roof details [RE-wrenches]

Peter Duchon info at asappower.com
Fri Feb 3 19:05:10 PST 2006 

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William,
I'd love to see your wrap on how to handle jb's on tile roofs and conduiting
of multiple DC strings over slab or s-tile, IF there's a different or best
way to approach each.  I'd also like to know more about what adhesives are
being used out there, IF used, or recommended practice for rooftop jb's with
conduiting on flat cement slab tile type rooftops, where I would think it
possible for a good strong adhesion that can survive blazing surface heat.
Even with someone tripping over or just a stressed conduit entry into a hot
rooftop jb, is there an adhesive out there that works for 25 years in
advanced life tests and will keep the jb in place, cold and hot, cold and
hot for years?

For myself, I would rather go over roof/through eaves/down ext. walls, than
through attics/through interior walls, etal, at least on residential work,
unless there's pre-conduited entries/exits in the home's construction ready
for me.   But I don't like drilling tile if I don't have to anyway.   I like
the idea of lifting or removing a tile, and inserting a lagged-into-truss
z-bracket of some sort that a junction box to collect DC strings can bolt
onto.  Is there such an item out there, perhaps for different tile profiles,
etc??  Seems like I've seen something at a roofing contractor's store
recently.  Thinks it was for satellite dish.

You know the tile industry is rather well controlled by a handful of
companies for most builders here in California.   And every new roof is a
tile roof with few exceptions, so it's bigger business than it's ever been.
Perhaps only two (?) major developers that are active out here, do we have
small "communities" of new construction "ready for solar PV option" and with
tile roofs.   At least, that's the story in fire-weary Southern Cal.   Solar
PV hardware/racking solutions for tile roofs are far from being perfected in
my opinion and I simply don't feel the same level of confidence in many
aspects of installation on tile rooftops.   Maybe it's that sound of
poorly-made slab tile cracking about 6 ft south of my ears.  Almost like a
laugh, like it's breaking joyously and was its destiny.  More likely though,
it's just that I'm not confident in the mounting solutions out there,
particularly for a decently solid (i.e., expensive option) slab tile roof
that a new homeowner has just paid for in the mortgage and does NOT want to
remove and won't be sold otherwise.

And am i concerned about earthquakes with these floating-over-tile arrays?
Well, yes.  I could imagine the carriage bolts of say, tile track solution
for instance, could shear at the tile, without moving the tile, with a heavy
enough array, and a strong enough directional jolt (the wave, away from
epi-center but close enough), and come sliding off en masse modularity.  I
suppose time will tell if that's valid or not, unless there are some tests
that have been conducted that I'm not aware of.  Probably are.  Sandia's got
a huge earthquake testing facility.

I would also hold a candle up for Atlantis or even UniSolar roofing shingle
products and similar, but for some reason I can't think of a reason to yet.
If I'm going to make a living with modular equipment, might as well do it
with larger modules or larger modular units period, like groups of modules
at a time with a hoist and appropriate mounting solutions, not smaller
modules in the form of roofing products.  Besides, they're more expensive
and more labor and I don't think this outweighs the cost savings of being a
roofing product nor the loss of service-ability factor, but I could be
wrong.

Doesn't matter, many of us won't have any silicon modules to install anyway,
despite the Governator and Bush's best efforts, unless...

Thanks,
Peter

-----Original Message-----
From: William Miller [mailto:wrmiller at charter.net]
Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2006 12:02 PM
To: RE-wrenches at topica.com
Subject: Re: roof details [RE-wrenches]


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Geoff:

Caulk:  Our roof caulk of choice is Rain Buster 14000.  I understand
Geocell is damaging to asphalt shingles-- read the fine print.  I haven't
tried Sikaflex, I have been meaning to.  (I prefer a clear or light colored
caulk, it is not as obvious on the client's carpet).

Call backs:  Second one in all my years last Saturday.  In bed with the
flu, crawled out got dressed, drove to the job.  One of my installers had
drilled some pilot holes to locate a rafter and had forgotten to caulk
them.  Alos, I had caulked an EMT penetration and had skimped a tiny bit
and had not entirely covered the rain-tight fitting back nut. Fortunately
the leaks were just tiny drips and were only noticed because the client is
a facilities manager and had crawled in his attic to
inspect!  (Ironic:  the installer works for me part time when he is not
flying commercial airlines.  You think he'd be aware of un-caulked pilot
holes.)  the only other call back for a leak was caused by a loose
raintight fitting on the EMT.

Lags:  We use stainless if requested or if in a maritime climate.

Flahing:  When we use a post we flash.  If the roofing is tile, we double
flash.  If we can get in before the roof paper is installed, we recommend
that the roofer interleave the paper with the lower flashing.  If not, we
have them caulk the lower flashing onto the paper and then interleave the
top flashing with the tile.  We use Oatey solar flashings almost
exclusively.  We offer a flashed post installation as an upgrade on Comp
roofs.

Posts:  We recommend the Direct Power Power
Post
(http://www.directpower.com/products/racks/powerrails/pr_mount_options.pdf)
It offers two lag holes, making it a much stiffer support than the others
we have tried.

Hope the above input helps.


William Miller



At 11:06 AM 1/18/2006, you wrote:

>How many of you wrenches use Sika-flex?  Geocell?  Tremco polyroof?  Other?
>sources for quantity purchase?
>
>We have never had any leak callbacks - stories?
>
>How many use stainless lags VS galvanized?
>
>How many always use flashing?  Anyone used the "flatjack" roof mount from
>Thompson Technology Industies?
>
>
>
>For a brighter energy future,
>
>Geoff Greenfield

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