joints by 100mm minimum (4″)
Fibreglass bay roof – The classic square edged design with a simple drip finish, ass seen on lots of bays and small porch roofs.
Curved bay window roof – Semi-circular bay roofs and sweeping bends are also easy to recreate in fibreglass. This is a standard drip finish bay roof finished with lead flashings.
Multi part bay window roof – Because the roof is custom made on-site with GRP fibreglass complicated designs can be created without a problem. Inbuilt drainage holes and non drip designs such as this are also easy to create.
This front edge up stand design stops the water dripping onto the window sill below.
Also see…
- Flat roof costs – Fibreglass bay roof costs now added
- How to install lead flashings – Full instructions
- How to fit a new Lead roof – Fitting guide
- How to fibreglass a bay roof – Great little project
- Bay windows – Bay window roof choices
- Lead bay roof – Lead roofs and how to repair
- Roofing tools – Some of the tools I use daily