Published: 24th November 2023
We have noticed a few other companies now also selling large rooflights and big skylights in the Uk.
Worryingly they are only supplying 6mm glass on four, five and six-metre large one-piece rooflights often imported from Turkey and China.
This is insane as the glass does not comply with structural calculations, wind/snow loads etc which can lead to glass bending and possibly catastrophic glass failure as the glass is too thin and weak.
Ofset normally supply 10mm, 12mm and sometimes even 15mm super thick glass panels. And 17.5mm or 21.5mm toughened/laminated heat soak-tested bottom glass panels if specified for structural specifications.
Additionally, these types of low-quality rooflights have no aluminium support frames, which is a must in our opinion. The large glass panels are simply ‘silicone jointed’ onto timber Kerbs/upstands with no aluminium support frame. As we all know timber expands and contracts to a high level and this is not a good thing for large rooflight glass seals and can/will lead to the glass seals failing due to excess movement given time thus the large expensive glass panels will end up ‘misting’ which means the unit has failed. Anyone who has had a wooden conservatory knows how unreliable glass can be when installed in timber frames.
All extra large rooflights should always utilise ‘heat soak tested’ glass which will give the purchaser confidence that the glass will remain intact for a lifetime without the risk of ’spontaneous breakage’ which will occur in almost 1% of glass if not heat soak tested. If the glass is put through a ‘heat soak test’ the risk of the glass failing is then reduced to 1:14,000 so an almost impossible chance of failing. Please read our blog ‘what is heat soak tested glass which is used within the Ofset Blade rooflight’ and also read ‘don’t buy frameless rooflights!’
Glass often has small nickel sulphide stones embedded within the glass and where the glass is put through a ‘heat soak test’ in the factory any imperfect panels will break in a controlled factory environment rather than onsite after installation. You can also upgrade to laminated glass, but make sure if you do that it is toughened/laminated and not the weak annealed/laminated. Any form of heat-soak-tested toughened glass is 6x as strong as annealed glass.
You only want to do this once so whilst Ofset offers fantastic value for money for large rooflights in the UK, you should never cut any corners when investing in such large jumbo sizes skylights. Ofset are the UK’s #1 large rooflight specialists in the UK for good reason. Remember there is no secret to a cheap price, you simply supply poorly specified glass units.
Structural integrity, quality and product longevity are critical for specialist large rooflights installed in London and large rooflights throughout the UK.
