Transparent slate: varieties and installation instructions

In colloquial speech, all wavy roofing sheets are often called slate, but they specify how it looks and what material it is made of. Recently, more often in suburban suburban areas, as well as in urban private homes, you can see the roofs of verandas, arbors, canopies over a car platform made of transparent slate, as well as original light-transmitting insets in roofs made of the same material.

Transparent slate: varieties and assembly instructions

Therefore, transparent slate: varieties and installation instructions, are of interest to many owners of suburban areas that are just beginning to deal with the layout of buildings, or decided to reconstruct them.

Transparent roofing material is made of polyvinyl chloride, plexiglass, fiberglass or polycarbonate. All these polymers have their own positive and negative sides, as well as their advantages in comparison with other traditional roofing coatings. Since this variety of building materials is still an unexplored novelty for many, then before buying it quite rightly there is a lot of questions about the characteristics and the specifics of roofing.

Areas of use of transparent slate

Transparent toovelny material can be used quite diverse. And to make sure that it is able not only to be a functional coating, but also to give a special aesthetics to any structure, it is worthwhile to consider several options for its application.

Transparent inserts on the roof of large objects can achieve considerable savings in lighting large areas of the room.

• Transparent slate is often used to cover the roofs of individual rooms of public buildings and agricultural structures. The material is mounted completely on the whole roof or from it inserts are made that serve to illuminate the internal premises without windows, which helps to save considerably on electricity.

Transparent insert on the arch roof structure

• It is used to cover arch structures in poultry farms, greenhouse complexes, as well as hangars and building warehouses.

The original translucent fender from the polymeric slate

• Increasingly, transparent slate in combination with other materials is used for the construction of fences. For example, this photo shows a structure of transparent tinted material, protected from the outside by a mesh-rabitsa. This light construction looks quite aesthetically pleasing, but at the same time it is quite reliable, as it is not easy to overcome the intruder imperceptibly for the owners.

Tinted transparent slate will create the desired shade on the platform for the car

• . From transparent slate you get an excellent canopy over the parking lot - this construction will cost much less than the capital garage. Moreover, if you wish, you can use it as a gazebo, installing a table, an armchair or a deck chair under the roof.

Sun and shadow in moderation - translucent roof over a place of traditional rest.

• Covering this with gazebos, terraces and verandas is increasingly included in landscape design, as it adds exclusivity and aesthetics to it. In addition, a transparent roof helps save on electricity, since under it the entire light day will be light.

An excellent solution for reliable and durable greenhouses and greenhouses

• Home greenhouses and greenhouses, completely constructed of sheets of transparent slate or with a roof made of a similar material function well not only in the spring period, but even in winter. All because the material keeps the heat inside the structure well and does not let the wind pass, and natural light enters inside throughout the daylight.

Functional, light and at the same time - a beautiful canopy over the pool

• To protect the pool from wind, ultraviolet rays, dust and tree leaves, transparent slate is the best option. It looks harmoniously with the water surface against the background of natural landscapes, and most importantly - the pool - you can use it in any weather in any weather.

Reliable protection against rainfall for terraces, fenders, entrances, entrances to the house or auxiliary buildings

• This material has become very popular for the installation of canopies over the entrance doors, as well as for the formation of curly roofs over terraces. All this thanks to its light weight, original appearance and the ability to create designs of various shapes.

The main areas of application of plastic transparent slate have been listed above, but in addition, they cover winter gardens and balconies, arrange partition walls inside the premises, canopies over the courtyard territory and much more.

Advantages and disadvantages of transparent slate

As with any other material, transparent slate has its pluses and minuses

It is easy to get acquainted with the areas of application of this relatively new modern coating, it can be concluded that it has many positive qualities. Nevertheless, he does not lack specific shortcomings. Of all these "polar" qualities, it is also necessary to obtain information in order to have an idea of ​​how the material behaves when it is influenced by various external factors.

Advantages of transparent slate

The positive qualities of this material are undoubtedly the following:

• Strength of

Despite the small, seemingly thick, material has excellent shock resistance

Transparent modern plastics designed for roof installation, wall and partition installation, are designed for outdoor use, so they have high impact resistance and exceed by this quality glass in dozens of times. As a result, plastic slate can be called absolutely safe in the use of the material. So, for example, if a hail falls on such a roof, it will, in the worst case, leave a crack on its surface, but the glass can shatter to pieces and wake up on the head of those who will be inside, say, a greenhouse or a gazebo.

