Milking Room Roof Phase 2

If you guessed “polycarbonate panel skylight” in my “Milking Room Roof Phase 1″ post, you were correct! Here’s where we left off …

We had 14-foot metal roofing panels with which to cover 16 feet. The problem, however, lent itself perfectly to use translucent roofing panels to allow in some natural light.

Locally, we couldn’t find anything with the same profile as our metal panels. Shipping them was out of the question, but Dan thought he could work out how to put two different styles together. Lowe’s best quality translucent panels were half-off, for which the timing was perfect. Even so, we waffled a bit before committing to a purchase. In spite of the manufacturer’s claims, they seemed pretty flimsy for the job.

Because of the sale, a new lot of panels were in the rack along with a few old ones. We compared the two by heft and feel, and even though they were supposedly the same product, the old ones seemed heavier and thicker than the new batch. They were a bit dusty and scuffed, and the labels were dirty, but those are the ones we took: 2, 12-foot translucent polycarbonate roofing panels.

By the time Dan added another nailer on the roof and screwed each ridge of the panel down, they were stiffened up a bit. Then he added a 1×1 down the center for added support.

Hopefully we’ll get a long life from them. I like my solar barn light, but even better, I like having as much natural light in the barn as I can.

Next will be the roof for the hay loft.