- Jun 29, 2013
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So far I have sent them all packing. I am willing to capture some solar but I DO NOT WANT IT HOOKED UP TO THE METER......none of the local companies will do that. I'll probably do it myself after I finish the bathroom projects that the wife has ordered. Additionally they don't send out structural people who know shit about shit. I have a very large roof....the rafters are 33'6".... the modulus of elasticity for this particular beam with its dimensions tells me that I have about 90 pounds of sheer stress tolerance per unit length going with the grain....now place that directly in the middle of the beam about 16' 8" and you have considerably less due to leverage. My rafters are about 100 years old so I going to grade them at about 70 percent efficiency. That brings us to the number 63 for the sheer stress and I haven't yet figured out how much pressure would be added to the direct center of the length due to leverage but I'm sure it's plenty. I'm probably being too generous with 63. The installers showed me the lag bolts they were going to use. NO EFFING WAY! was my response. You're going to drive that thing into my rafter? NOPE! He seemed puzzled.....I asked them if they had a structural engineer that worked with them. He seemed further puzzled.....now mind you this has happened several times at my kitchen table with these guys. Judging from the size of the lag it would reduce the efficiency of the 3x8 rafters down to a 1x4 which would be totally intolerable for a heavy snowfall.
I no longer bother even to talk to them. I am currently working on a design with a few builders that starts with independent supports that are pylon-ed into the ground near the sides of the house building a tent like frame of sorts with very light support structures bearing down on the roof without penetrating the rafters. Yeah it will probably look a little funny to some but I don't care. I also offered to design a special U bolt for rafters that hugs the rafter from the inside while not penetrating the structure of the rafter and still providing anchorage for the panel footing. I called them " Rafter Clamps" but the company I was talking to at the time was concerned that it could extend the installation times out too far.... ok...fuck them.
OH....and lets talk about the meter. None of them were able to discuss it because they said that without a meter hookup they couldn't pull the permit. This does not surprise me. See....when you generate and sell back to the utility you have to use their lines and they charge for that. So screw them too.
I will figure it out....trust me. Even if I have to build it myself.
JO
I no longer bother even to talk to them. I am currently working on a design with a few builders that starts with independent supports that are pylon-ed into the ground near the sides of the house building a tent like frame of sorts with very light support structures bearing down on the roof without penetrating the rafters. Yeah it will probably look a little funny to some but I don't care. I also offered to design a special U bolt for rafters that hugs the rafter from the inside while not penetrating the structure of the rafter and still providing anchorage for the panel footing. I called them " Rafter Clamps" but the company I was talking to at the time was concerned that it could extend the installation times out too far.... ok...fuck them.
OH....and lets talk about the meter. None of them were able to discuss it because they said that without a meter hookup they couldn't pull the permit. This does not surprise me. See....when you generate and sell back to the utility you have to use their lines and they charge for that. So screw them too.
I will figure it out....trust me. Even if I have to build it myself.
JO
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