Removing & reinstalling a penthouse roof

[boywonder]

Originally Posted by kcshoots

-The Yakima tracks are bolted about every foot, and I want to put 10' of them along each side of the top length.


KC

KC: Where are you finding 10' lengths of Yakima track? The longest I can find is 60". I'm also planning on mounting them to a penthouse top.

[kcshoots]

Originally Posted by boywonder

KC: Where are you finding 10' lengths of Yakima track? The longest I can find is 60". I'm also planning on mounting them to a penthouse top.

I purchased two pairs of the 60" tracks to abut them end to end on each side for 10' total track length (they are made to do just that with any of the lengths). My top is about 10'5" long. However, I've been tormented over how to mount the tracks to the roof, and have finally given up on mounting the tracks and decided to go with the Yakima side shell mount set up for kayak racks and a custom aluminum bar racking system for solar panels that will be attached via ClickBond's glued on "nut and stud" system. Each of those on fiberglass should be good for over 250 psi, so about 10-12 per panel should be way more than adequate, and not the panels will have a low profile adding only about 2" to roof height, plus I can always replace a panel or change one out with a different style in the future. I'll post some photos once I get it installed.

KC

[BogusBlake]

I know this thread is kind of old, but it's still on the first page of the subforum, so I read it.

ClickBond is awesome stuff. It's very user-friendly because it changes color as it cures (green means go). Besides just the adhesive being great for bonding stuff together, the studs (and the little fixture that comes with it) are great for putting a very strong fastener anywhere you don't want to (or can't) drill. I've used their products extensively on composite and metallic substrates for aircraft structural applications. Which leads to what I can add to this thread:

You can cleanly remove ClickBond without damaging the substrate. Use "Freeze Spray" or a can of keyboard cleaner turned upside down. Shoot the cured adhesive until it turns white and looks frozen, then while it's in that state, hit it with a chisel or screwdriver (and hammer) in the plane of the substrate and it will pop right off.

This trick works less well with Hysol (EA 9340) or Methyl Methacrylate Adhesive (Plastic Welder).

[kcshoots]

Thank you for the great tip on how to remove the ClickBond adhesive should I need to. I hope I never do. It's strong. The PV panels are holding up perfectly on the penthouse fiberglass roof with aluminum tubes 1.5" wide by about 6" long each, four per panel glued to the roof. No issues at all and if I lift up on the panels, the penthouse roof lifts up with them, so I don't think they are going anywhere. I have gently tapped small tree branches with the panels and no issues--the tree branches move, not the panels or top.

KC

Originally Posted by BogusBlake

I know this thread is kind of old, but it's still on the first page of the subforum, so I read it.

ClickBond is awesome stuff. It's very user-friendly because it changes color as it cures (green means go). Besides just the adhesive being great for bonding stuff together, the studs (and the little fixture that comes with it) are great for putting a very strong fastener anywhere you don't want to (or can't) drill. I've used their products extensively on composite and metallic substrates for aircraft structural applications. Which leads to what I can add to this thread:

You can cleanly remove ClickBond without damaging the substrate. Use "Freeze Spray" or a can of keyboard cleaner turned upside down. Shoot the cured adhesive until it turns white and looks frozen, then while it's in that state, hit it with a chisel or screwdriver (and hammer) in the plane of the substrate and it will pop right off.

This trick works less well with Hysol (EA 9340) or Methyl Methacrylate Adhesive (Plastic Welder).