Warning for new starters on these conservatory roofs

[Chris34]

They look simple but they're definitely not. They're a lot harder than regular conservatory roof panels. With a normal roof panel you can clean it with the brush and there is nothing hidden, you can see all the dirt, nothing is really hidden behind anything, it's a bit like cleaning a very dirty opaque window accept it's on the roof and the frames are raised at the sides.

With this type of roof they use blanking blocks to replace the panels that were there. It's the first time I've come across one and I've well and truly got the time taken wrong. Basically the edges of each block are really hard to clean, the bristles on my brush were not long enough to touch the bottom of the channels so I had to improvise and use a microfibre in the end and push it up and down the channel with the brush.

Just a heads up, they're not as straight forward as they look. Took me 4 hours in the end when I expected it to take 2 although once I knew I got it wrong I was taking my time and wrote the rest of the day off to try different methods to try and work out the best way to tackle it. I'll either swerve them in future or I'll get a brush head with long bristles, trying to do them with a short bristle brush it's a bit like painting a large wall with a one inch wide brush when you know that a roller brush is what you need.

 

[THL4KEL]

Maybe have a selection of different brushes on the van.

 

[Chris34]

Maybe have a selection of different brushes on the van.

Yeah, I started with the Ultimate medium and then swtiched to a flocked version and stuck with that ever since, I saw how easy it is to spend all your money on kit that you end up leaving in the garage so I just stuck with the same kit as I've never had an issue until today ? I have actually got two different brand new brushes in the garage that I've never used, one of them probably would have had the correct length bristles ?‍ you live and learn.

 

[THL4KEL]

If I was you I would buy a fascia/sill brush for these kind of jobs.

 

[ched999uk]

Don't know if it's just me but I can't see the image.

 

[Chris34]

Don't know if it's just me but I can't see the image.

It's showing on my screen ?‍

 

[ched999uk]

It's showing on my screen ?‍

It's a bit weird but it's showing a grey no entry type sign. I checked and same on my phone and laptop - both Chrome browsers.

 

[Chris34]

If I was you I would buy a fascia/sill brush for these kind of jobs.

Think the one in the garage would do the trick, just never saw a need for it as it's really long and floppy bristles but probably would have been ok for this one.

Weird really, it's not until you get a job where you just cannot do it when you then think about the kit you're using. Until today I hadn't even considered using a different brush.

 

[Chris34]

It's a bit weird but it's showing a grey no entry type sign. I checked and same on my phone and laptop - both Chrome browsers.

I'll resend it but attach it instead of copying it into the message, thanks for pointing it out, let me know if it still doesn't show up.

 

[Chris34]

 

[ched999uk]

Cheers I can see the image. Not seen one like that before.
I recently bought a Gardiner water through pad which I have found is great for all sorts of stuff. From conny roofs (makes rinsing glass easy, as can rinse on glass and drag down), upstairs window sills when they are oxidised - add a bit of pink stuff and scrub.
Maybe one of those would get into the sides?

 

[Chris34]

Cheers I can see the image. Not seen one like that before.
I recently bought a Gardiner water through pad which I have found is great for all sorts of stuff. From conny roofs (makes rinsing glass easy, as can rinse on glass and drag down), upstairs window sills when they are oxidised - add a bit of pink stuff and scrub.
Maybe one of those would get into the sides?

Yeah it's the first one I've seen, the interior of the conservatory looks immaculate and also it's not as hot so I can see the appeal, apparently they were sold as being relatively maintenance free and self cleaning they were installed 4 years ago. The underside of it looks new though and it does look good.

Yeah I've not looked at those pads, I'll have a look. In the commercial cleaning industry they have abrasive pads on the end of poles but are not water fed, they use them for scrubbing edges of floors when doing stripping and sealing, it sounds like a similar thing. I'll have a look at them.

I think the main problem with these roofs is that it's deceptive, you think it's easy as you can see that the pvc isn't shiny so you know the dirt will come off, it's the edges that are the pita, they also seem to have lots of bits that seem to come from nowhere and it really stands out on that shiny pvc.

I think the best way to think of it though is that they're like doing a normal sheet of poly accept there is an awkward dirt holding channel going around the perimeter of each pane, so when you think of it like that you can see it's bound to take longer than a normal pane. Like I say, they're deceptive though.

 

[Chris34]

The end result was alright, not quite as I'd like it but without stronger chemicals it was alright. If I had to do another I'd have a longer bristle brush and I'd do it with hot water filled in barrels. Always learning.

 

[Iron Giant]

Looks brand new by comparison, you should have had some tall step ladders that would have made the job easier, @THL4KEL swears that step ladders make doing conny roofs so much easier.

 

[Chris34]

Looks brand new by comparison, you should have had some tall step ladders that would have made the job easier, @THL4KEL swears that step ladders make doing conny roofs so much easier.

