Corrugated sheets are often used in the garden as inexpensive roofing. They are easy to care for, unbreakable, UV-resistant and can also be easily laid by yourself.
Carports, garden houses, greenhouses or wooden shelters - corrugated sheets are often used here as roof coverings. The plates have several advantages.
They are very durable, can be cleaned quickly and can be laid by the hobby gardener with a little manual skill. So they are the optimal and cheaper alternative to roof tiles & Co…
Different materials
Before you start laying, you should familiarize yourself with the different materials. There are significant differences here. In a brief overview of the materials, the experts from W&S Kunststoffe point out that some materials may look very similar, but that there are major differences in the material. Be sure to check out the link above. It is important here that you find the right panels for you that also meet your requirements.
Corrugated sheets can be found, for example, made of the following materials:
- PVC
- GRP (glass fiber plastic)
- Polycarbonate
- Acrylic Glass
Corrugated sheets made of polycarbonate or acrylic glass (Plexiglas) are most commonly used today. Acrylic glass has a similar look to glass, although acrylic glass is significantly more robust. Polycarbonate is more similar to plastic, but is lighter and thinner than acrylic, with the added benefit of consistent impact resistance. What you ultimately decide on is purely a matter of taste.
Lay corrugated sheets - Here's how
Once you have decided on a certain material, you can start. The structure is the same for all corrugated sheets.
Build substructure
The most important thing with corrugated sheets is a proper substructure. It looks like this:
For corrugated sheets, you need a substructure with cross battens, on which you screw the sheets. This substructure can be made of metal or woodconsist. With wood, however, you should make sure that it is warp-free. Laminated trusses that do not warp under the various weather conditions are best suited for this purpose. In contrast to normal construction wood - in the worst case it can happen that there is damage (cracks or cracks) to the panels. You should be particularly careful with acrylic sheets, because like glass they are very sensitive.
The battens are fastened across the slope. Support distances vary by material.
PVC and Polyester
For PVC and Polyester use a support distance of 50 cm.
Polycarbonate and Acrylic
For polycarbonate and acrylic, a distance of approx. 80 cm is sufficient.
These values apply to average snow and wind loads. If you are expected to be subject to greater loads, you should reduce the distance accordingly.
The last point that should be considered in the substructure is the top. You should paint this lightly to avoid burns on the corrugated sheet. In summer, there are high temperatures between the construction and the panel, which can severely clog panels made of PVC and GRP in particular. The plates not only change their color here, but also deform.
You will need the following material:
➜ Screws
You will need screws to attach the corrugated sheets to the substructure. We recommend so-called sheet metal screws for this application (available here). These are particularly watertight thanks to the included sealing disk. They are also weather and corrosion resistant. Optimal conditions for use to connect plastic and wood.
➜ Saw
In order to be able to cut the corrugated sheets to your size, you will also need a high-speed table or circular saw. Preferably with a fine-toothed saw blade equipped with carbide cutting edges.
➜ Drill
You should also have a cone drill (such as this one here) on hand to be able to pre-drill holes in the corrugated sheets. Incidentally, these should be 3-4 mm larger than the diameter of the sheet metal screws. This allows the plates to expand or shrink sufficiently with temperature differences.
Important instructions for laying:
After you have made all the preparations and the tools are ready, you can now start laying. Do this as follows:
✜ Step 1:
Start with thefirst corrugated sheet. Place them on the substructure and align them. Now comes the second plate. It is important that you work precisely with these two plates, then not much can go wrong with the following ones.
» By the way: Always work against the wind direction. This means that no water can press under the overlap in heavy rain.
✜ Step 2:
Fix the first two corrugated sheets with some screws so that they cannot move anymore.
» Caution: If you move back and forth on the corrugated sheets, you should definitely place a plank underneath to distribute the weight.
✜ Step 3:
Now that the first panels are attached, you can continue with the other panels. Also fix these with a few screws and an electric impact wrench. At the end of the roof you should make sure that the ends close flush. Cut the panels accordingly in advance.
» Note: Only drill the holes on the crest.
✜ Step 4:
After all the panels have been laid and fixed, you can do the remaining screwing. Experts recommend about 6 to 8 screws per square meter.
That's it. And wasn't hard at all, was it?