Roof lifespan
How long does a conservatory roof last?
The covering sets the lifespan, but gaskets, gutters and lead age on their own clocks. Here are the published figures, their limits and how to read your own roof.
The short answer
It depends on the covering. HomeBuilding gives polycarbonate a typical lifespan of 10 years. For the other two it quotes the managing director of Roofing Megastore: glass is likely to last in excess of 30 years, and tiles typically in excess of 50 years, with little maintenance required. Those are one supplier's statements, not promises, and the gutter, the lead at the wall and the frame can wear out on a different timetable from the covering, so the whole roof is judged on survey.
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The published figures, side by side
The conservatory roof lifespans set out here all come from one guide. The table sets them out with their hedge words, because the hedge is part of the figure.
| Covering | Figure given | Who says it |
|---|---|---|
| Polycarbonate | A typical lifespan of 10 years | HomeBuilding |
| Glass | Likely to last in excess of 30 years | Roofing Megastore's managing director, quoted by HomeBuilding |
| Tiled | Typically in excess of 50 years, with little maintenance required | The same managing director, quoted by HomeBuilding |
Two of the three come from a supplier of conservatory roofs, who sells what he describes, so we treat the numbers as the order of magnitude and no more. On those figures a plastic roof sits well behind the other two.
Nothing in the guide splits its figures by size, by how sheltered the site is or by the quality of the fitting, and none is specific to Kent or East Sussex. We therefore do not adjust them for your address. They show how the coverings compare with one another, which is the use they are good for, and no more than that.
Why a figure is never a promise
Every figure above carries a hedge: typical, likely, in excess of. None says that every roof reaches it. A published lifespan describes a covering that was fitted properly, onto a frame that suits it, and looked after, and a roof that falls short on any of those can fail sooner than the number suggests.
Fitting is a large part of it. A tiled roof that is built on a frame that moves, or drains into a gutter that was never right, can leak long before the tiles themselves are tired. Marley makes the same point about the roof tiles on a house: it expects them to last around 60 years, typically, and says plainly that this is no guarantee or warranty of longevity.
For that reason we do not quote a lifespan for your roof from a table. We look at the roof, describe the condition of each part and give you our view of the years left, in words and without a figure, because the figure would only be a guess dressed as a promise.
Parts that age on their own timetable
A conservatory roof is a set of parts, and the covering is only the largest. Each of the others has its own life and its own way of failing:
- the gaskets and seals around glazing bars, which can shrink and let go while the glass or sheets are still sound
- the box gutter lining, which carries all the run-off from the roof
- the lead at the house wall, which MyJobQuote says can last for over 80 years when correctly installed
- the frame and the base, which set what any roof can be asked to carry
- the vents, where the roof relies on them to keep the room dry
Sealed glass units add one more wrinkle: a unit that has failed mists between its panes and cannot be cleaned from either side, so it is replaced as a unit even when the frame around it is sound. This is why a long-lived covering does not make a long-lived roof. Glass can outlast its gaskets, and a tiled roof can outlast its gutter, so a tired gutter or a worn flashing is best renewed while the roof is already open for another reason. The leaks guide on conservatory roof leaks shows how each part gives itself away.
Reading your own roof
You do not need a table to see a roof nearing the end of its life. These are the signs worth noting:
- sheets that have yellowed, clouded or turned brittle
- glass units that have misted between the panes
- drips along several bars rather than one
- repairs that have needed repeating
- the dates of earlier repairs, which show whether the same fault keeps returning
- a room that you avoid for whole seasons because of heat, cold or the sound of rain
One failed gasket is a repair, and a roof that shows several of these together has probably earned its replacement. Our comparison of tiled, glass and polycarbonate roofs helps you weigh what to fit next, and the conservatory roofs page describes how the survey works, from the first look at the frame to the final check of the lead. A sound repair is what we recommend first. Where that is not possible, we recommend replacement and give the reasons. A quote arrives as one written total after the visit, and it lists what stays.
More questions
Does a tiled conservatory roof need much maintenance?
HomeBuilding quotes a supplier saying a tiled conservatory roof lasts typically in excess of 50 years with little maintenance being required. Little is not none: the gutters, the lead at the wall and the pointing around it still want checking from time to time, and a survey finds any of them wearing early.
Is it worth repairing an old polycarbonate roof?
It depends on the fault. One lifted seal or a single cracked sheet is a fair repair. Sheets that have yellowed or turned brittle, together with leaks along several bars, point to replacement, since HomeBuilding gives polycarbonate a typical lifespan of 10 years and an old roof with several faults is poor value to keep patching.
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