AUGUST 2019 | 29
Products
Read online at www.proinstaller.co.uk
CAPITALISING ON THE
RENOVATION REVOLUTION
UK homeowners have spent a collective £295 billion renovating their homes over the past five years,
with the remodelling of kitchens offering one of the biggest investment returns according to a recent
survey by Post Office Money*. Here Sabahudin Medic, Operations Director at Roof Maker, explores the
increasing role wall abutment rooflights are playing in renovation projects and the latest innovations
available to professionals to offer the highest standards in aesthetics, performance and efficiency.
With the continued rise in
the associated costs of buying a
new home, it’s unsurprising that
the ‘improve, rather than move’
trend is continuing to go from
strength-to-strength throughout
the UK. Of those Post Office Mon-
ey surveyed, 59% of homeowners
said they were renovating their
property to simply improve its ap-
pearance, subsequently providing
a long term family home.
As part of these upgrades, many
individuals are looking to increase
the size of their living areas, whilst
also maximising the natural light
that enters their property, predom-
inantly in communal spaces such
as kitchens and dining spaces.
In urban areas where space to
extend may be limited, many
homeowners are choosing to have
side returns, along with rear ex-
tensions, which are dominated by
large expanses of glazing, such as
bi-fold doors and rooflights.
For side returns in particular,
wall abutments are an efficient
and aesthetically pleasing choice
of rooflight, enabling fabricators to
create a ‘glass ceiling effect’ where
traditional flat rooflights would be
unable to be installed due to the
limited surface area. Due to the
streamlined construction of Roof
Maker’s wall abutment rooflight,
which sits on a pre-weathered
upstand, the requirement for a gap
between the wall and the rooflight
is eliminated, enabling the product
to be installed seamlessly against
walls at a pitch of 5o to 15o. The
construction also supports easy
and fast installation, as unlike
some wall abutment rooflights,
a bulky lead flashing system
from the wall to the glazing isn’t
required.
As many period properties may
have exterior and interior walls
that have small imperfections or
rough textures, the wall abutment
features a unique, patented cush-
ioning technology, which moulds
into the crevices to significantly
reduce the risk of water ingress.
This technology makes it the ideal
solution for professionals who are
modernising old properties that
may have imperfect finishes to
the brick work, as this area has
previously proven potentially dif-
ficult for contractors to achieve a
perfect, water tight installation.
Latest advancements in man-
ufacturing technologies are also
supporting professionals in
improving the overall thermal
efficiency of older properties, with
wall abutment rooflights available
triple glazed as standard, offering
an impressive Ug-value of 0.6w/
m2k. This supports installers in
eliminating any hot or cold spots
that may build up throughout the
extension, as may often occur with
large rooflights or bi-fold doors
that are only double glazed. This
is important for homeowners who
are looking to create a complete
vista of light by creating a ‘glass
ceiling’ effect to their side return
extension.
As no extension project is
ever the same, particularly on
period properties, Roof Maker’s
wall abutments can be manu-
factured in bespoke sizes from
a minimum of 400mm x 400mm
to 3000mm x 1000mm. This flex-
ibility in sizing supports profes-
sionals in providing their clients
with a unique and contempo-
rary solution to their extension
that maximises on all available
natural light. This is extremely
important for side returns, where
light may limited due to the
overshadowing of neighbouring
properties.
Walk-on wall abutment
rooflights are also increasingly
becoming a popular choice for
installers working on renovation
projects where a basement has
been refurbished into an addi-
tional living area. By installing a
wall abutment that can also be
walked on, professionals can not
only create a ‘glass ceiling’ effect
that floods the basement below
with light, but also enables
homeowners to create a walk-
able feature in the interior or
exterior living areas of the floor
above.
Professionals can capitalise
on the current renovation trend
by remaining at the forefront
of industry developments by
recommending and installing
glazing systems that offer home-
owners the highest standards in
aesthetics and efficiency, whilst
also providing the opportunity
to maximise all available natural
light throughout the property.
To find out more about
Roof Maker and its range of
rooflights, visit www.roof-maker.
com or call 0116 269 6297.