Fibre cement sheeting (often referred to by trade names such as Eternit or Glasal) is found on older UK industrial and agricultural buildings as a pitched roof cladding. Many installations pre-date the prohibition on asbestos-containing cement in 1999, meaning a significant proportion of older fibre cement roofs may contain chrysotile (white asbestos) fibres, requiring asbestos survey before any fixing work.
Non-asbestos fibre cement sheets present structural fixing challenges because the material is brittle and does not provide adequate pull-out resistance for conventional hook-bolt fixings without specialist support rails. Structural engineers assessing fibre cement roofs for solar PV must account for the reduced fixing capacity of the cladding and specify appropriate sub-frame arrangements to transfer loads to the purlins below.