PLASKOLITE'S POLYGAL MULTIWALL WAS THE CLEAR CHOICE FOR THE SAM ADAMS PAVILION IN SALEM, NEW HAMPSHIRE
When it comes to choosing the best materials for your outdoor space, there’s more to look at than just cosmetics and appearance. The weight, size of the structure, ability to resist the sun’s UV rays, and the cost of maintaining everything can all add up, and fast. Outdoor dining and event spaces are popular choices in the warmer months, but without the right materials, guests can quickly feel like they are gathering in a greenhouse, and no one wants to be sweating and squinting at one another while enjoying a meal or drink.
For a business like the Samuel Adams Pavilion at Tuscan Village in Salem, New Hampshire, installing a transparent roof was a must, as they wanted to create a comfortable entertainment area with natural light for outdoor dining and events while keeping guests cool and protected from the outdoor elements. The challenges in roofing the structure included the weight, size limitations and heat amplification inherent in glass panels, an aggressive construction timeline, and pressure to complete the project under budget.
POLYGAL® MULTIWALL polycarbonate sheet from PLASKOLITE was the chosen material for the Samuel Adams Pavilion roof, an alternative to glass that met all requirements for the installation and provided several benefits as opposed to glass. Construction went smoothly and was finished on time and under budget. Before too long guests were already enjoying the new space and the Sam Adams Pavilion has become a popular destination for locals and tourists in Salem and surrounding areas.
When the contractor was hired to install POLYGAL roof, there was one thing he was unsure about, which was that he never worked with a material like POLYGAL before, and it was out of his area of expertise. Luckily, with the ease of installment, his doubts disappeared, and he was happy to gain not only knowledge, but a new tool in his toolbox. POLYGAL MULTIWALL offers several appealing characteristics for the pavilion roof which include:
WEIGHT
Each POLYGAL panel weighed about 75 pounds. Corresponding glass panels would have weighed hundreds – maybe more than 1,000 pounds. Glass panels would have required a crane for lifting and placement, while Leite’s team lifted the POLYGAL panels up using ladders.
SIZE
Each POLYGAL panel was 2 feet wide and 25 feet long. Glass panels could have been no more than 8 feet long, meaning the roof would have required far more framing, obstructing the clean views Tuscan Brands desired, and the installation would have taken much longer.
UV RESISTANCE
Because glass amplifies sunlight, designers feared using it in the pavilion’s roof would create too much heat. POLYGAL MULTIWALL polycarbonate sheet is transparent to visible light but opaque to UV light from the sun, meaning it doesn’t heat up the interior of the pavilion.
COST
Beyond the up-front cost advantage POLYGAL presents – which is significant – there were several associated cost savings. Because POLYGAL sheets are so light, Leite and his team didn’t have to bring in a crane, as they would have with glass panels. Leite also said using the polycarbonate instead of glass reduced the time on the job by at least two weeks.
MAINTENANCE
With glass, seal failures resulting in foggy windows are a common reason for service calls. That isn’t an issue with POLYGAL. “There’s no sealant, and all seams are covered with plastic and snapped on,” Leite said. “I don’t foresee any maintenance issues at all.”
Thanks to the ease of installing POLYGAL MULTIWALL, and the benefits of everything the product has to offer, Tuscan Brands now has a showpiece facility for customers in southeastern New Hampshire and northeastern Massachusetts.