Remove Tiles on RooF?

[Naptown]

There are two reasonable ways they could go with that.

1. Install custom metal flashing at the bottom of the shingle roof section to carry the water back onto the tiles. If the slope of the roof is shallow, they could flash onto tiles one row down from the edge of the panels and then put the top row of tiles over the flashing.
2. Remove the tiles all the way to the bottom edge of the roof and put in proper shingles and flashing to that bottom, then set the tiles back on top of that for appearances and some protection.

Any way they do it will require attention to flashing at the sides of the array not just at the bottom.

Sounds like a metal bending nightmare

[inetdog]

Sounds like a metal bending nightmare

I agree.
One major warning for the whole thing is that whatever the solution may and up being, some PV installers are not competent to do the roofing work and so will either contract it out to an actual roofing contractor or will have the work done by laborers who cannot recognize a reason for doing it a different way than they were taught.

[russ]

Better to just get a competent installer to begin with.

[Ward L]

9 Months Later....

I had the solar panels installed over my clay tile roof. It leaked pretty good during this last rain. Today they were up repairing the leaks and we decided to pull off the clay tiles underneath the panels and install asphalt shingles. I'm going to have them build a path of shingles to the panels so the panels can be cleaned without stepping on the clay tiles. Not sure why anyone would build a roof with such fragile clay tile covering.

[sdold]

What kind of mounts did they end up using, and any idea where the leaks occurred?

[Volusiano]

I had the solar panels installed over my clay tile roof. It leaked pretty good during this last rain. Today they were up repairing the leaks and we decided to pull off the clay tiles underneath the panels and install asphalt shingles. I'm going to have them build a path of shingles to the panels so the panels can be cleaned without stepping on the clay tiles. Not sure why anyone would build a roof with such fragile clay tile covering.

A competent installer should have installed proper flashings around the posts to prevent any leak in the first place. They shouldn't be blaming the leak on having clay tiles underneath the panels. That's irrelevant, and replacing the clay tiles with asphalt singles wouldn't solve the root cause of the problem, which is improper flashing installation of the posts.

It sounds like maybe this installer is only familiar with doing flashing on asphalt singles and not on clay tiles, so that's why they talked you into switching to shingles.

I wonder how the aesthetic would be like if all of a sudden you have a path of shingles among clay tiles on your roof, let alone having to worry about how to get the water from the shingles back on to the tiles like previously discussed by other posters.

[J.P.M.]

I had the solar panels installed over my clay tile roof. It leaked pretty good during this last rain. Today they were up repairing the leaks and we decided to pull off the clay tiles underneath the panels and install asphalt shingles. I'm going to have them build a path of shingles to the panels so the panels can be cleaned without stepping on the clay tiles. Not sure why anyone would build a roof with such fragile clay tile covering.

Ward: Very respectfully, I'm sorry for your situation - honest. That's my worst nightmare. You may not want to here this and I don't want to add to your duress when things are tough. I'm also not a roof expert, but, if you do as you describe and if I understand you correctly, assuming the array is not located at the roof eves, rain water will have a path under the remaining clay tiles which are located below the array or below any horizontal portions of the access paths. Even if the tiles below the array are removed, composition siding put down below the array and the tiles reinstalled over the composition siding below the array, what's to keep water/crud/bugs/guano/??/etc. from getting under the old tile and can causing problems ? The old tiles were not completely waterproof and weren't meant to be, but making a path into an area sure to trap stuff is, IMO, an invitation for problems sooner or later and may not be the best way to solve a problem.

Good luck.

[Mike90250]

..... Not sure why anyone would build a roof with such fragile clay tile covering.

Fireproof, lasts hundreds of years.

The proper question is why the installer did not caution you in advance about the clay tiles, and how their quality control allowed the leaks. During the install, you can expect some breakage from handling and drilling, but the broken tiles should have been replaced at the installers expense.
Leaks come from bad workmanship, not the base materials.

PV panels can be washed from ground level with a jet nozzle.

[Ward L]

The installer is not blaming anything on anyone. It leaked and they are fixing the leak. They replaced all the broken tiles when it was originally installed. IMO the root cause of the leak is the installer did not have people with roofing experience install the panels over the clay tiles. I still think the clay tiles are a fashion statement and not the best choice for roofing. If you are content to NEVER walk on your roof, it would be fine. There are other types of tile looking roofs that would be better suited. IMO if you have the clay tiles I have, plan on removing them and installing asphalt shingle tiles under the panels. You won't see the asphalt shingles as they tuck the tiles in around the edge to keep the look consistent. My roof is over 20' high and it is not possible to clean it very well with a jet nozzle from the ground.

