Renewing a Solar Panelled Roof in Shipley

Case Study: Renewing a Solar Panelled Roof in Shipley

Project Location: Shipley, West Yorkshire

Renewing a solar panelled roof became necessary for our client, Jane, after she began suffering from various leaks underneath the panels. As it’s pretty costly to keep removing the panels to rectify leaks, it was far more cost effective to re-roof the property then reinstate the panels afterwards.

The Works

To ensure everyone’s safety, we first set up scaffolding around the property. Kieran and his team carefully removed the solar PV panels, setting them aside for later re-installation.

We then stripped away the old slates, felt, and battens to access and boost the insulation by 150mm. Next, we laid down TLX Gold insulated breather felt and secured it with new battens. Most of the original slates were replaced, and we re-bedded the ridge tiles and coping stones with Flexim Roof Putty to meet current standards.

Finally, we re-installed the original brackets and solar panels using best practices to prevent future leaks.

Jane’s roof now carries a Building Regulation Compliance Certificate through the NFRC Competent Person Scheme and a 10 year insurance backed warranty.

Difficulty in Finding a Reputable Contractor Capable of Renewing a Solar Panelled Roof

Jane found it extremely difficult to find a roofing contractor capable of re-roofing a solar panelled roof! Especially when the panels have been installed on stone slate.

Like so many people circ. 2011, she had solar PV installed when it was extremely lucrative to do so. Unfortunately she probably wasn’t advised at the time that installing solar PV on to a roof in a poor state of repair would likely lead to expensive work later on! Coupled with poor practice in installing the brackets, roof leaks were inevitable at a later date.

There are plenty of things to consider when replacing a solar panelled roof. Any roof which is in a poor state of repair should always be re-roofed prior to any solar panels being installed. This is especially true of stone slate roofs as the majority of roofers won’t attempt to remove the solar pv panels before re-roofing – let alone attempt to reinstate them afterwards!