S 1.1 · Service
Structural PE stamp for rooftop solar
In short
A structural PE stamp is a site-specific calculation package, sealed by a licensed professional engineer, showing that the existing roof framing can carry the array’s added weight plus the wind and snow loads at that address. Here it’s a $200 add-on to a standard plan set, and the sealed framing plan and calculations ship inside the same PDF.
What you receive
- A sealed framing plan showing the rafters or trusses the array attaches to, with their size and spacing.
- Load calculations for the array’s added dead load and for the wind and snow loads at the site, run against the criteria of the jurisdiction’s adopted building code.
- Attachment checks for the roof covering that is actually on the house.
It’s issued with the set, not as a separate document you have to attach yourself.
When a jurisdiction asks for one
Most ask when something about the roof is uncertain, rather than simply because solar is involved:
- Re-roofs, where the history of the framing is unclear
- Tile, slate and other heavy coverings
- Marginal framing — 2×4 rafters, long spans, wide spacing
- High-wind or heavy-snow sites
- Jurisdictions that require it on every job as a matter of policy
A conventional shingle roof on engineered trusses at standard spacing often doesn’t need one. When do you actually need a structural stamp? walks through how to tell before you quote the homeowner.
What we need from you
The roof covering and whether it’s being replaced, the rafter or truss size and spacing, and photographs of the attic framing — a tape measure in the shot is worth a paragraph of description. Those answers decide whether the stamp is needed, and let the calculations run against the real framing rather than an assumption.