Will installing solar void a roof warranty?
Publish Time：2023-02-02
Sources：
Shingle roofs are reliable and a roofing classic, but that doesn’t mean they are a flawless solution. Their installation allows for and often requires more roof penetrations compared to other roofing materials like tile or metal roofing. Despite all those nails and staples in the mix, shingles do their part in keeping the surfaces underneath them dry.
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Solar mounting manufacturers often hear the question, “What about the roof warranty?” Most installers are just covering their bases, seeing what assurances they can get beyond their own quality of labor. What seems to trip everyone up is that most roof warranties are only assurance for the quality of manufacturing; assurance that the product was manufactured to the standard the manufacturer intended. So where do the lines get blurred?
To provide insight into the issue, we gathered warranty documentation from the nation’s most popular shingle manufacturers. First we will dive into common types of warranties.
So, will your solar installation void the roof warranty?
Most likely, no, but that warranty never protected you or the homeowner from anything other than a defective roof product. At the end of the day, manufacturing warranties are not nearly as important as the quality of your own labor.
If you come prepared for the roof, then you can increase your chances of getting it right the first time. Taking direction from manufacturers is key to successfully using their products and installing a cohesive solar system. If you think you’ve got a better method, then let them know so they can develop a better product or adjust their instructions using your field experience.
Other ways to plan for a successful installation are by taking advantage of innovative solar mounting solutions — solutions that work with the roof and not against it. QuickBOLT has produced minimally invasive mounting solutions for a decade, and most of our peers in the mounting industry now offer their own top-mounted solutions.
The last three years have seen a major boon to over-the-shingle, top-mounted solar attachments which work to decrease the impact to the roofing materials beneath them. The fewer penetrations you make in the roof and the less you lift shingles, the better the roof integrity remains.
Someday soon we will witness the rapid decline of ripping up shingles, destroying the roof’s existing integrity and forcing installers to wonder with a pry bar in their hand, “Will this void the roof warranty?”
To provide insight into the issue, we gathered warranty documentation from the nation’s most popular shingle manufacturers. First we will dive into common types of warranties.
So, will your solar installation void the roof warranty?
Most likely, no, but that warranty never protected you or the homeowner from anything other than a defective roof product. At the end of the day, manufacturing warranties are not nearly as important as the quality of your own labor.
If you come prepared for the roof, then you can increase your chances of getting it right the first time. Taking direction from manufacturers is key to successfully using their products and installing a cohesive solar system. If you think you’ve got a better method, then let them know so they can develop a better product or adjust their instructions using your field experience.
Other ways to plan for a successful installation are by taking advantage of innovative solar mounting solutions — solutions that work with the roof and not against it. QuickBOLT has produced minimally invasive mounting solutions for a decade, and most of our peers in the mounting industry now offer their own top-mounted solutions.
The last three years have seen a major boon to over-the-shingle, top-mounted solar attachments which work to decrease the impact to the roofing materials beneath them. The fewer penetrations you make in the roof and the less you lift shingles, the better the roof integrity remains.
Someday soon we will witness the rapid decline of ripping up shingles, destroying the roof’s existing integrity and forcing installers to wonder with a pry bar in their hand, “Will this void the roof warranty?”
