Yesterday’s story about my $14-worth-$3,000 fiberglass tubing *score* led me to this resource: Where to find those old-fashioned green, wavy plastic panels that Grandpa used for the roof on his back porch? I still see them on porches at estate sale houses, and I always think they are so homey — affordable, functional, and appropriate — and I love that green color! You can use these as panels in all sorts of applications — how about the green for the walls of an outdoor shower?
Sources that seem to offer old-fashioned fiberglass-reinforced corrugated panels — get samples! ask questions! this story is just a ‘scan’ I have not seen samples or contacted the companies for more info — in various colors and specifications:
Jennifer says
That stuff went out of fashion for a very functional reason (aside from being just plain ugly). It’s brittle and the slightly textured surface grows mold and catches dirt. For a roof, corrugated galvanized sheet metal is much more durable. The twin or triple wall polycarbonate panels used for greenhouses are smooth surfaced and also offer privacy as well as some insulation value. Yes, they are more expensive, but last forever. I had a carport roof made of the fiberglass panels lift off and fly all over the neighborhood during a windstorm.
KStacey says
I would be careful throwing words like “just plain ugly” around on this site. Beauty is, after all, in the eye of the beholder. 😉 And while I can’t speak for the green and clear versions in this article? I know the groovy orange corrugated fiberglass panels on my patio are smooth, stay clean, and have proven to be quite durable when fastened to the structure properly.
Karin says
They were everywhere in Toronto suburbs. I imagine they installed so the snow could slide off. So pretty. Thanks for the memories.
Karen says
In the suburb of Los Angeles that I grew up in, the green version of this was always used as a fence topper for houses that had swimming pools. If you saw this at the top of someone’s fence, it was almost a given that they had a swimming pool. Love to see this being made available!
DJ says
Oh my gosh- the wavy green brought back so many memories! I always hated it, even as a child. I would have much preferred the white, but my parents didn’t consult with me about colors back then, possibly because I wasn’t yet speaking. 🙂 It did do a marvelous job of keeping our deck dry, shaded, and snow-free, and I like LuAnn’s post about using it to top fences for privacy. That’d be pretty!
KStacey says
Our patio is covered and edged with orange panels like these, held up with vintage wrought iron posts, the kind normally seen on front porches. We even have extra in the garage that had been left behind. (I saw a barcode on one of the uncut panels, so it can’t be that old.) I LOVE it when I’m outside, when I’m inside it just blocks too much light that could come through the glass doors. Seeing the clear panels makes me want to replace some of the orange with clear. Maybe just a strip by the patio doors, maybe in a pattern… Hmm. Interesting.
LuAnn says
I remember these from backyards that had pools in Southern California. Where I grew up, most people had cinderblock walls for fencing. They would frame in an extra foot or so of this fiberglass on top of the walls for more privacy. I think my dad also used it for the roof of some little changing rooms he built. That way he didn’t have to put lighting in. Good times!
Jane says
My parents’ house had a very long patio with a roof made out of this in alternating yellow & clear. It was huge & wonderful; big enough to play under when it was raining. So fun to sit under and watch storms but stay dry. Great memory, thanks.
Demian Martin says
I redid a pergola with those panels last year. They are fibergas reinforced epoxy (same core as printed circuit boards). I got them along with matchong ripple cut wood for mounting at the local lumber yard. Here is a source with many variations http://www.eplastics.com/m/mobile.html?type=lstnavv&name=Corrugated%20Fiberglass%20Panels&catid=98 It was pretty cost effective for a 10’X 30′ pergola. Including all the lumber around $1000
Pam Kueber says
Yes, that’s the first source I listed… Here’s the better link: http://www.eplastics.com/Plastic/corrugated-fiberglass-panels
Kylllikki says
Fondly remember many hours spent sitting under the corrugated roof over my grandparents patio – it was mostly metal, but had the green fiberglass panels in the spaces over the kitchen window and sliding glass doors… The light coming through kind of made everyone look like aliens…. 😉
Midge Brock says
The wonders of Amazon never ceases to amaze me….I typed in “Corrugated Fiberglass” and a pack of ten pieces, in white, popped up for about $175 -the nomenclature did say FIBERGLASS not poly, they are 8 foot by 2 foot
Pam Kueber says
Those look to be some version of the Sequentia, link featured in my story. Compare to ensure you know what you are getting…