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seanflyon t1_ive4i98 wrote

Reply to comment by Surur in Rooftop solar trumps all fossil fuels as renewables smash more records on main grid [Australia] by EnergyTransitionNews

My parents wanted to put solar on their roof, but the city required that they get full architectural plans for the building drawn up first, by a certified architect.

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ChildrenAreOurDoom t1_ivf5hyu wrote

Well yes, you are adding load to an existing structure. That should be required everywhere.

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seanflyon t1_ivfxvvw wrote

We are talking about adding less than 100 pounds to the roof, that is a 0% increase in loading. Requiring certified architectural drawings effectively outlaws solar on the roof of old buildings.

Walking on your roof is 100 times worse because not only is it more weight but it is vastly more concentrated.

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ChildrenAreOurDoom t1_ivg0e7j wrote

I am an engineer. Any changes to a structure must be documented. Not just for "this time", but so that there is a record of modifications for "next time".

The permit process is to log changes to a building over its lifetime. Don't skip any part of that story.

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seanflyon t1_ivg1m4c wrote

I didn't say anything about skipping the permitting process, I was talking about the permitting process itself.

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Alis451 t1_ivfbhh4 wrote

> a certified architect.

certified engineer, not architect. architects are designers, engineers are the developers. Architect is "Where it goes", Engineer is "How it works". My brother had a collapsing column in his crawl space and needed an engineer to come assess in order to get a permit.

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