• Light transmission

Many kinds of transparent slate with a light permeability almost equal to the usual silicate glass

. The transparency of the roof makes it possible to achieve maximum daylight illumination under the roof, which is especially important if it is arranged over a greenhouse, winter garden or in poultry houses. Do not interfere with good lighting for a gazebo, workshop or balcony, because thanks to a transparent coating will not have to once again include artificial light, which will significantly reduce energy costs.

• Ecological purity of

Polymers used for transparent roofing are absolutely safe for humans and the environment

The ecological purity of the material is one of the most important qualities of such roofing. In the process of operation and under the influence of external factors, plastic slate does not begin to release harmful substances to humans or the environment. Unlike it, traditional asbestos-cement roofing eventually becomes dangerous for human health. It is characteristic that since 2005, asbestos-containing materials are generally prohibited for use in European countries.

• UV resistance

A transparent transparent slate is not afraid of the destructive effect of ultraviolet radiation

Resistance to ultraviolet radiation is also an equally important advantage of a transparent roofing. It passes the sun's rays through itself, without absorbing them, so it is less susceptible to destruction from ultraviolet radiation, which can well be called the main enemy of most other roofing coatings.

The transparent roof is practically not heated and does not accumulate heat, as it does not absorb heat rays. In contrast, the metal roofs, as well as the traditional slate, get very hot, and then, with the onset of the evening and a decrease in the atmospheric temperature, they begin to give heat inside the rooms.

• Flexibility of transparent slate

Flexibility of the material opens up wide possibilities for giving the roofing structures of the most bizarre shapes

Flexibility with transparent polymeric slate makes it possible to design and carry out installation of complex roof structures - it can be arch, semi-arch, dome, trapezium and others, moremore intricate designs, consisting of several geometric shapes.

• The lightness of the transparent slate

The material has a small mass - it does not need to create reinforced structures for it.

The transparent roof not only looks airy, but also has very little weight, so it practically does not load the foundation and walls of the building, which is its clear advantage over othersroofing materials.

• Aesthetics of the transparent coating

Transparent sections of the roof are a special style of the buildings and other structures that have been blocked by them.

Aesthetics is the indisputable quality of a light-transmissive slate. With the use of this material, surprisingly beautiful verandas, canopies and pavilions are obtained, and the greenhouses installed on the plot look no worse. Such structures can be an excellent addition to the design of the site in a certain style.

• Resistance to temperature changes

Operating temperature range of transparent slate - is sufficient even for extreme climatic conditions

The advantages of such a light-permeable slate include its endurance to low and high temperatures, as well as to their sharp differences. So, roofing plastic is designed for use in the temperature range from -50 to +120 degrees, which means that it can be used in almost any Russian region, except for only certain "poles of cold".

Disadvantages of transparent slate

The disadvantages of using transparent slate for the construction of the roof of a private house are the following:

• Complexity of work. Installation of plastics on the rafter system should be carried out with extreme caution, since any of them is not designed for too much point, undistributed load. Therefore, for work will require special decks or forests.
• Plastic transparent coating is not compatible with all roofing materials and truss systems. Therefore, the "minuses" of these materials include the limitations of their use.

Nevertheless, it clearly suggests that the material, with quality installation and proper use, has much more merit than negative qualities.

In addition to the general "pluses" and "minuses" of transparent slate, for the right choice for a specific application, you need to have an idea of ​​the qualities of the varieties of this material. And we need to start with the general characteristics that are characteristic of all transparent plastics.

Forms of transparent roofing

The wide assortment of the transparent material offered for sale can also be attributed to its positive qualities. It is also necessary to get information about this in order to determine the right choice.

• Variety of colors

Transparent slate has a lot of colors, which allows you to choose the right option for a particular building. It is produced in the following color scheme:

- transparent, colorless;

- white;

- color - the color of the slate can be pure or mixed, such as turquoise, beige, milky, bronze, etc.

If colorless transparent slate is used for greenhouses, then different color variants are quite possible for other buildings.

