Roof access door

[vrinner]

Any thoughts on installing a roof access door on a steel building?

I have 20' eves with solar on the roof. Solar guy says to clean the panels at least once per year. I guess I have a couple of options;

1. Get a very tall ladder and climb up that onto the roof.
2. Cut a hole in my roof and put one of those access doors and just pop up from my second floor.

Any thoughts or suggestions.

 

[K'ledgeBldr]

The more penetrations you put in a roof the more likely you are to have a leak- take that for what's it's worth...

 

[matt_i]

I think if you could weatherproof the curb you'd be doing well. The Cap part should be relatively easy to weatherproof I would think....bend material using box & pan brake, reinforce the corners, and silicone the corners from inside. May be tough to insulate well or air-seal. Would be tough to bend a ribbed panel across the ribs....would need some flat material coated similarly as the existing roof.

 

[strutaeng]

Roof hatches are very standard on commercial roofs. They have a way of locking with padlock and are rain tight. You'll need a metal ladder (maybe an OSHA cage, don't know the rules.)

If you can put in on like a mezzanine, the ladder just goes along like 8' of wall.

I get on roofs often, but never really pay attention to configuration, other than observing that they are not about to fall apart, LOL.

 

[Norcal]

I used a roof hatch over the well & it has worked well, it gets opened in summer to let heat out & has not leaked on a comp roof, on a metal roof it would depend on the details and the the care taken during installation. Do not have any photos of the hatch but here is a 8 YO photo of where it was installed.

 

[Lucky Llama]

You might consider a permanent mount man-ladder.

 

[kbs2244]

With a once a year need and a S CA location I think it is an easy decision.
While you are at it, plumb an easy hose connection.

 

[manwithtools]

Regardless of how you get tot he roof, be sure to clean the panels twice a year if you can. There is significant reduction in output from the crud that builds up on them - just from condensation and dust alone.

 

[vrinner]

With a once a year need and a S CA location I think it is an easy decision.
While you are at it, plumb an easy hose connection.

Is that a yes or a no? Sorry...not sure.

However my wife reminded me that we are building a deck that will go to the 2nd floor and why not just use a regular ladder there. I tend to over think things I guess. Thanks for the input everyone!

And while I'm overthinking and you mentioned hose connection...does anyone put some sort of automatic sprinker/cleaner for their solar panels?

 

[kbs2244]

I have seen a built in "rinse" option listed by installation companies.
I am not sure how they work.

 

[Kaizen]

Is that a yes or a no? Sorry...not sure.



However my wife reminded me that we are building a deck that will go to the 2nd floor and why not just use a regular ladder there. I tend to over think things I guess. Thanks for the input everyone!



And while I'm overthinking and you mentioned hose connection...does anyone put some sort of automatic sprinker/cleaner for their solar panels?

I had thought of that for snow clearing mostly. Heated bar running when snowing or some such. Nothing in the market. You can probably easily reach all of them from the top of the ladder and a few paint roller extensions. Don’t think I’d put a hatch. Just don’t use a pressure washer in a ladder


Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app