MCS_012 3.0 CertifiedSolVe MountSolar Mounting for Cambrian interlocking slate roofs
Fire Safety compliant roof mounting. Airtight VMQ seal, no open air void in the roof — the fire rating is preserved. MCS 012 3.0 certified.
Last Updated: July 2025
Key Takeaways
- Minimally invasive diamond coring — no drill bits drilling through the roof covering.
- No sealant, flashing or tile removal required — tightening a nut creates an IPX8 rated seal
- MCS_012 3.0 Certified (Certificate BBA 7460) for Cambrian interlocking slate
- Only MCS certified solar mount proven at scale on Cambrian interlocking slate — 930 mounts, NHS Hospital, Hampshire
- Marine grade stainless steel — A4-80 bolt 33% stronger than traditional solar mounting
- Positioning note: Avoid the join and channel — move left/right of the join
Installation Difficulty
A team of two can install 4 SolVe Mounts on a Cambrian Slate roof in less than 2 minutes.
NHS, Hampshire. Cambrian Interlocking Tiles — 930 roof mounts
Cambrian Interlocking Slates cannot use flashing as they are nailed together, preventing the installer from being able to slide flashing underneath or remove without damaging the tiles.
Before using SolVe Mounts, the NHS project in the video were looking at removing up to 6 Cambrian tiles per mounting, each tile taking 5+ minutes to remove. Traditional roof hooks & flashing on Cambrian Interlocking Slates would require tile removal — dramatically increasing the cost of labour, causing unexpected delays and damaging tiles.
Key benefit for Cambrian slate
No sealant, flashing or tile removal required. Simply tightening a nut creates an IPX8 rated seal.
Fortunately, they SolVed the problem by using our mounts!
Large-Scale Cambrian Roof Installation — NHS Trusts
Video sped up 2×
On large Cambrian slate roofs — such as the NHS Trust projects we work with regularly — speed and consistency are everything. The key to a fast, repeatable installation is pre-drilling: core all holes first using the Rafter Finder to locate each rafter precisely through the tile, then pre-drill the rafter in one uninterrupted pass down the row. The SolVe Mounts are then fixed in sequence, with no tile removal and no delays.
This method — core, pre-drill, fix, repeat — allows a two-person team to install at pace across an entire roof section without breaking rhythm. On NHS Trust-scale projects with hundreds of mount positions, that consistency directly reduces labour costs and programme time.
Team benchmark — Cambrian slate
A team of two can install 4 SolVe Mounts on a Cambrian Slate roof in under 2 minutes. On pre-drilled rows, the rate is faster still.
930 mounts were installed on this Hampshire NHS Trust project. No tiles were lifted, no sealant was applied, and no specialist roofing sub-contractor was required.
Rafter Finder by SolVe
Find Every Rafter
on Cambrian Slate
Cambrian interlocking tiles contain magnetic material that can cause compass interference. The Rafter Finder app accounts for this — but recalibrate frequently if readings seem erratic.
On large Cambrian roofs such as NHS Trusts, consistent rafter location is what enables fast, repeatable installs. Pre-drill all core holes first, then work down the row — the Rafter Finder locks in your spacing every time.
No guesswork. No tile removal. Never miss a rafter.
Why it matters on Cambrian
- 01Cambrian tiles are magnetically active — the app's calibration mode compensates without you having to locate rafters by probing.
- 02Mark rafter positions before you go on the roof. Core all holes in one pass, then fix all mounts in the next — maximises speed on large arrays.
- 03Free to download. Works on iPhone and Android.
Material Pedigree
The Seal Trusted Where Failure Isn't an Option
When failure means a downed aircraft or a breached reactor, engineers choose VMQ silicone. SolVe Mount uses the same seal material family — proven across six decades in environments that make a British roof look trivial.
Space
International Space Station
Docking port seals and habitat pressure boundaries — where a single failure breaches a pressurised environment in orbit.
Aviation
Boeing · Airbus · Rolls Royce
Pressure cabin door seals, jet engine assemblies, and aircraft fuel systems — maintaining integrity through thousands of flight cycles from −60 °C to over 200 °C.
Nuclear
Power Generation
Containment gaskets in nuclear stations where chemical resistance and zero compression-creep are non-negotiable.
Defence
BAE Systems
Submarine pressure seals, naval vessel systems, and defence electronics requiring long-term environmental resistance.
No sealant, flashing, grinding or removing slate required. Just tighten a nut.
Installing on Cambrian Interlocking Slate
CORE — 28mm diamond core to create your 'working area' to access the rafter.
DRILL — Pre-drill the rafter using the drill guide provided. On large roofs, pre-drill all positions before fixing any mounts for maximum speed.
FIX — Screw in the fully assembled SolVe Mount. For Cambrian slate, no height adjustment is typically needed unless battens require it.
DONE — Your MCS certified, IPX8 rated Cambrian slate roof mount is complete.
Making solar installation simple, fast and repeatable. No Cambrian interlocking slate expertise required.
Unshrinkable Technology
Maintains a permanent 34-36mm expansion above and below the roof covering, ensuring no retreat or seal degradation over time.
172-Year Longevity
ASTM D395B testing confirms ~30% compression set after 172 years, preserving elasticity and waterproof "springiness."
Load Isolation
Forces are channeled directly to the rafter. The seal expands radially, exerting pressure only on the core hole walls, not the slate.
Triple-Seal Protection
Primary seal matches roof covering depth, augmented by upper and lower seals for 100% watertight confidence.
2D SolVe Mount Installation Animation
Close Up Installation Video Below
