Clearview National March 2015 - Issue 160 | Page 82

conservatories

An Alternative for
Conservatories
Instructures Limited manufactures
Tiewire, the revolutionary alternative
roof tie bars for conservatory roofs
and other roofing structures.
»»The company, who
recently moved its new
production facility to the West
Midlands, has been trading
since 2010 and to date has
supplied over 7000 units to the
conservatory roofing market.
The Tiewire is a thin 6mm
adjustable stainless steel cable,
which runs across the inside of the
roofing structure. It is not a tie bar
replacement or removal kit, it is an
alternative to the traditional bar
conservatory roofs, refurbishments,
solid roof replacements,
traditional construction and
orangery situations with internal
bulkheads.
Mark Carter, Managing
Director of Instructures,
commented: “The new facility
will help underpin our production
procedures and uphold the
renowned quality of our products.
Regular assessments by the BBA
as part of the products CE Mark
have been put in place to ensure
a constant high level of factory
production control.”

“Having our production
procedures assessed both
internally and by external bodies
is important and critical to the
manufacturing of structural
components. It is a legal
requirement for these items
to display on the relevant CE
Mark and a Declaration of
Conformity for each product.”
Mark adds.
The technology behind the
Tiewire is not new, for years it
has been used as a structural
support in architectural building
design, and for rigging on yachts
and ships. The cable spans
between two rafter brackets
and tensioned at one end using
a turnbuckle mechanism.
This allows the slim cable to
run unbroken across the roof
without the need for any vertical
support that would interfere
with ceiling fans and lights.

For further information visit
www.tirewire.co.uk

82 » M AR 2015 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M

A Breakthrough in
the Fight Against
Condensation
»»There’s no denying
that the solid roof concept
is catching on. But as more
companies adopt a solid roof
system, so they too encounter
what is probably the biggest
issue with this product...
Condensation.
With two years worth of
experience of the Supalite
solid roof system, Roof 2 Roof
has made a real breakthrough
in combating condensation
by devising Thermabatten, a
recycled plastic thermal break
bar. Jim Dance of Roof 2 Roof
explains, “From this month, all
orders for our solid roof system
will come complete with the
specially-made thermal break
bar that we have devised. And as
far as we know, we are the only
company to be doing this at the
moment.
“The roof’s aluminium
structure, by its very nature,
creates condensation. The
combination of moisture and
heat against the cold metal
causes beads of condensation to
form inside the roof. If there’s
no airflow inside the roof, to
allow this build up of moisture
to dissipate, then it can lead to
black mould.
“Thermabatten creates a
series of 20ml airflow gaps
inside the roof, allowing air to
pass through and keep the roof
nice and dry. Previously, we’ve

used timber to do this but it
does have a tendency to hold
moisture and is tantalised with
chemicals to preserve it. There
is also the obvious ongoing
maintenance issues associated
with wood. Whereas our plastic
alternative is maintenance free.
“We have also been very
careful to use only use a
particular type of plastic
with good screw retention
so that the screws don’t pull
out, replicating the effect of
screwing into timber. What’s
more, Thermabatten is hollow,
creating yet another chamber of
airflow. And as we have learnt
as an industry, from multichambered profile, this makes
it more thermally efficient
than one solid piece or indeed
a foam filled cavity for that
matter.
“We’ve even gone one step
further for a truly maintenance
free installation and, where the
ridges and hips would usually
be set up with timber battens,
we have replaced them plastic
battens,” Jim concludes.
For further information
about this new development
in the war against
condensation, pictures
of the Thermabatten
in action can be seen
at www.roof2roof.com/
development.html