Why this hub exists
Around 2013 this domain hosted a Best Solar Mount Systems catalogue operated in that era by Sydney Ankors Pty Ltd (historic telephone listing 02-96825011). The brochure listed tin roofs, tile roofs, flat adjustable frames, pole mounts, ground mounts, clamps, rails, roof hooks, and packages. Those product URLs still attract residual traffic.
We rewrite the topics as buyer guides and 301 the old /product/ paths here. We are not that company. We do not sell hardware. We do not publish invented load ratings, span tables, or “this clamp is good for cyclone region C.”
If you arrived from a Wayback snapshot of a MetInfo product page, you are in the right place — and you should still hire a licensed installer rather than ordering a 2013 SKU.
Penetrative vs ballast
Penetrative mounts go through the cladding into structure. That is typical on metal roofs and many tile roofs across Australian suburbs. Water management is the job. Isolation between aluminium rails, steel cladding, and stainless or coated fasteners matters more in coastal air — from Newcastle to the Gold Coast to Fremantle — than a brochure photograph suggests.
Ballast mounts weigh an array down, often on commercial membranes, to avoid new holes. Wind uplift, membrane warranty, and ballast design must be engineered. We will not invent a kilogram-per-square-metre figure. A ballasted array on a shopping-centre deck in western Sydney is not a crate of house bricks on a weekend.
Neither method is universally “better.” The existing roof, the wind region, and the person who still warrants the waterproofing decide.
Do solar mounts need engineering certification?
Sometimes. Wind region, building height, terrain category, non-standard roofs, unusual tilts, and large commercial arrays can trigger a design certificate or engineer sign-off. Your installer should say when an engineer is in the scope. If they shrug, that is an answer — just not a good one.
The National Construction Code and AS/NZS structural and wind standards sit with the designer of record, not with an editorial website. Cyclone-region work in north Queensland, the Top End, and north-western Western Australia is not a copy-paste of a Melbourne villa job. We will not invent a site classification for your street.
Tin vs tile — the practical difference
Metal roofs — corrugated, trapezoidal, and standing seam — usually take clamps or L-feet into purlins. They are common on newer estates, sheds, and much of Queensland’s residential stock. See tin / metal roof mounting.
Tile roofs — concrete and terracotta — usually take hooks or flashings under the course, fixed to timber. They are still common on older streets in Melbourne, Sydney, and Adelaide. Broken tiles and lazy flashing are the usual complaint points. See tile roof mounting.
Neither is universally better. A tired tile roof with cracked valleys is a roofing conversation before it is a solar conversation. Cheap rails on a tired roof are not a saving.
Flat, ground, and pole
Flat and low-pitch decks need tilt frames or, on some commercial membranes, ballast. Drainage and walkways are part of the design. See flat roof mounting and commercial solar.
Ground mounts are for when the roof is the wrong place: shade, fragile cladding, or a better northerly plane in the paddock. “Allowed” is a council and overlay question, not a national yes. See ground mount.
Pole mounts lift a small array for a pump, a shed, or one clear sky view. A pole is a structure in the wind. See pole mount.
Historic clamps, rails, and hooks were sold as SKUs. Today they must be a matched system. See clamps and rails and packages.
What a quote should say about mounting
- Cladding type and condition (not “standard roof”).
- Fixing method in words: clamp, L-foot, hook, tilt, ballast.
- Compatibility with the module frame.
- Who warrants weatherproofing after penetration.
- Whether an engineer is included, and for what wind region assumption.
If the line item says only “mounting kit,” ask for names. Then use the installer checklist.
Heritage redirects
Classic catalogue paths such as /product/, /product/product.php, and /product/showproduct.php 301 to this hub or to the nearest child guide. We do not rebuild tracker shells, member logins, or Microsoft.XMLHTTP noise paths. Those return 410.
How to choose a child guide
Match the cladding, not the catalogue nostalgia.
- Metal house, shed, or new estate — tin / metal.
- Concrete or terracotta tiles — tile.
- Membrane or low-pitch skillion — flat.
- Roof is the wrong place — ground or pole.
- The quote says “kit” — clamps and rails and packages.
Then put the method in words on the installer comparison table. A mounting line that only says “standard” is not a method.
Heritage IA, modern duty
We 301 /product/, /product/product.php, and /product/showproduct.php here, and we map tin, tile, flat, pole, ground, clamps, and packages to child guides. We do not rebuild member logins or link-exchange shells. Those return 410. See the HTML sitemap and about for the fork from the 2013 Sydney Ankors brochure.
If you have a 2013 invoice, this website cannot honour it. If you have a 2026 quote, this hub can help you read the mounting line.
Related money: cost. Related hardware: panels.
Wind region is not a vibe
Designers talk about wind regions and terrain categories because a house on a ridge above the Illawarra is not a house in a suburban cul-de-sac in Canberra. Cyclone-region work in north Queensland, the Top End, and north-western Western Australia is not a copy-paste of a Melbourne villa. We will not invent your site classification. We will say: if the installer cannot say when an engineer is in the scope, that shrug is the answer.
The National Construction Code and AS/NZS wind and structural standards sit with the designer of record. This hub exists so you know which questions to ask, not so you can download a span table from 2013.
Photo gateways and leftover equity
The cards on this page are the child guides. Open the one that matches the cladding. If you arrived from /product/showproduct.php, you were meant to land here rather than on a dead MetInfo SKU. Member and link-exchange shells return 410. See about for the honest fork from Sydney Ankors Pty Ltd.
A mounting line that only says “standard kit” should send you back to clamps and rails and then to the installer table. Cheap rails on a tired tile roof are not a saving. See tile.
What we kept from the 2013 IA
Tin, tile, flat adjustable, pole, ground, clamps, rails, hooks, and packages. Those topics still have URLs. They no longer have SKUs. If a searcher arrives on a classic product path, they should meet a buyer guide and a 301, not a parking shell. That is the heritage duty of this hub.
Structural and waterproofing claims are the installer’s and, where required, an engineer’s responsibility. This is general information only. Last reviewed 25 September 2026.