Solar Panels on Slate Roofs

Why slate needs more care

Slate is thin, brittle and fixed with nails rather than hung on a nib. Anchors have to be placed carefully and the slate dressed or replaced around them. A rushed job on slate shows up as cracked slates and, eventually, water ingress.

The Leicester context

Much of the older housing here is Victorian and Edwardian terraces, interwar semis, and post-war estates, with clay plain tile and slate on the older stock, concrete tile on later housing. Leicester's Edwardian terraces often carry chimney stacks mid-slope, which can shade part of an array through the middle of the day and is a common reason to specify optimisers.

Fixing detail

Anchors fix to the rafters, with the slate above dressed over the bracket or replaced with a lead soaker. Done properly there is no reliance on sealant to keep the water out.

Age and condition

Old slate can be sound for decades more or can be at the end of its life with failing nails. A survey should include a genuine assessment of that, because it changes the sequencing of the whole job.