Several samples of the color scheme of the transparent slate

The color of the chosen slate for the visor, verandah, terrace or fence should be organically combined with the decoration of the walls of the facade of the house. Therefore, if an ideally suitable shade is not found, then you can choose neutral, for example, smoky or bronze.

• Light transmission level

In addition to the color range, the plastic slate is also classified according to the level of light transmission:

- Fully transparent, having 92 ÷ 95% light transmittance. It may well be comparable to glass, so it is used for rooms that require increased lighting.

- Semi-transparent material has a 55 ÷ 75% transparency. The contours of individual objects are followed, but they can not be properly considered.

- Frosted slate has the lowest percentage of transparency, so it practically does not let light pass. But it has the most intense coloring.

- The opaque material is completely opaque.

• Sheet profile configuration

Plastic slate may look different, and in many respects its shape depends on the cross section - it can have different shapes and sizes:

Transparent slate with "classical" sinusoidal waves

- wavy form, in the form of smooth sinusoidal waves;

This slate is as close as possible to the configuration of the

corrugated board - trapezoidal waves have clear wave boundaries, like in most types of metal corrugated board;

Not absolutely "slate" - roofing sheets without wavy forms

- even sheets are divided into monolithic and honeycomb variants.

Wave type table by size and color:

Wave configuration	Wave length( mm / height, mm)	Sheet length, mm	Sheet width, mm	Thickness, mm	Material color
	146/48	2000	1090	1,1 ÷ 1,3	Transparent
	94/34	2000	900	1	Red Green Yellow Blue Brown Brown
	70/18	2000	1090	0.8	Transparent Smoky Yellow Green Red Blue
	76/18	2000	900	0.8	Transparent Smoke
	76/18	2000	1030	2.5	Prism

It should be noted that a slate with a wavy or trapezoidal profile, has much greater rigidity and strengthWith flat sheets, it is therefore more resistant to shock and static loads. Thanks to such configurations, water is more efficiently removed from the roof, leaving less trace of droplets.

Plastic slate can be realized in long rolls

Wavy slate is produced in sheets and rolls. Their sizes are selected in accordance with the existing dimensions of the roof slopes. Standard sheet parameters: 2000 × 900;2000 × 1086;2200 × 1140 mm and others, depending on the type of material and the manufacturer. Each slate sheet usually has 7 ÷ 12 waves, depending on their width and depth.

The slate sold in rolls can have a length of 10, 20, 30 m and a width of 1.5-3 m. These dimensions allow the use of solid fragments of material to cover one roof slope in length or width. Thanks to such coating parameters, even on a large roof slope, the number of sheet joints is significantly reduced, and the installation process itself is simplified.

Materials for the production of transparent slate and their characteristics

So, the transparent slate is made of four types of plastic - polyvinyl chloride, fiberglass, acrylic plexiglass and polycarbonate.

Hardened polyvinyl chloride( PVC)

Transparent slate of PVC

PVC slate sheets are produced in a transparent or color version, can have different sizes and thickness. The material has a lot of advantages, the main of which are lightness, strength and fire safety.

Slate made of transparent polyvinyl chloride has the property of scattering light, which is well suited for arranging roofs of winter gardens, greenhouses, and balconies.

PVC slate can have trapezoidal and sinusoidal waves, but it is not produced in the form of flat sheets.

This material can be of two types - conventional and reinforced with fiberglass. The second option has greater mechanical strength, but less flexibility.

PVC coating is practically not afraid of any "chemical rains"

Polyvinyl chloride, unlike polycarbonate, is more resistant to chemical aggressive substances. Therefore, it is well suited for the arrangement of roofs of balconies and awnings over the entrance to houses located in industrial areas where dust can be deposited with an admixture of aggressive elements or acid precipitates.

Standard dimensions for PVC sheets are 2000 × 1090 and 2000 × 1080 mm with a sheet thickness of 2 mm and a number of waves from 5 to 8 pieces. The weight of the sheet is 2.5 ÷ 3 kg, which is much lighter than any other roofing material.

In the Russian market, this plastic slate is presented in a colorless transparent form, as well as in the blue, blue, red, yellow and green palette. Opaque PVC slate is produced in gray and blue.

