Some 1,300m2 of Rodeca's PC 2630 panels were installed by specialist subcontractor Roofglaze for main contractor Morgan Sindall at BA TBK Bay 3 – a hanger originally built in the early 1970s, half of which was later converted to allow the respraying of British Airways' fleet of aircraft.
The 16mm thick Rodeca panels, in Kristall finish, replace single patent glazed Georgian wired glass rooflights set in an insulated profiled metal roof.
Rodeca says that polycarbonate panels are typically 200 times tougher than glass and allow light transmittance of up to 80%. The PC 2630 panels are 630mm wide and, being lightweight, require much less aluminium framing than other constructions, the manufacturer says.
For additional resilience, specialist film supplier Lintec Graphic Films' matt clear flouropolymer film, 08-985NOPs, was used on the panels' interior to protect the polycarbonate from corrosive elements such as chemicals and solvents released from paint.
Rodeca panels have achieved Class B in tests conducted by the BRE for assessing the non-fragility of profiled panelled and large-element roofing assemblies.
Mace was the client's appointed project manager and cost consultant and Aecom the client's technical advisers.
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