New Install Done

[MrDeo]

I just had panels installed, followed these forums for quite a while.

I have a couple of questions about items that concern me.

Firstly, When the roofers put the fixings on they didnt knotch the tiles that go over the top, this resulted in a small gap. I think the type type is a Marley Bold Roll (I am not a roofer). Should this have been knotched?...

Second, I was inside the house when they put the connectors through, but I am fairly certain that nothing was knotched out for that either (Unless they knotched it by hand) because there was little noise. There appears to be no tube coming into the loft space and the felt has just been torn open to allow the wire to come through. So this one is a double..

Should the leads from the panels be in a duct?
Should the felt have been sealed in some way, or is it okay to have the area torn where the wiring comes through? (two areas, about 15x15cm)

Thanks for the help.

 

[SolarCity]

First of all, regarding notching out tiles. We always grind out our tiles to get the to sit right. However, I have been told by two sets of roofers now that this shouldn't be done as we are affecting the strength of the tile.

Perhaps the installer changed one of the tiles for something else where the cables come through? We always notch our tiles out and lead over the cables to protect them.

Tearing the felt open is, frankly, pathetic and I'd demand that the repair it.

Leads from panels in a duct? Depends on the cable run. They should certainly be clipped out of the way.

 

[Yanman]

I like 24 other looked at this post but treated it with contempt. Installers have bent over backwards to install over the last few weeks and save customers a huge amount of money. To hear someone pick holes however justifiable they think they are on this forum makes me angry. Why should we have to criticise other installers.

Go and moan on other forums about installers and while you're at it spare a thought for the companies, installers and suppliers that will have a Christmas with the possibility of no work or future in an industry destroyed by this governments actions.
Perhaps a handshake, a smile, a bottle of wine and a big thankyou might have gone a long way.

 

[SolarCity]

I like 24 other looked at this post but treated it with contempt. Installers have bent over backwards to install over the last few weeks and save customers a huge amount of money. To hear someone pick holes however justifiable they think they are on this forum makes me angry. Why should we have to criticise other installers.

Go and moan on other forums about installers and while you're at it spare a thought for the companies, installers and suppliers that will have a Christmas with the possibility of no work or future in an industry destroyed by this governments actions.
Perhaps a handshake, a smile, a bottle of wine and a big thankyou might have gone a long way.

I couldn't disagree with this comment more.

It is not the installers' fault that the deadline has been brought forward but it's not the customers' fault either.

Just because time is short does not mean that fundamental things like weatherproofing considerations should be ignored.

 

[solarsavings]

Biggs this guys come on here just to pick holes)) in his installation just like the many before him and the many that will follow. Advice about problems is one thing but running down another installer without seeing the job is something else.

Torn through the felt? how large is this tear? some claim to put conduit under a tile to run the cables through and everyone wants it. At this point I could say what I would say face to face but.................

 

[Yanman]

Now we're bickering amongst ourselves. I have been in the construction business for 30 years and get 99% of my work through recommendations. I always pride myself in a good job and customer satisfaction, but remember Biggs there are 2 sides to every story. 15cm tears in felt are not good but they may have been there already. It may even be the felt laps not even tears. When the tile is notched it never sits down fully on the next its not designed to have something stuck under it. As for weather proofing do you re-point every ridge an hip tile because you probably should. Roofing felt is second line defence.

My point was, and you obviously missed it we anyone can pick holes in anyone elses work.

 

[MrDeo]

Firstly I am not slating the installer (his contracters) on this one at all, I know the time constraint issues, and there's still a lot of junk around my property that they have yet to remove/clean up. Nor have they replaced the tiles they broke yet. The install was done about a week ago and I see no reason to push this to be completed until at least another week. It's one thing to have time constraints, it's another thing to do a job that's going to cause issues in the future. Roof work cant easily be done now that the panels have been put on, but it could have easily been done before. I think that these certificates can also be rejected if the job fails the local building code, so if anything I mention'd would normally cause issues if the council were to inspect it then this job could have cost me the higher tarrif.
On top of that the installer was well rewarded for installing in the rush. I paid nearly £16k for a 3.8kw system, new SunPower installs for 4kw systems are running along £11.5k, even with bloated panel prices I don't feel these guys got off badly.

