Storage & sheet preparation
- Store sheets on a flat surface. Use an opaque cover, tightly secured, to protect from wind, rain and sun. Storage is always preferable indoors.
- Ensure that the clearly marked UV protected surface of the Natralite sheet is to the outside.
- Natralite sheets must always be installed with the corrugation running vertically, or up-slope.
- Roofs should always be designed with a minimum slope of 5° to allow adequate rainwater run-off.
- Natralite sheet can be cut with a fine tooth circular saw or hand saw at a shallow angle.
Thermal movement & fixing
Important – polycarbonate sheet will expand in the heat and contract in the cold.
- When drilling fixing holes they must be oversized to allow the sheet to move.
- Fixing holes should be drilled 6mm greater in diameter than the fixing shank for sheet lengths up to 2m and an additional 3mm per additional meter length of sheet. E.g. for a 4m long sheet, holes should be over drilled by 12mm
- Fixings must not be overtightened, again this allows the natural movement of the sheet and will avoid unnecessary damage to the sheet.
- Natralite sheet must be isolated from plastisol and flexible PVC paints and coatings using an aluminium barrier tape.
- If installing onto fibre cement sheets ensure that all dust created when drilling holes is removed
Finishing
Ensure that all sealants and tapes are compatible with Polycarbonate.
- All accessory products should be light coloured, preferably white.
- Sheets which span up to two purlin spacings are of optimum length to cope with thermal movement.
- Maximum recommended sheet length for Natralite is 4m.
When installing any roofing material, including rooflights, ensure that safe working methods are adopted and appropriate safety equipment is used.