Polycarbonate slate

Wavy polycarbonate coating

Polycarbonate produces three types of roofing material - it is monolithic, cellular and with sinusoidal waves. All of them can be used to arrange the roof, but each of them is suitable for a specific case. For example, monolithic sheets of material are used to insert a saze in the roof of a residential house, since they have a sufficiently large thickness and are quite capable of replacing the usual glazing.

Monolithic polycarbonate sheets

For the production of greenhouses, awnings, canopies and arbors, cellular and wavy plastic slate are most often used.

Cellular polycarbonate sheets are widely used for roofing works - due to the increased thermal insulation qualities of

. Polycarbonate honeycomb sheets are connected to each other by the profile elements provided for this purpose, and the wavy ones are overlapped by one wave.

Slate from this plastic has its advantages over other similar coatings. To such advantages carry:

- High firmness to mechanical influences. Polycarbonate can withstand falling heavy objects on it, and with a correctly arranged rafter system it can withstand the weight of one person, which is very important for easy installation and repair work on the roof.

- Polycarbonate - the most resistant of all types of plastic slate to ultraviolet radiation, as it does not lose its original appearance under its influence for 8 ÷ 10 years.

- Wavy and honeycomb sheets differ in a small mass. Thus, a wavy sheet of 1 m² weighs only 1.15 ÷ 1.2 kg at a thickness of 0.9 ÷ 1 mm.

Video: interesting information and profiled polycarbonate

Plexiglass slate

One of the materials for the production of transparent slate is acrylic plexiglas

Acrylic plexiglass is produced in monolithic and wavy sheets, with sinusoidal and trapezoidal waves. Acrylic slate has a glossy surface, it well dissipates sunlight and absorbs noise. Monolithic sheets are perfectly suited as inserts in the attic roof of residential buildings, and the corrugated version is used for roofs of light structures, awnings, roofs of balconies, etc.

The thickness of slate sheets is usually 1 ÷ 1.2 mm, and monolithic from 1 to 24 mm.

Wavy slate of acrylic plexiglas

The length of slate sheets can be 4000, 6000 and 12000 mm, but for convenient transportation their standard size is usually no more than 2050-3050 mm in length. The material is resistant to deformations and brittleness, even when it is influenced by ultraviolet rays and other natural factors, as well as to chemical inorganic influences.

Acrylic slate has a sufficiently high impact resistance, and can be used at temperatures of -40 to +80 ° C.

A very important quality is the environmental friendliness of the material. Throughout the operation, it does not release toxic substances and is absolutely safe for human health. The lack of material is an instability to many organic solvents.

Glass fiber reinforced plastic slate

Wavy fiberglass slate

Fiberglass is made of polyester resin, which provides resistance to aggressive atmospheric influences, and glass fibers, which give the sheets special strength. Due to its components, GRP has a high heat resistance and frost resistance - the temperature of its operation can vary from -40 to + 140 ° C.

Fiberglass slate is available in a rich shade variety

Fiberglass is produced in sheets and rolls, so you can choose a convenient form for installation.

The material has a low thermal conductivity, so the slate from it is excellent for arranging the roofs of greenhouses, poultry houses, greenhouses and greenhouses. The variety of GRP colors allows using this material as decorative, applying it for the construction of arbors, roofs of balconies and other buildings for household or household purposes.

Standard roll size 2.5 × 20, 2 × 20, 1.5 × 20 m. The thickness of the roofing material can be from 0.8 to 2 mm.

Fiberglass is light in weight. Thus, a sheet with a size of 3000 × 1000 mm weighs only 3.5 kg, which greatly facilitates its rise to the height and mounting.

Manufacturers give a guarantee for fiberglass roofing up to 10 years.

Installation of transparent slate

Installation of plastic transparent slate has its own features

The installation of plastic slate has its own nuances, which also need to be studied before the roofing works begin. One of the most important moments is the basis for fixing the material - the design of the crate, so it is worth to follow the existing recommendations.

How to mount a wave transparent slate

Calculation of the parameters of a bascule

Naturally, first of all, a crate must be prepared for the laying of any roofing material. Most often it is made of their wooden beams, placing transverse waves of guides with a certain pitch. But the step itself depends on the thickness of the profiled sheet, and on the supposed load on the roof.

