A method and apparatus for installing roofing shingles on a roof deck in a top-to-bottom manner is disclosed. Engineered battens am positioned and installed on the roof deck in a bottom-to-top manner. Each batten has a female mating area which allows complementary shingles to be securely attached to the battens by sliding a corresponding mating portion of a shingle into the mating area of the batten resulting in a snap-fit engagement which secures the shingles onto the roof deck without nails. The method and apparatus have several unique advantages, such as allowing shingles to expand and contract (“breathe”) without buckling and/or tearing when the ambient temperature fluctuates. In addition, since the manner of installation is from top-to-bottom, this allows roofers to use the rows of nailed battens as safety scaffolding improving roofers' traction and ultimately enhancing their safety while performing this inherently dangerous job.

A metal shingle having a body with left, right, top and bottom parts. The body is substantially planar and rectangular and has a front, a rear, left and right sides, a top and a bottom. The left and right parts extend from the left and right side respectively. One of the left and right parts is folded over the front and the other is folded over the bottom. The top and bottom parts extend from the top and bottom respectively. One of the top and bottom parts is folded over the front and the other is folded over the bottom. In use, the shingles are positioned in each of side-to-side and top-to-bottom abutting relation so that adjacent sides are interlocked. The body defining a hollow adjacent to one of the interlocking top and bottom parts.

The present disclosure provides a new design for an injection molded roof panel with multiple improvements. The panel is made from PVC-like materials via injection molding with a large standard size. It comprises laterally and longitudinally sloped watercourses and arches. A tongue at the front connects to a vertically adjacent panel's rear upper interlocking member. Interlocks at the lateral ends of the panel connect one panel to another horizontally adjacent panel. Condensed water ridges underneath the panel drain condensation to the panel's front, where it is drained with angled weep holes on the tongue. The upper surface has a non-smooth low-noise texture to prevent slips/falls and reduce noise. The roof panel is secured onto roof sheathing with nail flanges with screw holes/bosses. The design achieves improved water drainage, increased installation security and speed, improved wind resistance, increased personnel safety, reduced noise, lighter weight, lower cost, and improved lifespan.

One aspect of the disclosure is an exterior cladding panel including a first end, a second end, and a series of locking clips extending from a front face of the exterior cladding panel and positioned along the first end of the exterior cladding panel. The exterior cladding panel also includes a locking leg extending from a rear face of the exterior cladding panel and positioned along a middle portion between the first end and the second end. The exterior cladding panel also includes a series of simulated shingles positioned in a single course between the first end and the second end, including a series of gaps separating adjacent shingles. Each gap extends lengthwise from the second end to the middle portion of the exterior cladding panel, and includes a first width that differs from a second width of at least one adjacent gap in the series of gaps.

A system includes a plurality of photovoltaic modules, each having a mat with an edge and a spacer with an edge, the edge of the mat being attached to the edge of the spacer. The spacer includes a plurality of support members and a solar module mounted to the support members. Each of the support members includes a ledge. The solar module and the ledge form a space therebetween. The space is sized and shaped to receive an edge of a solar module of another of the photovoltaic modules. The spacer of one of the photovoltaic modules overlays the mat of another of the photovoltaic modules.

A roof tile comprising a decorative layer, having at least a ceramic body, and a support layer disposed below the decorative layer, wherein the roof tile comprises an upper edge, a lower edge which is opposite to the upper edge and two opposite side edges, said side edges being transversal to the upper edge, wherein said roof tile comprises at least one anchoring element for anchoring the roof tile to a structure or framework.

A novel roof shingle tile and method of installation is presented. The roof shingle may include a first side opposite a second side, a top edge opposite a bottom groove, a top gutter, and a side gutter. The bottom groove may extend along a bottom edge of the tile that includes a bottom edge of the side gutter, and the top edge may include a tongue portion sized to fit within the bottom groove of a vertically adjacent tile. The second side may also include an overhang portion sized to overlap the side gutter of a horizontally adjacent tile. When installed, the shingle tiles may create a water resistant roof surface.

A roof tile comprising a decorative layer, having at least a ceramic body, and a support layer disposed below the decorative layer, wherein the roof tile comprises an upper edge, a lower edge which is opposite to the upper edge and two opposite side edges, said side edges being transversal to the upper edge, wherein said roof tile comprises at least one anchoring element for anchoring the roof tile to a structure or framework.

A system includes a plurality of photovoltaic modules, each having a mat with an edge and a spacer with an edge, the edge of the mat being attached to the edge of the spacer. The spacer includes a plurality of support members and a solar module mounted to the support members. Each of the support members includes a ledge. The solar module and the ledge form a space therebetween. The space is sized and shaped to receive an edge of a solar module of another of the photovoltaic modules. The spacer of one of the photovoltaic modules overlays the mat of another of the photovoltaic modules.

A system includes a plurality of photovoltaic modules, each having a mat with an edge and a spacer with an edge, the edge of the mat being attached to the edge of the spacer. The spacer includes a plurality of support members and a solar module mounted to the support members. Each of the support members includes a ledge. The solar module and the ledge form a space therebetween. The space is sized and shaped to receive an edge of a solar module of another of the photovoltaic modules. The spacer of one of the photovoltaic modules overlays the mat of another of the photovoltaic modules.