We get this question on almost every quote: should I have glass or polycarbonate on the roof? And the honest answer is, it depends — but probably less than you'd think on price, and rather more than you'd expect on what you actually want the veranda to feel like.
This is the conversation we'd have with you over a cup of tea on the patio, written down so you can have it without the cup of tea.
The case for glass.
Glass is the quiet one. 8mm laminated glassgives you a roof that lets the sky in without much fuss. It doesn't yellow. It doesn't ripple. Rain on it sounds like rain, not popcorn.
Acoustically and visually, glass is the closer-to-architecture choice. If your veranda will sit alongside a modern extension, or if you'd like to leave the lights off in the evening and watch the moon, glass is what we'd recommend.
Glass is the quiet one — rain on it sounds like rain, not popcorn.
The case for polycarbonate.
Polycarbonate is the practical one. It's lighter, which means we can sometimes span further between posts; it's much cheaper, which means a wider veranda for the same budget; and modern multi-wall opal polycarbonate has come a long way — it now blocks most direct sun, which means a cooler space underneath in July.
If you're shading a patio you actually use to eat on, polycarbonate is often the right answer. The slight diffusion is a feature, not a bug.
So when do we recommend which?
- Choose glass if the veranda is part of a sightline from inside the house, if you have a view worth keeping, or if year-round visual quietness matters more to you than the price difference.
- Choose polycarbonate if you'd rather have a bigger, cooler, shadier space; if the patio gets brutal afternoon sun; or if you'd like to spend the saving on better lighting, blinds, or a wider span.
- Honestly? About 60% of our customers choose glass. About 40% choose polycarbonate and never regret it. We've never had a customer call back saying they wished they'd chosen the other one.
And the things people overthink.
Cleaning. Glass is self-cleaning by virtue of being smooth and sloped. Polycarbonate is fine with a soft brush twice a year.
Hail. Both are graded for UK weather. Laminated glass is genuinely tougher than people imagine — it's not a greenhouse pane.
Heat. Glass roofs warm a space faster than polycarbonate ones. If you have a south-facing patio, that's either a feature (April) or a problem (August). Solar-control glass and / or fabric blinds solve this — ask us when we quote.
Whichever you choose, the frame is the same: powder-coated aluminium, corners, no maintenance worth mentioning. The roof is just the bit you look at most.