There is provided a cladding member (13) formed of a supporting body portion (67) having mounts (54) and a head portion (12), and an absorber surface portion (70) having a peripheral boundary wall (71) defining a recess into which a solar cell array (removed in this view for clarity) is bonded. The supporting (67) and absorber surface (70) body portions are pressure moulded from polyvinyl ester/glassfibre (30%)/fire retardant (40%)/pigment sheet moulding compound. Complementary bonding portions (72) form a glue line in assembly and have complementary water passages (73) defined therebetween. The bonding portions (72) contrive a generally sinusoidal glue space (74) that is longer that the transverse sectional dimension of the boding portions (72), cooperating with the adhesive system to resist water pressure in the passages (73).

Building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems provide for solar panel arrays with improved aesthetics and efficiency that can replace conventional roof structures. BIPV mounting systems described herein allow for improved versatility and ease of installation as compared to conventional approaches. Such BIPV mounting systems can include photovoltaic (PV) roof tiles with separate mechanical coupling features and electrical contact portions for use with tile connectors having both mechanical and electrical coupling features. Such PV tiles can be mechanically and electrically coupled in series through the tile connectors without requiring wire bussing between adjacent PV roof tiles and the tile connectors can be slidable within a batten bracket to easily accommodate PV roof tiles of differing dimensions.

A system and method of roofing. The present invention includes a fabric sheet having an upper surface and a lower surface. The upper surface includes one of a hook and loop fastener and the lower surface is configured to be attached to a roof decking. The present invention further includes a plurality of tiles each having an upper edge, a lower edge, a top surface, and a bottom surface. The other of the hook and loop fastener is attached to the bottom surface. The plurality of tiles are releasably attached to the upper surface of the fabric sheet via the hook and loop fasteners.

Roofing shingles are disclosed that are capable of self-adhering to a roof deck or underlayment and/or other roofing shingles and that require few or no mechanical fasteners to remain attached to the roof. By appropriate positioning of sealant lines on the shingle, direct adhesion between the shingle and the roof deck or underlayment and/or other roofing shingles can be achieved. If the shingle is laminated, the layers may be mechanically attached with indentations in the common bond area. The nail zone of the shingle may be visually indicated with fines and/or one or more paint lines. A roofing system comprising a plurality of courses of the shingles is also disclosed.

A first protrusion formed on stone or porcelain tile extending from an edge of the tile configured to abut a second tile to space the first tile apart from the second tile by the first protrusion.

In one aspect of a tile and support structure, a support structure may be engaged with a top portion of a pedestal. The support structure may be formed with a generally vertical spine having at least one rail extending outward from a distal end thereof. The spine and rail(s) may be configured to secure one or more tiles, which tiles may be formed with a groove on at least one edge thereof, and wherein one or more rails may be positioned within the groove.

A support structure configured for attachment to a pedestal upper surface with a support structure spine extending upward from the support structure; a first support structure rail and second support structure rail each extending perpendicularly outward from the support structure spine. A tile comprising a groove formed in at least one of the plurality of side edges; wherein the groove of the at least one of the plurality of edges of the tile is configured for engagement by the first support structure rail of the support structure.

A flat photovoltaic tile includes a shell made from plastic material and a photovoltaic element in a recess. The tile has front and rear faces, upstream and downstream edges, two right and left lateral edges. Overlapping portions ensure at least water-tightness against liquid water. The tile includes an electrical connection, the rear face including, towards the upstream edge, a tenon intended to hold the tile on a retaining device, in particular a batten. At the photovoltaic element, the tile includes, in its thickness, from the rear face towards the front face: a part of the shell a rear panel, a lower EVA film, a silicon photovoltaic conversion plate, an upper EVA film, and a tempered glass transparent layer, and, elsewhere, the tile includes, in its thickness, the plastic material of the shell.

A multi-layer cap shingle for installation along a ridge, hip, or rake of a roof includes a forward exposure area and a rear headlap area. The multi-layer cap shingle includes at least two layers of shingle material, a top layer and a bottom layer each having opposed edges. The layers are bonded together with patches of lamination adhesive adjacent their opposed edges. The bottom layer is configured with a deformation-absorbing mechanism such as a pair of slots extending from a forward edge reawardly inboard of the lamination adhesive patches. When the multi-layer cap shingle is bent over a roof ridge, the slots of the bottom layer of shingle material narrow in width to account for the fact that the bottom layer must bend around an arc of slightly smaller radius than the top layer of shingle material. As a result, the opposed edges of the bottom and top layers of shingle material remain aligned and both edges of the top layer are laminated to the bottom layer to increase wind lift resistance of the installed multi-layer cap shingle.

A multi-layer cap shingle for installation along a ridge, hip, or rake of a roof includes a forward exposure area and a rear headlap area. The multi-layer cap shingle includes at least two layers of shingle material, a top layer and a bottom layer each having opposed edges. The layers are bonded together with patches of lamination adhesive adjacent their opposed edges. The bottom layer is configured with a deformation-absorbing mechanism such as a pair of slots extending from a forward edge rearwardly inboard of the lamination adhesive patches. When the multi-layer cap shingle is bent over a roof ridge, the slots of the bottom layer of shingle material narrow in width to account for the fact that the bottom layer must bend around an arc of slightly smaller radius than the top layer of shingle material. As a result, the opposed edges of the bottom and top layers of shingle material remain aligned and both edges of the top layer are laminated to the bottom layer to increase wind lift resistance of the installed multi-layer cap shingle.