If you've noticed something isn't right with your roof before calling about solar panels, you're already asking the right questions - here's what to look for and why it matters.
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Solar panels are a long-term investment, and the roof they sit on needs to be in sound condition before a single bracket goes in. A panel array typically stays in place for 20 years or more. Any existing problem underneath it will get worse, not better, and by the time it causes a leak you'll need to remove the whole array to fix it. Getting the roof checked before installation isn't cautious - it's practical.
At Aylsham Roofers, we treat the roof assessment as the foundation of every solar job we do in Costessey. Rushing past this stage is where many installations go wrong, and it's the part of the job most specialist solar fitters overlook because they aren't roofers first.
You don't need to get on the roof yourself. There are signs visible from the ground - and inside the loft - that tell you a great deal about whether your roof is ready for panels. Any of the following should be investigated before installation goes ahead.
Most roof problems come down to age, wind, and the expansion and contraction that comes with frost and warm spells. Tiles and slates gradually lose their grip over decades as the nibs wear or the nails corrode. A single windy spell can dislodge several tiles that have been sitting loose for years without anyone noticing.
Mortar-pointed ridges and hips are particularly vulnerable. Traditional sand-and-cement pointing becomes brittle over time and is prone to cracking, which lets water in at the highest points of the roof where it can run a long way before appearing as a stain inside. Modern dry-fix systems avoid this, and for any re-roofing work done before a solar installation we'd typically recommend them.
Flashings fail for similar reasons. Mortar fillets crack, lead develops pinholes with age, and inadequately fixed lead can lift in high winds. Any flashing within or near the footprint of the planned panel array should be inspected carefully, because working around panels makes flashing repairs significantly more disruptive later.
Before we fix any brackets, we carry out a thorough roof inspection. We check the covering - tiles, slates, ridge, hips and verges - along with the flashings, the felt underlay where visible, and the structural timbers in the loft. We're looking for anything that needs to be dealt with now rather than in two years' time when it's under a panel.
If the roof needs repairs, we carry them out as part of the preparation for the installation. That might mean re-bedding a ridge, replacing a run of slipped slates, or renewing a flashing. The cost of that work is separate from the panel installation itself and we'll make both clear before anything is agreed.
A roof in good condition can often be assessed and prepared on the same visit as the panel installation. A roof with more significant issues will need preparation work first, and we'll advise you honestly on the sequence and the cost.
The panels themselves sit on an aluminium rail system. The rails are fixed to the roof via brackets that hook or clamp onto the rafters, passing through the roof covering at carefully positioned points. Each penetration is made waterproof using a flashing kit designed for the specific tile or slate profile. Where this is done correctly, the fixings are as weathertight as any other part of the roof. Where it's done carelessly - using the wrong flashing kit, or positioning brackets in a way that splits tiles or misses rafters - you get leaks, sometimes immediately, sometimes after a few years.
The number of panels that will fit depends on the usable roof area, the pitch and the orientation of the roof slopes. South-facing slopes give the best performance, but east and west-facing slopes can still generate useful amounts of electricity. We'll assess what's genuinely achievable on your roof rather than giving you a figure based on ideal conditions.
A typical domestic solar installation - 10 to 12 panels on a standard semi-detached or detached house - currently costs in the range of £5,000 to £9,000 installed, depending on panel specification, roof complexity and whether battery storage is included. Battery storage adds roughly £2,500 to £5,000 to that figure depending on capacity. These are honest typical UK market figures; the actual price for your roof depends on its condition, size and layout.
The roof preparation work - if repairs are needed before panels can go on - is costed separately. It's always better to know this upfront than to have a solar fitter discover a problem on the day and either walk away or bodge around it.
When your panels produce more electricity than the house is using at that moment, the surplus is exported to the grid. Under the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG), energy suppliers pay you for that exported electricity. The rate varies by supplier, so it's worth comparing offers. If you have battery storage, the surplus charges the battery first and is exported only when the battery is full, which means you use more of what you generate and export less.
Using more of your own generation - rather than exporting it cheaply and buying it back expensively - is where the financial case for solar is strongest. Running dishwashers, washing machines and EV chargers during daylight hours when the panels are producing makes a real difference to your bills.
Whether solar panels suit a domestic roof depends on several factors. The key factors are roof condition, orientation, shading from trees or neighbouring buildings, and available roof area. A partially shaded roof can still be viable depending on where the shading falls and how it's managed in the system design. Modern microinverter and DC optimiser systems handle shading much better than older string-inverter setups, though they cost more upfront.
The best starting point is an honest assessment of your roof - what condition it's in, what orientation it offers, and whether any repairs are needed first. Call us to arrange a roof survey for your Costessey home and we'll give you a straight answer on whether solar is viable, what preparation the roof needs, and what a realistic installation would cost.
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Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
