Fitting bird proofing yourself without drilling: step by step

Fitting bird proofing under solar panels is not a job you need an installer for. There is no drilling and no screwing: the brush strip is wedged between the roof tile and the edge of the panel and stays there under tension. So you make no holes in your roof or your panels, and the warranty on your installation is unaffected.

What you need

• The brush strip in the right diameter, with enough metres for all open sides.
• Work gloves. The bristles are stiff and the ends of the wire are sharp.
• A sturdy ladder, and roof hooks or scaffolding on a steeper roof.
• Optionally a broom or hand brush to clean out the gap first.

Never work alone on a roof, and don't do it in rain, frost or strong wind. Tiles are slippery then. If you're not confident working at height, have someone else do it; the strip itself isn't the tricky part, the roof is.

Step by step

1. First check what is underneath

Walk along the row and check for nests, eggs or young birds. If there is an occupied nest, stop here and wait until the young have fledged. Sealing with birds underneath is not only an animal welfare problem, you also trap them under your panels, and you will smell the result later.

2. Clean out the gap

Remove old nesting material, leaves and moss. That not only saves mess in your gutter, it also means the brush can later sit tight against the tiles instead of on a clump of moss.

3. Unroll the strip along the row

Measure the side you are going to seal, unroll the strip and hold it next to the row. If the roll is longer than the side, bend the end over. Do not shorten the strip, because that damages the brush.

4. Push the strip into the gap

Start at a corner and push the brush with the flat of your hand into the gap between the roof tile and the bottom edge of the panel. The bristles bend and compress; if the size is right, the strip stays in place by itself and springs back lightly against the panel. Work your way along bit by bit and don't pull on the core, because that stretches the wire.

5. Close the corners and the sides

The bottom edge is the most obvious, but the sides of the panel array are the most often forgotten. At the corners, let the two pieces overlap slightly. A gap of a few centimetres at a corner is exactly where a sparrow will still get in.

6. Check the row once more

Stand on the ground a few metres away and look along the bottom edge. If you see no light and no dark hole anywhere, it's done properly. Check again after the first big storm.

How long does it take?

For an average terraced house with one row of panels, two people are usually done in a morning, and most of that time goes into getting up and down safely. The unrolling and pressing in itself is quick.

Before you start

Check that you have ordered enough metres, including the sides. You can always order more, but then you're up on the roof a second time. Based on your number of panels, the size finder works out how many metres you need and which rolls suit that best.