Remove Tiles on RooF?

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[sdold]

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

[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.

[russ]

Better to just get a competent installer to begin with.

[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.

[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]

My concern is how the water get back on top of the concrete tiles. Has anyone gone with this type of installation?

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.

[mxcraze]

Thanks for your input. Out of 5 quotes only one wanted to do this type of install.

[Volusiano]

I also got a quote and the solar co.They wants to remove my concrete flat tiles under the panels and replace them with composition asphalt shingles. They said it would make the panels look recessed in to the concrete tile. My concern is how the water get back on top of the concrete tiles. Has anyone gone with this type of installation?

I would have the same concern. You'll lose your first line of defense (the tiles or shingles) and now you'll rely on your second line of defense (the underlayment) to keep the water out of your roof. I would think that this may cause the underlayment to not last as long as expected.

You should probably steer clear of companies that want to do this. It shouldn't even be a consideration in the first place.

[russ]

I also got a quote and the solar co.They wants to remove my concrete flat tiles under the panels and replace them with composition asphalt shingles. They said it would make the panels look recessed in to the concrete tile. My concern is how the water get back on top of the concrete tiles. Has anyone gone with this type of installation?

It doesn't - maybe look for a real solar installer?

[mxcraze]

I also got a quote and the solar co.They wants to remove my concrete flat tiles under the panels and replace them with composition asphalt shingles. They said it would make the panels look recessed in to the concrete tile. My concern is how the water get back on top of the concrete tiles. Has anyone gone with this type of installation?

[Volusiano]

Based on the input here I started telling installers I'm not taking my tile roof off and they need to figure the job over the tile roof. Just got back from talking to a SunCity booth at Home Depot. SunCity would install over a cement tile roof, but they will not install over a CLAY tile roof. The clay tiles are more fragile and they refuse to take on the liability of the install. Like so many things, when you get into the details, the answer may change. Do you still agree I should find an installer that will work with my clay tiles and not replace them with a new shingle roof? All ideas are welcome.

Do you know whether your tile is clay or cement for sure? Most newer homes have cement tiles and while they may look like clay style tiles, they're actually cement.