Roof with Solar Panels: New Screed and Spray Polyurethane Foam

1. The old membrane

The old membraneBitumen membraneWaterproofing that comes in rolls of reinforced bitumen. It is torched onto the roof in sheets that overlap at the seams. had torn and come away in large pieces. It was no longer protecting the roof.

2. Stripping

All of the membrane is stripped off, so the new work goes onto a sound base.

3. Primer

The surface gets a dark primerPrimerThe thin first coat that goes on before the main material. It binds dust, seals the pores and helps paint or waterproofing stick firmly., including under the panels and around their bases.

4. Pouring the screed

The screedScreedA layer of sand-and-cement mix or lightweight concrete poured over the slab to create falls and a solid surface for the next material. is pumped up to the roof and spread starting from the hardest spots, under the panels.

5. Around the bases

The screed flows around the solar panel bases and wraps them in. The panels stay in place throughout.

6. Beside the tiled roof

The flat roofFlat roof (roof terrace)The flat concrete roof on top of a building. It is the most common kind of roof in Greece and the part that takes the most sun and rain. meets the bottom edge of a tiled roofTiled roofA pitched roof covered with clay tiles, on a timber frame or a concrete slab. The real waterproofing sits underneath, in the layer below the tiles.. That spot needs care, because water runs down onto it from the tiles.

7. Primer before the foam

Black primer goes over the new surface, up to the parapetsParapetThe low wall around the edge of a flat roof or balcony. The joint between it and the floor is one of the most common places for leaks. and the edge of the tiles, so the foamSpray polyurethane foamA foam sprayed on as a liquid that expands on the spot and sets into one seamless layer. It insulates against heat and cold and closes cracks and joints. bonds well.

8. Spray polyurethane foam

Spray polyurethane foam goes on in one continuous layer with no joints and closes the corner between the flat roof and the tiled roof.