Kevin Taylor, Marley’s Training & Technical Support Manager, will be offering his advice and opinions on all things roofing related every month in Professional Builder. This month, he looks at the opportunities that solar PV offers installers.
Kevin boasts over 40 years’ experience in the roofing industry having first started as an apprentice in his father’s firm in Doncaster. With a very ‘hands on’ approach, he enjoyed working outdoors with a variety of different materials and techniques including concrete interlocking tiles, natural slating, clay pantiles, vertical tiling and even cedar wood shingles.
Nine years on the tools and a City & Guilds Craft Certificate later, Kevin became a contracts manager and estimator, as well as lecturing part time at Leeds College of Building – where he had studied.
Enjoying the educational environment, Kevin switched to full time lecturing, finding himself the youngest lecturer at the college and leading his apprentices to success in the National SkillBuild competition on several occasions.
Later, Kevin was approached by the National Federation of Roofing Contractors (NFRC) to advise on slating and tiling and head up technical, training and competitions. During his 12 years there, he worked to reduce roof failures via a series of joint seminars to drive the dry fix agenda, was part of the biggest revision of BS5534 for many years and trained all slating and tiling members on the new British Standards when major changes came in 2014.
Kevin is also author of the roofing bible – ‘Roof Tiling and Slating – A Practical Guide’ – an easy to use, practical manual which is widely used in training centres and colleges across the UK.
Kevin said: ‘I’m looking forward to working with Marley, it will be great to be part of a team again. Having worked in so many different areas of the industry, I appreciate what’s needed to achieve a good quality roof – and that’s everyone working together.’
Big opportunity
‘The next big opportunity for roofers is solar PV. Increasing energy costs are encouraging more consumers to turn to solar to help reduce their energy bills. This fact, coupled with the changes to Part L of the building regulations along with the zero rate VAT on installing energy saving materials in residential properties means that the already high demand for solar on both new build and refurbishment projects is high and is rising.
‘It is up to manufacturers and roofing contractors to work together to make the most of the opportunity to benefit everyone.’
Marley SolarTile – designed to deliver
Developed to deliver on aesthetics, installation and, most importantly, sustainability, Marley SolarTile is ideal for both new build and the retro-fit markets.
Thanks to its double fixing to battens and trusses, counter battens are not needed (unlike other in-tray roof systems) and, by replacing existing tiles rather than fixing over the top of them, the risk of costly tile breakages on the roof is greatly reduced.
Totally compatible with all clay and concrete tiles and slates, Marley SolarTile comes as a complete kit. Colour-coded boxes make for easy installation whilst the patented push-together design helps achieve installation times of less than one hour per kilowatt peak.
When used alongside a full range of the manufacturer’s roofing products, Marley SolarTile forms part of its full roof system, complete with its 15-year guarantee.
‘We can work with you to support finding solar opportunities and offering your team training and guidance on the product range and system – increasing your confidence when talking to your customers. We’re here to help guide you through the solar opportunities that lie ahead.’ – Kevin Taylor, Marley’s Training & Technical Support Manager
For further details on Marley’s full solar offering visit www.marley.co.uk/solarinstall.
