electrofelon
Senior Member
- Location
- Cherry Valley NY, Seattle, WA
I have alluded to this in various prior posts, but I thought I would post some pictures and mention some of the creative aspects of it.
Ive had this idea brewing for years about building a structure and having the modules be the roof. It just seemed like such a waste to have two roofs! So this is what I came up with. The pitch is 36 degrees which is about ideal for here. I also wanted a large attic space to store lumber ( i have a sawmill and its kinda a hobby) so I certainly got that with the 36 degrees. Note the polycarbonate panels on the north side, a friend of mine came up with that idea. Its great, it lets tons of light in and doesnt cost anymore than siding.
The most challenging part was figuring out how to mount the modules and keep the structure dry underneath. I thought long and hard on this. Originally I was going to "shingle" the modules, but I decided against that for several reasons, including shading. If the pitch wasnt as steep and/or there was more real estate on the edges of the modules that may have worked. I didnt want to rely on caulk or gaskets to try to keep water out, that just seemed like a hassle and prone to failure. In the end, I decided on the system of gutters and flashings you see in the pictures: a gutter is placed under the up-down seams, and a flashing goes under the east-west seams to channel water into the gutter. Only a couple times, when conditions are just right/wrong, I have at the flashing ice up and a little overflow happen. It seemed to be within a few inches of the gutter, so another piece of flashing would probably catch it. Ill keep an eye on it. The building is going to house my sawmill and tractor, so a few drips a few times a year is no big deal. I had also considered using a Z flashing - under the module, then up between and over the module below. That wouldn't have the overflow issue, but I was concerned about ice getting in between and freezing, maybe pushing the modules around.
Its and interesting code quandary using modules as a roof. You would kinda have to call it a "structure" and not a "building" to be able to do it. Here things are so lax, nobody cares.
How abou that transformer picture - ever seen a #10 coming out of a load break elbow? Thats 2KV Pv wire, transformer is 2400, tapped down all the way to 2280, close enough. I was too cheap to buy custom transformers. Runs about 500 feet to where it Tees into another 1900 foot line which goes from the service pedestal and transformer to the house.
Its good to be an electrician sometimes.
Ive had this idea brewing for years about building a structure and having the modules be the roof. It just seemed like such a waste to have two roofs! So this is what I came up with. The pitch is 36 degrees which is about ideal for here. I also wanted a large attic space to store lumber ( i have a sawmill and its kinda a hobby) so I certainly got that with the 36 degrees. Note the polycarbonate panels on the north side, a friend of mine came up with that idea. Its great, it lets tons of light in and doesnt cost anymore than siding.
The most challenging part was figuring out how to mount the modules and keep the structure dry underneath. I thought long and hard on this. Originally I was going to "shingle" the modules, but I decided against that for several reasons, including shading. If the pitch wasnt as steep and/or there was more real estate on the edges of the modules that may have worked. I didnt want to rely on caulk or gaskets to try to keep water out, that just seemed like a hassle and prone to failure. In the end, I decided on the system of gutters and flashings you see in the pictures: a gutter is placed under the up-down seams, and a flashing goes under the east-west seams to channel water into the gutter. Only a couple times, when conditions are just right/wrong, I have at the flashing ice up and a little overflow happen. It seemed to be within a few inches of the gutter, so another piece of flashing would probably catch it. Ill keep an eye on it. The building is going to house my sawmill and tractor, so a few drips a few times a year is no big deal. I had also considered using a Z flashing - under the module, then up between and over the module below. That wouldn't have the overflow issue, but I was concerned about ice getting in between and freezing, maybe pushing the modules around.
Its and interesting code quandary using modules as a roof. You would kinda have to call it a "structure" and not a "building" to be able to do it. Here things are so lax, nobody cares.
How abou that transformer picture - ever seen a #10 coming out of a load break elbow? Thats 2KV Pv wire, transformer is 2400, tapped down all the way to 2280, close enough. I was too cheap to buy custom transformers. Runs about 500 feet to where it Tees into another 1900 foot line which goes from the service pedestal and transformer to the house.
Its good to be an electrician sometimes.
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