Canterbury · Solar panel roofing

Re-roof with in-roof solar panels, Canterbury

A detached Canterbury bungalow with dormers and rooflights in the roof, taken back to the rafters and re-covered in slate, with the solar panels built into the roof rather than bolted on top. We did the roof; the solar was fitted by a solar company we work closely with. About three weeks from the scaffold going up on 24 June 2026 to it coming down on 16 July.

Property: Detached bungalow with dormers and rooflights
Covering: New grey slates
Underlay: New breathable membrane
Battens: Fully re-battened
Solar: In-roof panels on both main slopes, fitted by our solar partner
Rooflights: Kept and set into the new roof
Time on site: About three weeks, 24 June to 16 July 2026

Why in-roof solar, and why at re-roof time

Ordinary solar panels sit on brackets above the slates or tiles, hooked under them and fixed through to the rafters. In-roof panels take the place of the slates instead. The mounting trays are fixed at batten level, the slates are laid up to them, and the panels sit almost flush with the finished roof. It looks cleaner from the street and nothing is clamped over the roof covering. The catch is that the trays have to go in while the roof is open, so it only makes sense when the roof is coming off anyway. If your roof is due for replacement and you are thinking about solar, that is the time to do both. One honest trade off: panels sitting in the roof get less air behind them than panels on brackets, so they run a little warmer, and warm panels produce slightly less. On a roof that needed replacing anyway, most people decide the look and the single job are worth it.

Laying the roof out around the solar

The roof already had dormers and rooflights, so the panels had to fit around them, which is why one slope has a T shape rather than a plain rectangle. That meant working hand in hand with the solar company rather than one trade finishing before the other started. The order matters. We stripped the roof, laid new breathable membrane and re-battened, the solar trays went in, and then we set the slate courses out so they meet the trays cleanly at the top, bottom and sides. Get that wrong and you end up with cut slates in odd places or a gap where the water gets in. The photos show the trays going in on 29 June and the slopes slated up to them by 2 July.

Working around what was already there

The dormers and rooflights were already in place and stayed where they were. Each one is a junction where the new membrane and slates have to be dressed in and weathered properly, and those junctions are where an older roof usually starts letting water in, so each was worked in as the new slates went on rather than left as it was.

The job, in order

Canterbury bungalow with full scaffold and a StoneRidge Roofing board before the re-roof — 24 June. Scaffold up all round and our board on the front.

Roof stripped to the rafters, new breathable membrane and battens on a Canterbury bungalow — Same day, from above. The old covering is off, new breathable membrane is down and the new battens are going on. The existing dormer and rooflight stay where they are.

New battens across the full slope of a Canterbury bungalow re-roof, chimney in view — 26 June. The other slope battened out past the chimney, ready for the solar trays and slates.

In-roof solar mounting trays fixed into both slopes of a Canterbury bungalow roof — 29 June. The black trays are the in-roof solar mounting system, fixed in at batten level on both slopes before the slates go on.

Grey slates being laid up to in-roof solar trays on a Canterbury roof — Slating from the eaves up to meet the trays. The T shape fits the panels around the dormer and rooflight.

Roof fully slated around in-roof solar trays, Canterbury — 2 July. Fully slated around the trays, ready for the panels.

In-roof solar panels fitted flush with new grey slates, scaffold still up, Canterbury — 10 July. Panels in, sitting flush with the slates rather than standing proud of them.

Finished roof with in-roof solar panels and dormer, scaffold removed, Canterbury — 16 July. Scaffold down.

Front of a Canterbury bungalow after a re-roof with in-roof solar panels on both slopes — From the front. Same house, new roof, panels built in.

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