The historic Locomotive Workshops at the new Australian Technology Park in Sydney’s Eveleigh date back to 1882 and have since been converted into a mixed-use retail, commercial, educational and recreational precinct. Inspired by a variety of successful precincts around the world including Chelsea Market in London and the Millennial Park in Chicago, the former industrial workshops offer the space, flexibility and enjoyment of large open-plan office facilities. The blacksmith workshop remains active, and on the site’s northern boundary runs the railway line.
This heritage project required an innovative, lightweight solution that would both maximize rooftop real estate and avoid fastening through the structure into the original purlins. The S-5! solar mounting solution provided installers with the flexibility to lay the solar panels in landscape position, which in this case maximized the rooftop space.
The building features 15 separate bays of metal roofing with various pitches including one as steep as 30 degrees. The solar install, by Prana Energy, was completed on an existing roof structure comprised of two layers of sheet metal, with a layer of contemporary corrugated sheet metal and polycarbonate added later in the 1990s. Beneath it are the original roof trusses and other associated historic fabric.
This S-5! mounting solution enabled the installation of solar panels in landscape orientation, which in this instance maximised the rooftop’s real estate. The standard weight for solar panels on a roof in Australia is 15 kilograms per square meter, so the solution was ideal for this heritage project. Moreover, the S-5! brackets allowed for increased wind uplift resistance and better load distribution because the additional attachment points were engineered to provide maximum wind uplift resistance as each point transfers a small section (tributary area) of the system. In addition, the ProteaBracket™ was used for cable tray management on another section of the roof. Attached to the sheeting only, this bracket features a factory-applied, EPDM gasket on the base to ensure quick installation, a weather-proof fit, and accurate and secure placement.
Traditionally, installers would fasten through the existing screw line and into the purlin structure. On this job, that would have been quite restrictive given the available spacing of purlins. The number and placement of the purlins on the existing roof were inconsistent. The spacing was so far apart, had they done it traditionally, the number of modules on the roof would have been greatly reduced. Since installers were not able to adhere to the appropriate purlin spacing and the correct clamping zones, and because they could not screw directly into the purlins, they needed an innovative solution.
With the CorruBracket 500T, the “T” indicates “top-fixed,” and the “500” indicates metric dimensioning (see the “100” for imperial compatibility).
The 500T is specifically designed to securely and safely attach walkways and other utilities, along with rail-based PV systems or low-profile, direct-attach, solar mounting with the S-5-PVKIT®. If added height is desired when mounting solar with the PVKIT, visit the CorruBracket 500T PV page.
Attachment Versatility
The 500T fastens directly into the crest of the corrugation, leaving the drainage plane free of fastening holes.
For medium-duty applications like solar PV, the 500T can be used as a sheeting-only attachment anywhere along the corrugation. If a heavy-duty application is desired, the bracket can be fixed into the underlying deck or purlin for additional support. The “V” configuration prevents crushing of the ribs when significant downward forces are present.
CorruBracket comes with S-5! self-piercing screws. Additional sheeting-only, metal-to-metal, or metal-to-wood screws can be purchased separately through distribution or directly from S-5! Bolts are sold separately.
Learn more about the product featured in this case study.
