Well, following on from the timber framing, we’ve now managed to get the OSB chipboard cladding on the outside of the solar shed.
In the picture below, you can see the dwangs in the roof that will accept the screws holding the solar panel mounting rails. The rails we are using will be bolted directly to the metal sheeting surface. this will become a little clearer in the next stage. However, I’l expand a bit here.
A usual mounting clamp
Usually a rail would be mounted to a roof on a mounting clamp of some description. Something along the lines of the below image.
The way we have chosen
However, we don’t want that extra height over the roof surface. We would instead, like to keep the panels as close to the roof as we can. To do that, we are going to use a rail like the image below, and bolt it directly to the profile steel sheeting. This means that the inside of the roof at the point of the bolts must have extra support. That’s where those dwangs come in. Those areas will be the full fixing for holding our solar panels down.
Looking the other direction, you can see the space being created in the rear. Plenty of room for future projects.
Also note the dwangs on the rear wall to accept screws for the profile steel sheet cladding. The rear wall needs this reinforcement as it is only 9mm chipboard, whereas the roof is 18mm for strength.
Within the next few days we should get the profile steel sheeting on the roof. After that we can get the solar panel rails mounted. We’re looking forward to the next stage, as it means we can get the structure watertight, and we can also get a panel or two on….