Trade News...

Feburary 15th 2008

WATERTIGHT ROOF SOLUTION
Aztec’s in-house designers have specifically focused on the two main areas at risk from water penetration ie along the flashing and ridge and developed solutions that not only give the end-user a better roof but also make the installation process safer and quicker.

Colin Bennett, Aztec sales director, observes, “The summer was the wettest since records began/ Winter is inevitably going to be wet with rain or cold with snow. The snow will melt. Regardless, the Aztec roof will remain dry.”

Conventionally, the wall bar and ring beam are erected, the roof glazed and then the installer has to climb across the glazing to grind out the mortar to lead flash the roof. At the ridge, the flashing has to be shaped over the apex and laid onto the roof glazing, and the finishing crestings slid into a channel and finial screwed into position. The channel inevitably drains towards the flashing, which is only made watertight against the glazing by application of mastic: should the mastic not be properly applied, or perish, there is nothing to stop that water seeping into the house and/or conservatory.

Aztec’s alternative approach begins with the wall bar, which incorporates an integral deep channel, into which the flashing is located. The channel is contoured to enable any water to drain away into the gutter. A patented ridge flashing trim is positioned at the apex at the rear of the ridge, again with an integral channel into which the flashing is laid and again providing an effective water collection and drainage solution.
The system has an added benefit in that the flashing installation can be carried out before the roof is glazed, giving the installer better and safer access and manoeuvrability during the process. The installer can work against the wall and complete the flashing easily without manoeuvring and balancing across glazing: Aztec claims this alone yields a time saving of up to 60% over alternative techniques, let alone eliminating the danger.

At the ridge, the traditional technique of sliding crests into a channel and screwing finials into position inevitably creates a water trap, with no effective means of water drainage. The installer has the issue of balancing across glazing. Aztec’s finials and crest simply clip into place, ensuring a watertight ridge: they clip across the ridge capping, automatically encouraging water to flow away from the ridge down the roof into the guttering, or drain into the flashing channel.

Adds Colin, “Surely, it is short-sighted to design a roof, that is going to be exposed to the elements for years, that has holes in its most exposed areas, and sections where water can pool or leak through to the inside, and that forces the installer to crawl across a glazed roof? Such weaknesses also expose the installer financially, with customers complaining that the roof leaks, requiring remedial site visits and perhaps even a replacement roof. Logic says it is better to think the whole onsite construction process through, and design out any potential weaknesses as far as possible. We are so confident of our roof’s performance, we have had it independently tested: it withstood- and surpassed- even the most severe British weather conditions of rain, snow and wind loadings.”