[RE-wrenches] to flash or not to flash

[Kelly Keilwitz, Whidbey Sun & Wind]

Hi All,
In the early days with PV and SWH we didn’t use flashings for most roofs (except tile). We used L-feet directly to the roofing with butyl (comp) or EPDM (metal) and pre-filled our holes and covered the attachments with good goop. We've never had a leak reported from this practice. And, here in western Washington State, it does get tested.
We changed methods about 10 years ago deciding it would be good practice - both legally and professionally - to follow roofing industry guidelines that prescribe (if you consider attachments “penetrations”) the use of flashings. 

This spring we had our first leak, from a 2-year old system, on a 4:12 comp roof, with flashed L-feet. The leak occurred through a roofing nail hole that our installers had pulled but didn’t quite get covered up by the flashing or sealant. Even though the hole was still “shingled” by 2 layers of overlapping comp, the concentrated storm runoff from the module edges overwhelmed the ability of the shingles to shed the water. We fixed the problem, reroofing the section and fixing the damage to the ceiling, but not to our reputation and pride.
Even though this issue was caused by a combination of procedural error and specific geometry, it’s easy to imagine this could happen again. Installers moving fast on roofs and not being able to see exactly where those nails they are pulling are coming from. And, when it’s cold out older comp shingles can crack when trying to get the nails out.

If “best practices” for our industry could be established/recognized that prescribed our former methodology with L-feet, I would be happy to return to it (customers would also get lower costs). As of now, however, “best practices” for us mean following the roofing industry standards.

-Kelly
 
Kelly Keilwitz, P.E. 
Principal
Whidbey Sun & Wind
Renewable Energy Systems
NABCEP PV Installation Professional
WA Electrical Administrator
kelly at whidbeysunwind.com
PH & FAX: 360.678.7131



On Aug 26, 2015, at 7:44, jay <jay.peltz at gmail.com> wrote:

> Didn’t know there was a pole.
> I”m on the flash side.  
> 
> Question for those who don’t.
> How would  your insurance claim work if you didn’t flash?
> 
> jay
> 
> peltz power
> 
> 
>> On Aug 25, 2015, at 9:59 PM, Jason Andrade <jason at westcoastsustainables.com> wrote:
>> 
>> I wouldn't install a comp roof system without the flashings myself, I am in
>> Northern California and the extreme weather both heat and cold are murder on
>> roofing.
>> 
>> Jason
>> 
>> West Coast Sustainables
>> Jason Andrade
>> C-46# 974647
>> (530) 410-4745 Cell
>> (530) 241-7498 Office
>> (530) 348-5301 Fax
>> Jason at westcoastsustainables.com
> 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org/attachments/20150826/b5e3bd6c/attachment-0002.html>