I have heard nothing of what the expense to me will be for these repairs. I'll keep you posted on that matter.

[Volusiano]

I still think the clay tiles are a fashion statement and not the best choice for roofing. If you are content to NEVER walk on your roof, it would be fine. There are other types of tile looking roofs that would be better suited.

I think most modern tiles are now cement and not clay, and you can't really easily tell them apart. So cement tiles are not susceptible to breaking as easily, although they can still break if you're not careful and don't know how to walk them on the right places. I don't think they're just a fashion statement, they truly do last a lot longer than shingles and that's part of the reason why they're used.

IMO if you have the clay tiles I have, plan on removing them and installing asphalt shingle tiles under the panels.

I still don't see the value in doing this. Whether you have tiles or asphalt shingles under the panels, you still are going to have posts sticking out either way to support the panels, and you're going to need to install flashings around these posts to keep the water out. So replacing tiles with shingles under the panels is an unnecessary expense and doesn't help make your roof any more leak proof. So why would you care whether it's tiles or shingles under the panels?

Replacing tiles with shingles outside/around the panel area so you can walk around safely for cleaning makes more sense to me for that reason, assuming the HOA lets you.

[russ]

IMO the root cause of the leak is the installer did not have people with roofing experience install the panels over the clay tiles. An unqualified installer

I still think the clay tiles are a fashion statement and not the best choice for roofing. As was pointed out - today tiles are generally cement with a very long life - far better than other roofs

There are other types of tile looking roofs that would be better suited.

Personal taste - not fact - Here all sloped roofs are tile

[Ward L]

Hello?

As I have said, I have CLAY TILES and they break when walked on. It is only a matter of time walking on clay tiles even if you walk in the right place before the break. I think the sturdy cement tiles are fine. I am providing a path of asphalt shingles to access the roof and panels to clean the panels or service them.

[CA_Tom]

As I have said, I have CLAY TILES and they break when walked on. It is only a matter of time walking on clay tiles even if you walk in the right place before the break. I think the sturdy cement tiles are fine. I am providing a path of asphalt shingles to access the roof and panels to clean the panels or service them.

So when rain falls on that asphalt shingle path, is it going to be well contained to that path?
Or is it going to spread out to go underneath those tiles, causing the plywood under those tiles to deteriorate? (and hopefully it's plywood and not OSB in that case)

I agree - clay tiles break pretty easily.
But I wouldn't put an asphalt shingle path - I'd just stay off the roof.
I used to have a house with clay tiles - and we had broken tiles replaced by a competent roofer. He did a number of roofs in the development - 5 tiles here, 1 there, 3 on the next, etc. I don't recall how much it was, but wasn't too bad since it was multiple roofs at the same time. And since they were competent, they could replace the tile without breaking more. (or maybe what they did was fix 5, and in the process break one near the edge, and have to fix that gratis)

[J.P.M.]

As I have said, I have CLAY TILES and they break when walked on. It is only a matter of time walking on clay tiles even if you walk in the right place before the break. I think the sturdy cement tiles are fine. I am providing a path of asphalt shingles to access the roof and panels to clean the panels or service them.

Any brittle tile will break if walked on carelessly, clay, cement or other. Clay may be a bit more fragile is all. Best advice: stay off the roof - it's not a place meant for foot traffic. After that, know that walking on a brittle roof is not like a walk in the park. Hands and knees movement helps spread the load some. 2 sheets of plywood can be used on non windy days WITH CARE TO AVOID SLIPPAGE.

I'd go back to the point about containing rainwater and the dirt/stuff that goes with it to not get UNDER the remaining clay tiles. Maybe I'm more full of B.S. than already exhibited, but providing, in effect, an invitation for water/crap ingress under the remaining clay tiles seems like a planted problem waiting to sprout to me. Just my $.02.

[Ward L]

New Asphalt Shingles

The asphalt shingles go all the way to the rain gutters. The shingles are the same color as the clay tiles. The area where the panels are located is almost impossible to see. No one will be able to look at the roof from the street or yard and detect there are asphalt shingles under the panels.

The next pending crisis is a storm is blowing in this Thursday night with 50 MPH winds predicted and a lot of rain. They have temporarily stored the panels on the roof. The panels are not secured! The panels won't be there Friday morning! I have a call into the installer.....