Li Li
May 16, 2025
🏠 Why Polycarbonate Is Becoming the Smart Choice for Roofing
When it comes to outdoor roofing—carports, patios, sunrooms, or greenhouses—choosing the right material can make all the difference. Traditional roofing like metal sheets or glass often come with issues like high weight, poor insulation, or fragility.
Polycarbonate roofing has quickly become the go-to choice for homeowners, tradies, and builders looking for something modern, lightweight, and incredibly durable.
We also supply matching accessories like gutters, mounting systems, and end caps—so you get everything in one go.
🔍 What Is Polycarbonate?
Polycarbonate (PC) is a high-performance plastic known for its 💪 toughness, 🔍 transparency, and ☀️ weather resistance.
It’s commonly used in:
-
🏠 Architectural roofing
🌿 Greenhouses
🛡️ Safety shields
🌤️ Skylights and signage
There are several types:
-
🪵 Solid sheets
🧱 Multiwall panels
🌊 Corrugated/Trimdeck panels
✅ Why Choose Polycarbonate for Roofing?
☀️ High Transparency Up to 88% light transmission—great for daylighting 💪 Extreme Strength 200x stronger than glass; impact & hail resistant ☁️ UV Protection UV-coated to block 98% harmful rays 🔥 Heat & Fire Resistant Works in -40℃ to 120℃; flame retardant (B1 grade) 🌧️ All-Weather Proof Won’t yellow, crack, or warp easily outdoors🛠️ Easy to Install
Lightweight, bendable, and cuttable with basic tools 🌟 Perfect for These Projects 🚗 Carports & Pergolas 🌱 Greenhouses ☕ Backyard Patios / Outdoor Kitchens 🗶 Walkways / Warehouse Roofing 👉 Whether you're a builder or a DIY homeowner, polycarbonate makes outdoor projects faster, cleaner, and longer-lasting.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Will it turn yellow over time? No—our PC sheets have UV coatings that prevent discoloration for 10+ years. Is it waterproof? Yes, with proper installation and sealed joints, it resists rain perfectly. Is it expensive? It’s more affordable than glass and offers better value than iron sheets in the long run. 🧰 Bighands Recommends: We offer a full range of corrugated, flat, and multiwall PC panels in:
We also supply matching accessories like gutters, mounting systems, and end caps—so you get everything in one go.
Related Articles
bhbadmin
February 15, 2022
Polycarbonate in Home Design
Polycarbonate is a thermoplastic polymer is lightweight, strong and cost-efficient. It is also versatile, offering
different grades of translucence (or light transmission) as well as heat transmission.
The contemporary look of the material has made it popular in the last few years in award winning architectural projects, especially in Europe.
Here, we share some of our favourite projects which have used polycarbonate in a stylish and clever way.
1. In what would have otherwise been a narrow staircase, Muka
Arquitectura’s
use of
polycarbonate panels turns this into an area filled with soft, diffused light and completely
transforming the space. It also creates a modern, minimalistic look, with the pale blue
polycarbonate sheeting balancing the warmth of the timber stairs.
2. Designed by Garces- De Seta- Bonet Architects, polycarbonate
sheeting is
used as both wall
and a section of roof to connect a living area and a workshop to create a sun-soaked
space. The
polycarbonate sheeting also retains the light and airy feel created by the white walls
and
stairs of the hybrid indoor-outdoor area.
3. We love the concept of this Japanese inspired moveable
room
divider
which
uses natural wood
and polycarbonate sheeting to create a light and airy effect. It effectively divides
the
space
without making it look and feel smaller, and utilises the timber planks to create a
unique,
minimalistic design to create an interesting backdrop.
4. Although the other examples on this list have used
polycarbonate
sheeting
for its light
transmission properties, Bunyesc Arquitectes have used layered polycarbonate
sheeting
here to
update the façade of an old Spanish house. The excellent thermal insulation
properties
have been
prized here, used to give the exterior wall a larger thermal mass, allowing the
façade
to slowly
release collected heat during the day when the wall was under direct sunlight.
Then,
during the
colder nights, the heat would slowly release into the home, improving the energy
efficiency of
the home.
bhbadmin
February 12, 2024
Why Polycarbonate is Perfect for Your Greenhouse
Whether as a small structure in your backyard, or on an industrial scale, polycarbonate sheeting has become a popular glazing material for greenhouses. When building a greenhouse, there are two decisions which the builder will need to be make: the framing material, and the glazing material.
The two most common framing materials are wood and metal, with wood excellent for smaller greenhouses, being a cheaper and easier material to work with. Commercial greenhouses however, will be made with galvanised steel, chosen for the longer life span and minimal maintenance.
However, glazing options are constantly evolving. Whereas glass was used in the past, the high cost, fragility, and poor insulating properties meant it became a less popular material when polycarbonate sheeting became a more common building material.
Polycarbonate sheeting is very lightweight, but durable. This means that it requires less framing materials to support the structure, reducing the cost of the project this way. Polycarbonate also offers both corrugated and flat surfaces, with both options offering interesting ways which greenhouse owners can maximise light penetration into the structure. Corrugated surfaces can optimise sunlight when the sun is at low on the horizon; up to 25% more than a flat surface. Polycarbonate also has excellent thermal insulation properties, and even within our product range, different colours can offer different heat and light transmission. This versatility is incredibility important in creating specific macroclimates, but also microclimates within the greenhouse.
Great for your wallet and great for your plants, give polycarbonate sheeting a go if you’re looking to build a greenhouse!
bhbadmin
October 28, 2024
Holiday Closure Announcement
As the festive season approaches, we would like to inform you in advance of the Bighands Building Supply closure
schedule for Christmas 2024.