Before the panels go up to form the roof and catch the light, there is the bigger question of what the roof was designed to carry and does anyone know.
A roof from the Victorian and Edwardian eras was designed to be able to withstand a heavy snowfall. The structural components of the roof, such as the roof trusses, were sized accordingly. They were a calculated solution to a problem that was likely to occur on only a few occasions in the lifetime of a building. And, as with most things in building design from that era, no record was made of the calculation, and the information has long since been lost. The roof trusses from those eras can be found in many loft spaces, now often converted into living accommodation, sealed behind plasterboard for decades.
There are two main types of load on any structure, described by structural engineers: dead load and live load. The dead load of a roof is the permanent weight of the roof itself, including the structural timbers, tiles, felt etc. The live load is anything that is placed on the roof, from time to time, including snow, workmen, storage etc. A roof designed for occasional, distributed loads of snow is not designed for permanent, concentrated loads of 350 kg of rigid panels. For Solar Panel Installation Portishead, visit //redbridgeandsons.co.uk/solar-pv-panels/solar-panel-installation-portishead/.
When surveying a loft space prior to installation of solar panels, a surveyor will be able to gain insight to the historical design of the roof space. This will include details such as the rafter depth, rafter span and the spacing of the timbers. He or she will also be able to look for signs of previous repairs or structural reinforcement to the roof.
In areas where Solar Panel Installation Portishead is becoming more common, roof structures encountered by installation teams vary from a 1930s semi with limited rafter sections to a newer detached property with a large roof space over a number of bedrooms or a modern waterfront property with an engineered roof structure of a completely different character.
The roof has always done a job. It has just not had to declare it before.