I personally feel the rail mounting is okay, I think the lack of a secure entry for the cable is not, and I dont know about the felt. The lekky work overall is quite good. If I knew if it was all okay I wouldnt have asked. Perhaps some of you feel that rushing for customers means you can do crap installs, I guess I should be glad I didn't get you.

 

[solarsavings]

Firstly I am not slating the installer (his contracters) on this one at all

And then you do.

On top of that the installer was well rewarded for installing in the rush. I paid nearly £16k for a 3.8kw system, new SunPower installs for 4kw systems are running along £11.5k, even with bloated panel prices I don't feel these guys got off badly.

As has often been said on here "you get what you pay"

Perhaps some of you feel that rushing for customers means you can do crap installs, I guess I should be glad I didn't get you.

Not as glad as we are not to have had you.

But praise where it due. At least you didn't slate the installer.

 

[MrDeo]

How would one normally go through the felt? I mean, I know it has to be opened in some way, would you normally try to go between the layers or is there some soft fixings one can get?

 

[Yanman]

MrDeo if you are unhappy as you obviously are then you should be complaining to the people that did the installation there are rules and guidlines for them to follow. Then if you are still unhappy (i suspect you will be) then take it to REAL and MCS.

Why am I wasting my time on this?

 

[MrDeo]

And then you do.

Show me where I did?
If someone is asking a question about an install, and you count that as an attack on an installer then you must do some really rogue work and hate all feedback.
Yes, I am slating you, but I have not done so for the installer.

 

[solarsavings]

We would, if at all possible go through the lap in the felt and clip the cables to the rafters. Sometimes that's not possible, so we make a hole large enough to pass the cables through.

You will read here at times that making holes (we are not talking of boots size) in the felt is a hanging offense but applying just a little common sense will soon have you on the right track. The tiles weather proof your home, the felt does not and was never intended to.

 

[solarsavings]

Show me where I did?
If someone is asking a question about an install, and you count that as an attack on an installer then you must do some really rogue work and hate all feedback.
Yes, I am slating you, but I have not done so for the installer.

How about here

Firstly I am not slating the installer (his contracters) on this one at all, I know the time constraint issues, and there's still a lot of junk around my property that they have yet to remove/clean up. Nor have they replaced the tiles they broke yet. The install was done about a week ago and I see no reason to push this to be completed until at least another week. It's one thing to have time constraints, it's another thing to do a job that's going to cause issues in the future. Roof work cant easily be done now that the panels have been put on, but it could have easily been done before. I think that these certificates can also be rejected if the job fails the local building code, so if anything I mention'd would normally cause issues if the council were to inspect it then this job could have cost me the higher tarrif.
On top of that the installer was well rewarded for installing in the rush. I paid nearly £16k for a 3.8kw system, new SunPower installs for 4kw systems are running along £11.5k, even with bloated panel prices I don't feel these guys got off badly.

I personally feel the rail mounting is okay, I think the lack of a secure entry for the cable is not, and I dont know about the felt. The lekky work overall is quite good. If I knew if it was all okay I wouldnt have asked. Perhaps some of you feel that rushing for customers means you can do crap installs, I guess I should be glad I didn't get you.

 

[MrDeo]

Just because I do not feel a non-secure entry is not okay doesnt mean I am ranting about the installer. My standards or views of how something should be done does not relate to what is "Okay".

The felt I asked about because the MCS guidance clearly states that holes through felt should be properly patched without the likes of duct tape. I did give the dimensions of the holes in my first post (about 4 inches x 4 inches)

This is why I decided to come here, to ask. The guidance doesnt detail the roof work in a way for someone who is a non-builder to asses the work.

 

[whinmoor]

I suggest you start by taking some photos of what you're not happy with. Then write your concerns out in a list. Then ask your installer to re-visit and run thru your list with him and get him to justify what he's done. If he won't make repairs to your satisfaction, contact MCS and/or REAL.