Tips for using your pergola year round
Renovating your back yard?
What about covering your pergola so you can use it year round?
Installing a retractable awning is a great option for creating shade in your back yard but windy conditions, common during Summer in Melbourne, often mean you have to retract the awning back into its cover leaving you in the warmth outside but with no shelter. The same applies in winter.
Benefits of covering your pergola with a multiwall or solid polycarbonate product
An alternative to a retractable awning is a pergola covered with polycarbonate. The benefits of a covered pergola are many. Certainly, a covered pergola taps into the huge trend for an outdoor living room. Furnishings can take on more permanency that then leads into the space being used year round particularly with the addition of heating and a cosy knee rug for winter. Of course, in summer especially, you can enjoy the space as a place to spend time outdoors with family and friends. Too hot to sit out you think? Not if you cover the pergola with a polycarbonate product with thermal properties.
There are many polycarbonate options for covering a pergola with thermally efficient products. Today, it’s all about twin wall or multi wall rather than straight polycarbonate profiles. The reason for this is that twinwall or multiwall products trap air between the layers of sheeting, hence the improved thermal insulation performance.
Until a year or two ago, Makrolon Twinwall was the leading polycarbonate multiwall product. Now that it is no longer being manufactured, installers are increasingly installing alternative polycarbonate options. Roofrite's preferred mid-price point multiwall option is Palram’s Sunpal Multi.
Alternatives to Makrolon multiwall
Palram Sunpal multiwall
Palram Sunpal Multi is an advanced mulitwall polycarbonate panel system that combines proven design, light transmission, thermal insulation and strength. If offers a lightweight, leak-proof design that can withstand very high loads and accommodates expansion and contraction. The system's distinct advantages make it an ideal long-term application on many types of projects. As with any true architectural glazing system Sunpal Multi is suitable for a variety of roofing and cladding designs, flat or curved.
Typical Sunpal multiwall applications
- . Architectural roofing and glazing
- . Commercial and retail roofing
- . Verandahs and Carports
- . Covered walkways, awnings and entrances
- . Swimming pool covers
Palram Sunpal multiwall color range
Palram's Sunpal Multi range comes in both a Standard color range as well as a SolarSmart color range. The SolarSmart range is an energy efficient range that blocks infrared energy that causes heat buildup, and transmits "cool light" instead.
Solid Polycarbonate - the high end, low maintenance polycarbonate finish
An alternative to multiwall polycarbonate is a Palram's Sunglaze, an architectural system that offers smart design, elegant appearance, versatility, low maintenance and sustainable performance to various architectural projects. Being a solid polycarbonate, it has the look of glass but all the benefits of polycarbonate such as an ability to withstand high loads and an easy caulking and silicone free installation.
As with the Sunpal Multi, Sunglaze also comes in both a standard and SolarSmart color range.
If you're looking for a high-end glass-like finish for your pergola, this is the product of choice.
If you have any queries, or would like a quote on covering, repairing or replacing your polycarbonate roof, please call Roofrite on 03 9499 8059.