Recommended, calculated by the specialists, the step of the roofing for the transparent transparent slate is indicated in the table:

Now it remains to decide what the load on the roof will be. This indicator consists of the possible snow and wind load, which, in turn, depends on the region of construction, the specific location of the building or structure, and the steepness of the slope. Obviously, the greater the steepness of the slope, the less impact the snow load will have, but with the simultaneous increase in the importance of the wind.

There is a special algorithm for calculating the load on the roofing. It contains several formulas and many tables with fixed values ​​and various correction factors. But in order to simplify the task for the reader, we compiled a special calculator that will allow us to calculate the planned load in a matter of minutes quickly and with a perfectly acceptable, very small error.

Calculator for calculating the load on the roof

So, first you need to determine to which zone the snow area and wind load is the area of ​​construction. It is not difficult to do this using the map maps of the territory of Russia below.

Map-scheme of zoning of the territory of Russia by the level of snow load

Map-scheme of zoning of the territory of Russia according to the level of wind pressure

Other parameters - the angle of the slope, the degree of openness of the territory, the height of the building - everything is easy to determine by location.

In determining the degree of openness of the construction site( zones "A", "B" and "B"), it should be borne in mind that the characteristic artificial or natural obstacles to wind should be located no further than in a circle delineated with a radius of 30 × h, where h is the height of the roof above the ground level.

With all of the above data on hand, you can enter them into the calculator and get the calculated value of the total pressure on the roof:

Now, when the values ​​are obtained, you can determine the step of the cross bars of the crate by the table and proceed to the installation of the roofing.

Installation of the roof from the transparent transparent slate

The step-by-step instructions for mounting the transparent slate on the lathing of the rafters are shown in the table:

Illustration	Brief description of the operation
	For the arrangement of a roofing for the installation of plastic slate on a pitched roof, a bar with a cross-section of 30 × 40, 40 × 40 mm and more is required. The beam is fastened to the rafters with the help of nails or screws - two fastening elements are required for each joint. Before fixing, the wooden parts of the crate are recommended to be treated with compounds with flame retardant and antiseptic properties that protect the wood from harmful insects and mildew, and reduce the combustibility of the material. The step of the curtain for wave transparent slate should be 500 ÷ 600 mm. You can make it more frequent, but in this case the intensity of the illumination of the premises will decrease. The first beam of the battens is fastened to the rafters with an indentation from the eaves approximately 50 mm. If, for any reason, a metal structure is used as the basis for a transparent slate, it is recommended to wrap the joints of the roofing material with the metal with aluminum foil.
	If the entire coating consists of separate sheets of roofing material, then they are laid according to the scheme shown in the illustration, overlapping horizontally by at least 200 ÷ 250 mm. The material is mounted from the cornice upwards to the ridge, by the "zigzag" method, that is, the middle of each sheet of the upper row is laid on the joint of the lower sheets.
	The fixing screws are screwed into the crest of the slate wave. To prevent plastic crack from forming a metal screw, first drill a hole in the slate with a drill or a screwdriver. The hole must be larger than the screw part of the fastening element by 2 ÷ 2.5 mm.
	To create maximum rigidity in the places where the sheets are fastened to the crate, and to avoid deformation of the slate during the constriction of the fasteners, special stands with an already prepared screw hole are installed under the wave. Stands are made in two configurations - under a sinusoidal wave, and also under trapezoidal.
	For fixing plastic slate special screws with waterproofing rubber gasket and metal washer are used, which in the complex will create a reliable coating for the drilled hole. Screws are screwed in steps of three to four waves in the middle part of the roof and through one wave - on a ridge and cornice beam.
	The fastening of the transparent slate along the edge must be made by retracting at least 50 mm from it. When purchasing materials on a standard sheet of plastic slate, it is necessary to provide 18 ÷ 20 pieces of special roofing screws. If the visor is mounted, the distance between it and the wall of the house must be at least 3 ÷ 4 mm. Then, this gap is closed by the sealing compound - this precaution is necessary to compensate for the thermal expansion of the material.
	Smooth edges of fixed slate( as well as cellular polycarbonate) is formed by special end profiles that will give the construction a finish and protect the edges from destruction.

Features of mounting the roof of cellular polycarbonate

Next, it makes sense to consider the features of installing cellular polycarbonate, as it is also very often called transparent slate. The installation of such a coating looks somewhat more complicated than fixing the wave roofing material.

