Wymondham Roofers installs solar panels on pitched and flat roofs across Attleborough, handling every stage of the roof-level work from the first look at your tiles to the final tidy-up.
Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
Fitting solar panels is two jobs in one: an electrical job and a roofing job. Most solar companies focus on the electrical side and bring in a separate roofer, or send out an installer with limited roofing knowledge. The roof-level work is best handled by a roofer, working alongside your chosen MCS-accredited electrician so the two trades are properly co-ordinated rather than working around each other.
Getting the mounting right is the part that matters most in the long term. A poorly fixed rail or a badly sealed penetration will let water in, and by the time you see a damp patch inside the roof space, the damage is already done. That is why the fixing and waterproofing work deserves the same attention as the panels themselves.
Before anything is ordered or booked, we carry out a proper survey of your roof. This is not a quick glance from the ground. We get up on the roof and look at the tile or slate condition, check the battens where the mounting rails will fix, assess the felt or membrane beneath, and look at the ridge, verges and any flashings near the proposed panel area.
Why does this matter? Because solar panels are intended to sit on a roof for twenty years or more. If the tiles beneath them are already nearing the end of their life, you do not want to have the panels lifted in five years to re-tile. If we spot deteriorating slates, cracked ridge mortar or failing lead flashings at this stage, we can discuss doing that remedial work first, while the scaffolding is up and the cost of access is shared.
We also check the roof structure - the rafter spacing and condition - because the mounting rails transfer load into the rafters. On most standard UK pitched roofs this is not a problem, but on older buildings or rooms in the roof conversions it is worth confirming before the fixings go in.
Correct scaffolding is not optional for solar work on a pitched roof. Edge protection is needed to work safely, and the scaffold design needs to account for the panels being lifted and positioned on the roof. We arrange scaffolding that gives the roofer and electrician enough working room, rather than the minimum that might be put up for a gutter clean.
For single-storey flat roof installations, scaffold towers or a mobile elevated platform may be sufficient, but the same principle applies: the access needs to suit the work, not just the minimum legal requirement.
This is the most critical roofing stage. Each mounting bracket fixes through the tile or slate and into the rafter below. The bracket is designed to sit under the tile with a small riser that passes through the roof surface, keeping water out without relying purely on sealant.
The tiles either side of each bracket are lifted carefully, the bracket is bolted to the rafter, and the tiles are refitted around it. Where a tile has to be cut to clear the bracket riser, the cut edge is sealed properly. On a well-executed job, the brackets are barely visible from ground level and the tiling around them looks as it did before.
The aluminium rails then bolt to the brackets and run across the roof face. The rails carry the panel clamps, and the spacing is set to match the panel dimensions from the manufacturer. Getting this spacing accurate at the rail-fitting stage means the panels go on cleanly without adjustment.
On flat roofs we use ballasted or mechanically fixed tray systems rather than penetrating the membrane unnecessarily. Where penetrations are required, they are made with appropriate upstands and flashings so the waterproofing integrity is maintained.
Every point where a fixing passes through the roof surface is a potential water entry point. The bracket design does most of the work, but we use appropriate flashing tape and sealant at each penetration, chosen to be compatible with the roofing material - lead flashing compound for traditional roofs, EPDM-compatible sealant where the roof membrane requires it.
Any tiles disturbed during the bracket installation are checked for cracks before they go back on. A tile cracked in handling and refitted without being noticed will leak at the first heavy rain. This is a simple check but one that is easily skipped when a crew is moving quickly.
Once the rails are fixed and checked for level, the panels are lifted and clipped into place. Mid-clamps sit between adjacent panels; end-clamps secure the outer panels to the rail ends. Torque settings for the clamp bolts matter: too loose and the panel can move in wind; too tight and the frame can crack.
The electrical cabling runs between panels along the rails and is secured with cable clips so it cannot chafe against the roof surface or flap in wind. On a pitched roof the cable drops through a roofing gland into the roof space, where your electrician picks it up. The gland is sealed and dressed to prevent water tracking down the cable into the roof void.
Once the panels are mounted and the roof penetrations are sealed, the MCS-accredited electrician completes the installation inside the property. This covers the DC cabling from the roof, the inverter, the consumer unit connection and any battery storage if you are including one. We stay in contact throughout so that if the electrician has a question about the roof-side cabling or needs access adjusted, it is dealt with quickly.
Having the roofing and electrical trades co-ordinated by a single point of contact makes a real difference on the day. Gaps between trades are where things go wrong on any building project, and solar is no exception.
Before the scaffold comes down, we walk the roof and check every bracket, every tile, every cable clip and every sealed penetration. The scaffold boards and the area around the property are cleared of any tile fragments, packaging or debris. You should not be left with anything to clear up yourself.
We also take photographs of the bracket fixings and sealed penetrations before the panels are fitted over them, so there is a record of the work beneath the panels. This is straightforward to do and gives you documentation of exactly what was installed and how.
Most pitched roofs in and around Attleborough are suitable for solar, including those covered with concrete interlocking tiles, clay plain tiles, and fibre-cement or natural slate. The bracket systems are designed for different tile profiles, so the roof covering itself is rarely a barrier.
South-facing roof slopes produce the highest output, but south-east and south-west faces are still very productive. Shading from chimneys, neighbouring buildings or trees is worth assessing before you commit, because even partial shading on one panel can reduce the output of a string of panels unless a microinverter or optimiser system is used.
Flat roofs in EPDM or felt are straightforward to work with, using framed tray systems that tilt the panels at the correct angle without requiring penetrations through the membrane.
A typical home installation is between 10 and 16 panels, giving a system size of roughly 3.5 kWp to 6 kWp. Smaller systems of 4-6 panels are sometimes fitted where roof space is limited, and larger arrays of 20 or more panels are used on bigger homes or where the household has high daytime electricity consumption - for example, properties running a heat pump or electric vehicle charging.
The number of panels determines how much roof area is used and how many mounting brackets are needed, which is one of the main factors in the roof-side labour cost.
For a 4 kWp system (roughly 10 panels), the total installed cost in the UK typically falls between £5,000 and £7,000, including panels, inverter, mounting and electrical connection. A 6 kWp system (roughly 15 panels) is generally in the range of £7,000 to £9,500. These figures cover supply and installation but not battery storage, which adds roughly £2,500 to £5,000 depending on the battery capacity chosen.
The roof-side element of the work - the mounting rails, brackets, waterproofing and any preparatory tile repairs - typically accounts for 15-25% of the total project cost. Getting this right is worth the money; a failed roof penetration is far more expensive to fix once the panels are on than it is to seal correctly in the first place.
Battery storage lets you hold the electricity your panels generate during the day and use it in the evening. A typical home battery has a usable capacity of 5-10 kWh. Whether a battery is worth the additional outlay depends on how much electricity you use outside daylight hours and what your current tariff looks like. This is a question for your electrician and energy adviser rather than your roofer, but we can confirm at the survey stage whether the proposed battery location will need any structural or roof-space access considerations.
Most residential solar installations in England fall under permitted development and do not need planning permission, provided the panels do not project more than 200mm from the roof surface and are not on a listed building or in a conservation area. If your property in Attleborough or nearby is subject to any of these restrictions, planning permission will be needed and the design may have to be adapted. Your MCS electrician will confirm this as part of their assessment.
These are reasonable questions that any reputable installer should answer clearly. If the answers are vague, that is worth noting before you sign anything.
We carry out solar mounting work in Attleborough and the surrounding area. If you are considering solar panels and want a roofer to assess the roof-side work properly before any panels are ordered, call us to arrange a roof survey.
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Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
