Expected life of Plastic Roofing panels?

[JRR]

I have purchased, a couple of years back, a rather large lot a few miles outside of Atlanta that I may want to build on.  (If I have another design/build left in me, that is.)  The lot has power, gas, city water and waste, and several hundred feet of paved roadway as one boundary, and shares a long property line with a nature preserve as another boundary; and bounded on the final side by a high tension power line system (Ouch!).  The power line easement is not all bad, as it means one side of the property is maintained clear of trees and has "unhindered" air and sunlight flowing in.  Could be a great house and garden location .... except the nature preserve is loaded with deer!  And I would rather not "fence" myself in and the deer out.  So a regular garden could be a problem.

So, as a solution, I'm toying with idea of building "up" ... four floors or more; to get above some of the trees ... and to make the top floor/roof a "greenhouse" of sorts.  The center of this upper floor would be dedicated to chimney/vent structure and an enclosed stairwell.  The top floor would be used for casual living and for a bit of vegetable growing.  Some of the roofing (around the center staircase) would be corrugated metal, but most of the roofing would be corrugated plastic ... and the walls would be corrugated plastic also.   

QUESTION: How many years can one expect plastic roofing panels to last in the Georgia sun?

I have installed corrugated metal but have no experience at all with the plastic variety.  I can design the structure so that the panels are fairly easy to replace, but how often will it be required?  Any observations, or other comments, would be appreciated.

[Dave Sparks]

There are different grades of "plastic".  The ones I am familiar with are used for bullet proof glass (polygal tradename)and I use them for solar hot water.
There are polycarb, fiberglass and a few more types.

If you have deer and you want a garden, you have to have a fence for the garden! All of the other ways eventually fail if they get hungry enough!

[firefox]

Dave, you mean the deer can navigate up four flights of stairs to get to the roof garden?

[Don_P]

Remember at 30' you leave the IRC.

[tommytebco]

I covered my front screen porch with PolyCarbonate corrugated clear panels two years ago. The receipt says SunTuf .
http://www.homedepot.com/s/clear%20PC%20corrugated%20panels?NCNI-5&gsitesearch

They are warrantied for 10 years, Mine show no sign of decomposition or deterioration after two years of Florida sun.

[JRR]

Remember at 30' you leave the IRC.

Did not know that.  What takes over at heights greater than 30'?  The FAA?  (just joking.)  But no kidding, I did not know about the height deal.

[Don_P]

R301.2.2.3.1 Height limitations.
Wood-framed buildings shall be limited to three stories above grade plane or the limits given in Table R602.10.3(3). Cold-formed, steel-framed buildings shall be limited to less than or equal to three stories above grade plane in accordance with AISI S230. Mezzanines as defined in Section R202 shall not be considered as stories. Structural insulated panel buildings shall be limited to two stories above grade plane.

From there you'll move to the IBC, you'll need to sit down with the building official.

[Dave Sparks]

Dave, you mean the deer can navigate up four flights of stairs to get to the roof garden?

Eventually if they get hungry enough....

[JRR]

So if the first floor is steel reinforced masonry (complete with suspended above-grade concrete floor), and then 3 framed floors atop that ... do you think that would be OK?  I plan to employ an structural engineer anyway, but just curious.

I might be better off, just buying a green house kit that uses metal framing and glass ... and let that be the upper floor and roof.

[JRR]

I covered my front screen porch with PolyCarbonate corrugated clear panels two years ago. The receipt says SunTuf .
http://www.homedepot.com/s/clear%20PC%20corrugated%20panels?NCNI-5&gsitesearch

They are warrantied for 10 years, Mine show no sign of decomposition or deterioration after two years of Florida sun.

Thanks Tommy; I've seen that panel and it would probably be my choice of plastic panels.  Good to read from someone who has actually tried it.  Keep in touch.

[JRR]

These folks have an interesting warranty and website;  http://tuftexpanel.com/

[ChugiakTinkerer]

I recently picked up some clear polycarbonate panels for roofing an outhouse.  I ended up buying from a local lumber supply, because the ones at the big blue store came with an interesting feature.  The wavy board that they were selling to mount the panels on had a different wavelength than the panels.  If I hadn't noticed that they weren't a fit for the panels I would have been fairly royally screwed.  So take the time when you buy to make sure the boards match the panels.

[old_guy]

I recently picked up some clear polycarbonate panels for roofing an outhouse. 

Be careful.  Dave's satellite will be able to see into that outhouse.