Changing the Goalpost

Ultraframe’s marketing director Alex Hewitt explains how the company has enhanced its glass roof system with the addition of its Goalpost, which allows Ultraframe installers and builders to create grand designs without the need for additional costly steels.

Over recent years we have seen our roofing systems being used more and more for Grand Designs-type extensions and orangeries – and with this, a huge increase in the number of structures featuring large spans of sliding or bifolding doors.

These large spans of glazing are a crucial aspect of the contemporary design for many homeowners and so while they are not our product, they are an important consideration for us when designing and refining our systems.

Conservatories have certainly moved on from the white boxes of old. Instead, innovations in conservatory roof technology have seen them elevated to being used on contemporary glazed extensions, and this is a key driver in our internal innovation programme.

In January, we launched various enhancements to our Classic Glass Roof system, including a new suite of bolstered eaves profiles for use on large conservatories to increase the spanning capabilities over these large spans of doors. We know that our customers have different ways of working and so we introduced a choice of options: a bifold support beam and a super bolster. The two profiles can be used independently or combined, spanning up to 5m without any additional costly steels.

Furthermore, we can now offer our Goalpost on Georgian-style Glass Roofs with internal pelmets (this is where the Goalpost is neatly concealed), and this allows for spans of 6m when used alone, or 6.5m when combined with the super bolster.

Regardless of the scale, Glass Roofs always return a high profit and are fast to fit – allowing the installer to quickly move onto the next job – and this high profit is compounded with Grand Designs-type modern glazed extensions that carry a higher price tag. The Goalpost is also extremely useful when homeowners want a full elevation of doors on their new conservatory.

This look is becoming extremely popular in modern conservatory designs, and in these instances a Goalpost is required to mitigate any lateral stability issues. Ultraframe also provides a one stop shop, and takes care of all the structural calculations for the conservatory.

Of course, for projects of any scale, there is the alternative of working with a steel fabricator to design and manufacture a bespoke steel goalpost for each project. However, this brings many complications as steel fabricators may not be familiar with the complexities of our systems, and the goalposts they create often don’t deliver an aesthetic that the homeowner (or installer) is happy with.

By ordering a roof complete with a Goalpost from Ultraframe, our installers have total peace of mind that roof and Goalpost will work in harmony and deliver the best possible aesthetic, both internally and externally. We understand how homeowners want their Grand Design to look – and large boxed in pillars to conceal goalposts that do not work in tandem with our systems are something that most homeowners would choose to avoid.

As our Goalpost has been designed as part of the conservatory or extension roof system, to work specifically with large spans of doors, the finished look has been carefully considered, and by concealing the Goalpost, our installers can deliver a cleaner aesthetic.

Not only does the Ultraframe Glass Roof Goalpost ensure a solution that works perfectly every time, limits stress for the installer, and looks better, but it also offers typical cost savings of around £300 per roof, compared to having a steel goalpost fabricated. In the scale of the grand projects that the Goalpost will be used on this cost saving is minimal. However, the ease of ordering roof and structural support from a one stop shop and delivering the best possible aesthetic to the end user cannot be underestimated.

Structural support is something that isn’t seen but is immensely important in all of our roofing systems, and our Ultrasky Roof also features this unique integrated Goalpost technology.