Glass rooflights on an aircraft hangar have been replaced by Rodeca's polycarbonate panels.
Translucent polycarbonate panel manufacturer Rodeca has completed its largest UK roofing project to date - replacing glass rooflights in an aircraft hangar at Heathrow airport.
Some 1,300m2 of Rodeca's PC 2630 panels were installed by specialist sub-contractor 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, replaced single patent glazed Georgian wired glass rooflights set in an insulated profiled metal roof.
Polycarbonate panels are typically 200 times tougher than glass and allow light transmittance of up to 80%. The lightweight PC 2630 panels are 630mm wide and require much less aluminium framing in comparison to other constructions.
For additional resilience, specialist film supplier Lintec Graphic Films' super-durable matt clear flouropolymer film - 08-985NOPs - was used on the panels' interior, protecting 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 were the client's appointed project manager and cost consultant, and AECOM the client's technical advisers.