To begin with, again, we define with the step of the required lathing. The calculation of the total pressure on the roof - does not differ from that given above.

Diagram for the installation of the polycarbonate honeycomb

The table below gives the recommended parameters of the load-bearing structure for cellular polycarbonate, where the width of the steps between the elements is identified by the symbol: A - horizontally( rafters), In - along the slope( crate).

Nuances of installation work for the installation of cellular polycarbonate:

Illustration	Brief description of the operation
	Before mounting on a pitched roof, each panel of cellular polycarbonate must be prepared. To do this, their end pieces are sealed - the bottom edge of the tape, which allows condensate to escape from inside the panels, and the upper edge - a solid aluminum tape, protecting the clearances from direct entry into the sediments or dirt.
	The scheme for securing cellular as well as monolithic polycarbonate is as follows: 1. The roofing material itself( honeycomb or monolithic polycarbonate). 2. Element of the roofing structure of the rafter system. 3. The end profile, which not only gives the design a finish and aesthetics, but also protects the clearances of the cellular material of the roofing material from the ingress of moisture and debris in them. 4. Punch tape, to maintain the possibility of removing moisture from inside the panels, it is only necessary for cellular polycarbonate, for the sides along the bottom of the roof slope. . 5. A thermo washer that promotes the preservation of the material intact during thermal expansion, and also does not give a metal fastening capelement to press into the roofing material and damage its surface.
	The connection of individual polycarbonate panels to each other occurs with the help of special profiles, which are produced for the entire thickness range of the material. The table of existing profiles and their sizes, as well as some nuances of their installation - are presented below.
	The mounting of this material is made to the outside with the side that has a protective layer, resistant to ultraviolet rays, otherwise polycarbonate will not last long. The right side is determined by the fact that it has inscriptions and logos of the manufacturer that are removed after fixing the material on the crate.

Table of the main profiles used for the installation of cellular or solid polycarbonate and plexiglass:

Profile name	Profile profile	For connection of panels having a thickness, mm	Standard profile length, mm	Profile profile
UP - end profile		4,6,8,10	2100	Protection of the end faces of SPK panels against moisture and dirt.
HP - one-piece connection profile		4,6,8,10	6000	For joining SPK panels with fixing them in the structure.
HCP - split connection profile - base		6,8,10,16	6000	Connection of SPK panels with fixing them in the construction. The profile consists of two parts - the base and the lid.
HCP - split connection profile - cover		6,8,10,16	6000	Connection of SPK panels with fixing them in the construction.
All-in-one skate profile		6,8,10,16	6000	Docking of panels on different skates of the roofing system.

To properly install polycarbonate on the crate, the parameters of which are presented above, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the nuances of using connecting profiles.

• The end profile has a short and long side. The shorter should be on top of the panel, since it is covered with a protective UV layer.
• All-in-one docking profiles( HP), calculated for a sheet thickness of 4,6,8,10 mm, will not provide reliable fastening of the panels and sealing of the joint between them, since they are not intended for fixing sheets to the crate. Therefore, they are used to join panels installed vertically, for example, when installing walls of gazebos, partitions or fences.
• The detachable profiles for panels with a thickness of 8,10,16 mm are designed to ensure reliable fastening and sealing of joints between plates of material, allow to do without traditional fasteners. But when using them, the width of the roof panel should not be more than 700 ÷ 1050 mm with a thickness of 8 ÷ 10 mm and 1200 ÷ 1400 mm with a plate thickness of 16 mm.
• The ridge profile provides an elegant appearance and allows you to set the sheets at a certain angle.

Transparent insert in the roof

Another option for installing a transparent roof in cottages, greenhouses and greenhouses is to fix it on a separate section of the roof. Usually it is done on the southern slope of the roof of the building, so that the sun as long as possible falls through a kind of large window in the roof.

It is possible to build a kind of "dormer window" from transparent roofing material

Fastening of panels or sheets in this case differs from the total coverage of stingrays with transparent roofing very little, but it has some nuances associated with combining coatings made of different materials.

