matt151617
Well-known member
Any roof penetration has the potential to leak eventually. If done properly and with good maintenance the chances are very low, but it's still a hole in your roof. For a solar array it's many holes.
Planning a Garage; Should I Plan for Solar
- Thread starter LifeLongWNYer
- Start date
Every one of my concrete roof tiles are nailed on. Using your logic, I guess I should thank my lucky stars that the thousands of nail holes in my roof haven't started to leak yet?????
Let's get real... 80 standoffs for my solar array (2 bolts each) versus thousands of roofing nail holes
Doesn't a roof tile cover the nails? Nothing is going to cover the bolts used for solar racking
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Every one of my concrete roof tiles are nailed on. Using your logic, I guess I should thank my lucky stars that the thousands of nail holes in my roof haven't started to leak yet?????
Let's get real... 80 standoffs for my solar array (2 bolts each) versus thousands of roofing nail holes
Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
The roof tiles overlap and cover the nails, but if a strong wind was to blow the rain up under the tiles, there is nothing to prevent the water from following the nail through the tile to the roof where it would hopefully stop at the tar paper/underlayment
'Best practice' is to flash at the penetration/underlayment and again on top of the tile/shingle.
'Best practice' is to flash at the penetration/underlayment and again on top of the tile/shingle.
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On a proper installation, every roof penetration is flashed.
mcbane
Well-known member
If you havent already decided on roofing material you probably want to avoid a tile roof. The most leak proof solar mounting system is a standing seam metal roof with clamps that attach to the roof seams. See https://www.s-5.com/products/solar-solutions/. No penetrations required so no chance that a poorly caulked hole will cause trouble later. And while all roofs eventually need to be replaced, a properly installed metal roof will last for many decades.
Yes, double flashed
Look at the pics. The roof tiles are removed and they apply sealant to the bottom of the standoff. The standoff is placed on top of the underlayment (tar paper) and is bolted to the attic trusses. It is then flashed to the underlayment and the roof tiles are replaced, with a hole or notch for the standoff to protrude through. The second flashing goes on top of the roof tiles and tucks underneath the next row of tiles
Or you can go with the lowest bidder who is probably going to do something like this - Drill a hole through the tile and hope you hit a truss, screw in long bolt and shoot caulk/sealant all over it
Look at the pics. The roof tiles are removed and they apply sealant to the bottom of the standoff. The standoff is placed on top of the underlayment (tar paper) and is bolted to the attic trusses. It is then flashed to the underlayment and the roof tiles are replaced, with a hole or notch for the standoff to protrude through. The second flashing goes on top of the roof tiles and tucks underneath the next row of tiles
Or you can go with the lowest bidder who is probably going to do something like this - Drill a hole through the tile and hope you hit a truss, screw in long bolt and shoot caulk/sealant all over it
