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--></style></head><body lang="EN-US" link="blue" vlink="purple" style="line-break:after-white-space"><div class="WordSection1"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Jay:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Thank you very much. I could not find this document on the web site. This is valuable information.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">William Miller</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span></p><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">William Miller</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Miller Solar</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><a href="http://www.millersolar.com/"><span style="color:blue">www.millersolar.com</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">CA License C-10 77398</span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span></p><div><div style="border:none;border-top:solid #b5c4df 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in"><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"">From:</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""> jay [mailto:<a href="mailto:jay.peltz@gmail.com">jay.peltz@gmail.com</a>] <br><b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, April 1, 2026 1:09 PM<br><b>To:</b> William Miller<br><b>Cc:</b> RE-wrenches<br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [RE-wrenches] Ballasted ground mount</span></p></div></div><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Here is the unirac installation manual</p><div><p class="MsoNormal">Towards the bottom you’ll see the ballast info design. </p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal">Can be totally above ground. </p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"> </p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"> </p></div><div><div><div><table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="450" style="width:225.0pt;background:#e5e6e9;border-collapse:collapse"><tr><td style="padding:0in 0in 0in 0in"><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif""><img border="0" width="300" height="200" id="_x0000_i1025" src="cid:image002.png@01DCC1D9.40332570" alt="preview.png"></span></p></td></tr><tr><td style="padding:0in 0in 0in 0in"><table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="300" style="width:150.0pt;background:#e5e6e9;background-color:rgba(229,230,233,1)"><tr><td style="padding:6.0pt 0in 6.0pt 0in;background-color:rgba(229,230,233,1)"><div style="margin-left:12.0pt;margin-right:12.0pt;max-width:100%;overflow:hidden"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif""><a href="https://unirac.com/document/gft-construction-drawings-gen-2-top-chord-404036/view/"><span style="color:#272727;text-decoration:none">view</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif""><a href="https://unirac.com/document/gft-construction-drawings-gen-2-top-chord-404036/view/"><span style="color:gray;text-decoration:none">PDF Document · 3.7 MB</span></a></span></p></div></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></div></div></div><div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><br><br></p><div><p class="MsoNormal">On Apr 1, 2026, at 12:50 PM, William Miller <<a href="mailto:william@millersolar.com">william@millersolar.com</a>> wrote:</p></div><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Jay:</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""></span></p><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">I see that GFT is approved for “ballasted” installations. I ran their U-Builder tool, selecting ballast blocks as the option. In the end it showed me a picture of the ballast blocks as a poured-in-place concrete footing. See photo below.</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""></span></p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><image003.png></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""></span></p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">This is not what ballasted is supposed to mean in solar racking…</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""></span></p><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">William</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""></span></p><div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">William Miller</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""></span></p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Miller Solar</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""></span></p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><a href="http://www.millersolar.com/">www.millersolar.com</a></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""></span></p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">CA License C-10 77398</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""></span></p></div></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""></span></p><div><div style="border:none;border-top:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in;border-color:currentcolor currentcolor"><div><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"">From:</span></b><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""> </span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"">Jay [mailto:<a href="mailto:jay.peltz@gmail.com"><span style="color:purple">jay.peltz@gmail.com</span></a>]<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br><b>Sent:</b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Wednesday, April 1, 2026 11:11 AM<br><b>To:</b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="mailto:william@millersolar.com"><span style="color:purple">william@millersolar.com</span></a>; RE-wrenches<br><b>Subject:</b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Re: [RE-wrenches] Ballasted ground mouont</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""></span></p></div></div></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""> </span></p><div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">Have you looked at the unirac GFT </span></p></div></div><div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">They have a stamped ballasted design which can be above ground or built into the ground. I don’t know if it’s got the updated stamp. </span></p></div></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""> </span></p></div><div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">Jay</span></p></div></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""> </span></p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""> </span></p></div><div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""> </span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">On Apr 1, 2026, at 12:07 PM, William Miller via RE-wrenches <<a href="mailto:re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org"><span style="color:purple">re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org</span></a>> wrote:</span></p></div><blockquote style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt"><div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""></span></p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Friends:</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""></span></p><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">I have a client that is trying to meet a 4/14/26 deadline to construct a grid-tied system under the NEM2 rate structure. She contacted me late in the process to see if I could design a system that could be permitted and built by that date.</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""></span></p><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Her roof is inadequate so I proposed a ground-mount. Any racking system that penetrates the ground would need a soils study to avoid a forest of posts with concrete. Without a soils study the assumption is the ground has the consistency of beach sand. We did not have the time for a soils study. Therefore I suggested a ballasted ground mount.</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""></span></p><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The AHJ favors “pre-engineered, ready-to-use” designs (their quote). Unirac provides this service for their RM10EVO product and also stipulates approval for ground mounting. We entered the information into the U-Builder web portal, including a California address, and received an engineering report certifying a design with the required parts and ballast blocks.</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""></span></p><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The AHJ failed to recognize this as a pre-engineered, ready-to-use design and called for a wet-stamped engineering report. For a mere $350 Unirac offered to provide this, a fair price. In the process of requesting this report we were informed that the California code cycle had updated on 1/1/2026 and new standards are in place. The old standard is ASCE7-16. The new one is ASCE 7-22. Unirac told me that they have yet to be certified for 7-22 for the RM10EVO. Oddly the U-builder report states compliance with 7-22 but apparently this is an error. Unirac will not provide a wet-stamp certifying compliance with 7-22 and the 2025 California Residential Code and/or the 2025 California Building Code.</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""></span></p><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">I write this for two reasons: 1. This is a big heads up if any of you have projects in the pipeline that depend on these codes, and 2. Do any of you know of any ground-approved, ballasted racking systems I should be considering?</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""></span></p><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Thanks in advance for any input.</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""></span></p><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">William</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""></span></p><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">William Miller</span></p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Miller Solar</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""></span></p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><a href="http://www.millersolar.com/"><span style="color:purple">www.millersolar.com</span></a></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""></span></p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">CA License C-10 77398</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt">_______________________________________________<br>List sponsored by Redwood Alliance<br><br>Pay optional member dues here:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://re-wrenches.org/"><span style="color:purple">http://re-wrenches.org</span></a><br><br>List Address:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="mailto:RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org"><span style="color:purple">RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org</span></a><br><br>Change listserver email address & settings:<br><a href="http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org"><span style="color:purple">http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org</span></a><br><br>There are two list archives for searching. 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