Opening Up the Market
Ultraframe has announced the launch of a new goalpost for its Glass Roof and Livinroof systems, which will allow Ultraframe installers and builders to create open-sided Grand Designs with clear openings in excess of 6.5m, and doors in excess of 10m.
This latest new product from the conservatory and extension specialist has been developed to provide a hassle-free route to structural support for the large spans of doors or clear spans that are now a key feature of many conservatory and extension designs.
Explaining more about the new goalpost, Ultraframe Marketing Director, Alex Hewitt, said: “The designs that were once classed as ‘Grand Designs’ with large spans of doors or open space on two or more sides are becoming more and more the norm.
Homeowners want to have the ability to open up the sides of their conservatory or extension and really create a space that flows between the home and garden. This not only creates a large linked entertaining space during the warmer months of the year, but also adds a definite wow factor – perfect for the instagram-savvy home improvers of today.
While these large spans of glazing or open space are not our product, they are an important consideration for us when designing and refining our roofing systems.
When designing such a project, the stability of the roof needs careful consideration. When either opening up the side of a conservatory or including a large span of doors in the design, the front corners must be securely anchored to the ground.
Lateral stability must also be considered to counteract movement of the structure from side to side, which occur during periods of high winds or heavy snowfall. This means that sufficient structure is needed at the corners and the host walls, using structural posts, window returns, brick pillars or goalposts.
Goalposts are a great way to support large open spans and manage lateral stability risk and builders and installers would typically use their local steel fabricator to create a bespoke steel goalpost, and a structural engineer to do all the calculations. This involves a leap of faith that the roof and goalpost will work as they should when they come together and means dealing with three different suppliers.
Our new goalpost is specified at the time of ordering the roof and Ultraframe’s in-house structural engineers use our bespoke software to run all the necessary calculations. The goalpost and roof are designed and manufactured to work perfectly together, meaning that ordering a goalpost from Ultraframe is simple and hassle free.”
Along with being hassle free to order, the new Ultraframe goalpost also offers huge benefits on site. Engineered aluminum beams are as light as they are strong and come in lengths no greater than 7m which can be joined with another post at a fixed point for larger spans. This means that they are light enough to be lifted into place, as opposed to hiring machinery such as a genie lift.
The goalpost can also be supplied with a beam deflection system which acts as a cushion or spring. This allows the header beam to safely deflect by an additional 6mm to the 6mm already offered by the standard goalpost, without affecting the head of the door frame and the smooth operation of the doors below.
The goalpost can be concealed within the Ultraframe internal pelmet or left visible and powder-coated in the colour of the homeowner’s choice, and in terms of suitability, can be used on any shape or style of Glass Roof or Livinroof extension.
For projects with bi-folds the goalpost can be used on door spans of up to 6.5m, and for larger scale projects featuring lift & slide doors with intermediate structural posts where the doors meet, doors in excess of 10m can be catered for.
Concluding, Alex said: “We know that our new goalpost will make it much simpler for our customers to get involved in ‘Grand Designs’ type conservatories extensions and we’re looking forward to seeing the outcome of these beautiful projects.”