Illustration	Brief description of the operation
	When installing a transparent insert in the roof slope, the crate must be calculated not only for the transparent material, but also for the one with which it will be combined. In this situation, if next to the transparent material sheets will be laid, coinciding with it in size, then the crate on the entire surface will be the same. If sheets or pieces of the basic roofing cover are smaller, or the features of their installation assume their crate, then it is necessary to fix additional frame parts to the area of ​​its installation, the step between them is already defined as for the whole roof. For example, if soft roofing is planned around the transparent slate, you will have to make a continuous crate-to fasten plywood sheets. In the rest, the installation of rafters and battens takes place in the same way as if the installation were made on the entire ramp of the structure.
	A very important point is the docking of two different roofing materials. If you choose a corrugated board with the same in size trapezoidal or sinusoidal waves, as well as transparent slate, then there will be no special problems with the joining of the sheets. In this case, the transparent wave material is superimposed on top of the corrugated wave and fixed with screws with rubber gaskets and washer. In addition, on the crest of the corrugated wave can be applied a layer of sealant, which will create a reliable waterproofing gasket.
	In the same case, when roofing coverings have different relief patterns, combining them will be already much more difficult. So, if you plan to make a transparent insert in the central part of the roof slope, the lower row of the main roofing material is first mounted, which will close the roof edge of the roof. Next, the bottom row of transparent slate is laid and fixed( or it can be a single sheet), and it must be overlapped on the lower row of opaque basic roofing material, with a minimum of 250 ÷ 300 mm on it. The sides of the insert are fixed to the crate and pressed on top by a bar treated with water-repellent compounds. This part will serve as the basis for securing the main opaque material along the sides of the transparent insert.
	The upper side of the insert can be shaped differently, depending on whether it is located below the roof ridge or pass through it. If the insert starts from the ridge, the transparent slate is fixed on the ridge board and the crate, then on top is pressed with a wooden bar, which is fixed with screws.
	At the top, the joint is first covered with a waterproofing material, and when the roofing is completed, the roof ridge is closed with a special metal or plastic element. If a number of other roofing material is placed above the insert, then it is overlapped on the transparent part of the roof by 150 ÷ ​​200 mm.
	The next step is to install the basic dense roofing material, which will make the transparent slate on the sides. It is laid and fixed to a bar fixed to the sides of the transparent insert. For reliability, the beam can be additionally waterproofed with a roofing tape, matching it in color.
	From the inside, the transparent insert will look something like this, if you construct such a structure in the attic roof or in the attic, provided that it has a sufficient height.
	The final stage is the installation of the ridge element. It is fixed with nails or screws.

The presented brands of transparent slate

Deserves attention and the issue of the most popular brands of transparent slate, which are presented on the Russian market. Suppliers of these roofing materials are domestic and foreign manufacturers:

• "South-Oil-Plast"( Russia) produces a transparent slate of polycarbonate with a thickness of 0.8 to 1.5 mm, the standard sheet size is 1050 × 2000 mm. Sheets of a larger length can be made to order. The profile is made with sinusoidal and trapezoidal waves 18 and 36 mm high.
• Concern "Palram"( Israel) and "Borrex" trademark make transparent slate and all necessary accessories( including abrasion strips and ridge elements) made of polyvinylchloride and polycarbonate. Ten different wave sizes, with a sheet width of 1260 mm, and a length of 2000 to 6000 mm.
• "Salux"( Germany) produces modern versatile material that is suitable for creating a variety of architectural configurations and construction. The slate is made of polyvinyl chloride in the following sizes:

Dimensions of polymeric transparent slate "Salux"

- slate with trapezoidal waves "Salux" W Trapez 70/18 0,8 × 1090 × 2000 mm - transparent, bronze and blue;

- slate with sinusoidal waves "Salux" W Sinus 76/18 0,8 × 900 × 2000 mm - transparent and bronze.

This assortment is not limited to - in addition to the above, the most common options for transparent slate "Salux", in the shops you can find those that are presented in this table.

Types of transparent slate of the company "Salux"

The Russian market also includes products from other manufacturers: PALRUF - PVC sheet( Ukraine), SUNTUF - polycarbonate( Israel), SUNTOP - polycarbonate( China), "Ondex »- PVC sheet( France) and many others.

Thanks to a wide range of this roofing material, it is possible to choose the most suitable for the performance characteristics, in harmony with the overall design of the house and plot, on the availability of self-installation technology.