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My house has this self build (by previous owner) conservatory. But it has some weird and unfinished touches. So I want to fix it! The sliding doors have to go, I prefer normal doors. And there are to heavy and won't open anymore any way. However, I thought, is it possible to reuse the glass for the roofing in some way. But then I thought, maybe not due to the weight and gravity. Especially when snow falls on it.

So may question: Can I reuse the glass of my doors for the roofing of my conservatory?

Or should I throw them away?

conservatory conservatory conservatory

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    I don't know enough, but I would sleep better with using them as a glass wall than a glass roof. Would try to reuse them either for yourself or by friends/neighbours/re-home stores.
    – crip659
    Commented Aug 8, 2022 at 10:48
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    Most sliding doors have rollers that run on tracks. If the doors are hard to move, most likely the rollers need to be adjusted/repaired/or replaced to bring the doors back to new. Might just be that the tracks and rollers need a good cleaning.
    – crip659
    Commented Aug 8, 2022 at 11:39
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    The current roof appears to be lightweight polycarbonate panels. To use glass instead, you would need much sturdier roof framing to take the much greater weight. And you'd have to get the large, expensive, heavy hunks of glass up there. I'll second "roller maintenance" on these very expensive, very large doors before rushing to put them in the trash. And offering them for reuse rather than trash if removing them.
    – Ecnerwal
    Commented Aug 8, 2022 at 12:34

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Maybe, but I wouldn't advise it.

If you can find a mark on the corner o the glass, it would allow us to tell what glass is it. Without it, we do not know.

Roof needs to withstand snow weight, being hit by hail. Even common rain will weight it down some. Unless you know what glass is it, you cannot know if this glass will survive that, and for long. Glass for external door should be quite sturdy, but the stresses are totally different from what the roof experiences, so without knowing what exactly you have, I would deem risk too big. Broken glass falling on you can kill or, if it is a tempered glass, make your life miserable. And I've seen tempered glass breaking in a way that left big sharp shards, too, not all glass is tempered equally well.

So look for the mark in the corners, and if you can't find it, use this glass only the way it was used - vertically. It's probable it is still good for that.

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It will depend on the span. I have found 1/4 " plate quite strong as 2ft. X 4 ft. panels . They have survived two hail storms that required the asphalt shingles to be replaced ( as determined and paid for by insurance). The doors are likely "tempered" and can't by cut like ordinary glass. I would use large panels with support rafters every 2 feet.

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