[RE-wrenches] to flash or not to flash

[Kurt Johnsen]

To me the reports of not seeing leaks is not terribly reassuring. It’s not
surprising when you consider that enough water has to get past tightly
compacted shingles under an L foot, travel between the threads and the wood
of a tightly threaded lag bolt, and then saturate attic insulation enough
to migrate through drywall to be “seen”. Even though my 5 year warranty
will have passed, what worries me (here in Florida) is that after 5 or 10
years of no leaks has passed a storm comes through and peels the array off
the roof because dry rot has set in around the lag bolts reducing the pull
out resistance of the rafters. I like to be able to tell my customers that
I always use engineered flashings designed for the specific purpose of
preventing water from damaging their home. I don’t want to cut corners on
the one thing that every customer fears the most. Besides, it is your only
shot at not voiding a roofing warranty that they may have.


Kurt Johnsen

Kurt Johnsen Energy Systems

NABCEP Certified PV Installer
621 SW 26th Place  Gainesville, FL 32601
352-222-9495

On Sat, Aug 29, 2015 at 1:11 PM, Ray Walters <ray at solarray.com> wrote:

> Excellent point, sir.  I have looked at quite a few from the attic, later
> when doing upgrades, and I haven't seen leaks.  But NO, I have not
> carefully gone back on every install to confirm. No news is good news, but
> that still doesn't mean 100% leak free.   Also, I'm working in a drier
> climate, where small leaks don't cause big problems.  Actually many of the
> systems with L feet I've looked at are not even my own, and (horror) they
> were sealed with gobs of silicone.
> I'm doing an inspection on a place with hot water and PV on an shingle
> roof that is 15+ years old, L feet, no flashings, silicone, and I will do
> my best for the list, to get in there and really check from the attic
> side.  Take photos if I can, and I'll loosen a few screws to check for any
> signs of rot around the screw hole.
> Really these days my favorite product might be a smallish flashing/ large
> L foot with butyl tape peel off on the bottom.  It would go under the
> shingle above, so its an actual"flashing", but not so far up that you get
> into the next row of nails, or have to cut the shingle much.
> We also need to really look at the sealant above the flashing and make
> sure the shingle above the mount is sealed down properly if disturbed.  I
> think trouble with shingle roofs starts when wind and rain can blow back up
> under a loose shingle.  What is the correct method to seal a shingle back
> down anyway?  Heatgun?  More roof approved caulking?
> Chime in ye of more roofing knowledge.
>
> R.Ray Walters
> CTO, Solarray, Inc
> Nabcep Certified PV Installer,
> Licensed Master Electrician
> Solar Design Engineer303 505-8760
>
> On 8/28/2015 1:43 PM, Benn Kilburn wrote:
>
> Here is a devils advocate question for everyone (*including myself*) who
> is claiming "no leaks after x-years".
>
> Are we assuming "no leaks" because the home/system owner has not reported
> any or because there are no water stains on the ceilings below the arrays
> *or* are we actually looking in the attic and seeing that there are
> absolutely NO water marks where the attachment points are?
> I would think that there is a big difference?  But having not gone back to
> every install and actually getting up and looking around *inside the
> attic*, would it not be presumptuous to assume that there have been no
> leaks?
>
> *Benn Kilburn *
> CSA Certified Solar Photovoltaic Systems Electrician, SkyFire Energy Inc
> 6706 – 82 Ave NW | Edmonton, AB | T6B 0E7
> P: 780-474-8992 | F: 888-405-5843 | www.skyfireenergy.com
> [image: email] <benn at skyfireenergy.com> [image: facebook]
> <https://www.facebook.com/SkyFireEnergy> [image: twitter]
> <https://twitter.com/SkyFireEnergy> [image: linkedin]
> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/283735?trk=tyah&trkInfo=tarId%3A1408655033432%2Ctas%3Askyfire%2Cidx%3A2-2-5>
>  [image: google] <https://plus.google.com/+SkyFireEnergy/>
>
> [image: SkyFire Energy Logo_horizontal]
>
> On Wed, Aug 26, 2015 at 1:52 PM, <max at seesolar.com> wrote:
>
>> I remember the "early days" of installing, which for us was early 1990's.
>> We used stainless steel rod hangers straight into rafters, which left us
>> with 4" threaded rod sticking up out of the roof. We used thru the roof for
>> sealing under a nut and fender washer. I've visited a couple of those sites
>> recently (still no leaks after over 25 yrs of production). By the way, we
>> have changed our mounting methods since then.........
>>
>> Max Balchowsky
>> Design Engineer
>> Golden Bridge Development
>> 1048 Irvine Ave Suite 217
>> Newport Beach, Ca. 92660
>> 760-403-6810
>> "Building a Better Future For The Next Generation"
>>
>
>
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