Yeah I got a platform step ladder late last year and it is probably one of the best things I've bought in the last couple of years, certainly for doing anything like the roofs it's made it a lot easier and less risky than a normal step ladder. Got mine from Screwfix this is the one I've got

https://www.screwfix.com/p/werner-aluminium-7-treads-platform-stepladder-1-48m/8966x
I paid £94.99 for mine ? so that 10% off is a genuine sale. For that price it's a bargain, I thought I had a good price at £95. The only thing I would say though is that when I first got them I thought the steps were slightly slippy, I don't seem to have a problem with them but I know that's what I thought when I first used them. I think they're indoor ladders so the tread is not very deep on them. Like I say though I've not had a problem working on them, in fact I don't even think about it, just treat with care as with all ladders and don't become too complacent.

 

[ched999uk]

Yeah I got a platform step ladder late last year and it is probably one of the best things I've bought in the last couple of years, certainly for doing anything like the roofs it's made it a lot easier and less risky than a normal step ladder. Got mine from Screwfix this is the one I've got

https://www.screwfix.com/p/werner-aluminium-7-treads-platform-stepladder-1-48m/8966x
I paid £94.99 for mine ? so that 10% off is a genuine sale. For that price it's a bargain, I thought I had a good price at £95. The only thing I would say though is that when I first got them I thought the steps were slightly slippy, I don't seem to have a problem with them but I know that's what I thought when I first used them. I think they're indoor ladders so the tread is not very deep on them. Like I say though I've not had a problem working on them, in fact I don't even think about it, just treat with care as with all ladders and don't become too complacent.

I have a shorter version that just fits in my van between the bulkhead and the rear doors with a couple of cm to spare. The only weird thing about them is the first step isn't the same height of the floor as the others are spaced at. i.e. the first step is about 15cm from the ground but the space to the second is more like 25cm.

The roof almost looks like fibreglass sections. I guess it was when people realised that conny roofs made of glass or poly make it unusable in full summer or winter, so companies started coming out with novel ways to insulate the roof! I quite like that system, OK it might not be the most efficient but if you needed to take a panel out out access to say paint above it's relatively easy. Some of these 'replacement roofs' look a bit iffy especially for maintenance on the parts of the house above it.

 

[Iron Giant]

The better looking roofs are those Guardian roofs which look like a proper roof but pre-fab they would be around 6k+ which is probably more expensive than one in the photos.

 

[Chris34]

I have a shorter version that just fits in my van between the bulkhead and the rear doors with a couple of cm to spare. The only weird thing about them is the first step isn't the same height of the floor as the others are spaced at. i.e. the first step is about 15cm from the ground but the space to the second is more like 25cm.

The roof almost looks like fibreglass sections. I guess it was when people realised that conny roofs made of glass or poly make it unusable in full summer or winter, so companies started coming out with novel ways to insulate the roof! I quite like that system, OK it might not be the most efficient but if you needed to take a panel out out access to say paint above it's relatively easy. Some of these 'replacement roofs' look a bit iffy especially for maintenance on the parts of the house above it.

Yeah that sound about right, my ladder goes in the van and then only just fits with the passenger seat folded down, so one end is touching the glovebox and the other is a few inches from the back door. It's a perfect length without having to go to the hassle of strapping one on the roof.

I agree about those panels, personally I'd never have a conservatory from what I've seen of them, but that one looked like and nice clean room on the inside, it's immaculate all the time, it's just like a white ceiling.

Apparently it was a company that I've heard advertised on the radio called Malbern Windows, heard them lots on the radio so it's probably quite a sizeable company with a lot of windows installed around Manchester.

 

[chris1985]

Yeah, I started with the Ultimate medium and then swtiched to a flocked version and stuck with that ever since, I saw how easy it is to spend all your money on kit that you end up leaving in the garage so I just stuck with the same kit as I've never had an issue until today ? I have actually got two different brand new brushes in the garage that I've never used, one of them probably would have had the correct length bristles ?‍ you live and learn.

Hi chris from one to other what would be 4 brush you would need an do at least 4 different jobs of the window cleaning many thanks

 

[Martin C]

They look simple but they're definitely not. They're a lot harder than regular conservatory roof panels. With a normal roof panel you can clean it with the brush and there is nothing hidden, you can see all the dirt, nothing is really hidden behind anything, it's a bit like cleaning a very dirty opaque window accept it's on the roof and the frames are raised at the sides.

With this type of roof they use blanking blocks to replace the panels that were there. It's the first time I've come across one and I've well and truly got the time taken wrong. Basically the edges of each block are really hard to clean, the bristles on my brush were not long enough to touch the bottom of the channels so I had to improvise and use a microfibre in the end and push it up and down the channel with the brush.

Just a heads up, they're not as straight forward as they look. Took me 4 hours in the end when I expected it to take 2 although once I knew I got it wrong I was taking my time and wrote the rest of the day off to try different methods to try and work out the best way to tackle it. I'll either swerve them in future or I'll get a brush head with long bristles, trying to do them with a short bristle brush it's a bit like painting a large wall with a one inch wide brush when you know that a roller brush is what you need.

I did one last year…

 

[Chris34]

I did one last year…

Wow that's a top job, how did you find it?