Deck House homes are unique in nearly every way, including their roofs. Properly installing solar panels on a Deck House roof is possible with the right methods. Because of the solid roof system, solar contractors can not simply bolt the mounting brackets to the roof like on a conventional home.
Conventional roof systems use trusses that lie directly below the surface of the roof. On a Deck House solid roof, there is a layer of 2-6” of rigid insulation. Bolting through this insulation and into the roof decking will compress the insulation enough to cause failure of the roof system. The shingles will stress and crack, causing water to follow the bolts into the home. Left unattended, just one failed solar mount installation can end up causing thousands of dollars in damage to the roof.
Recently, Buchanan Custom Builders was contracted to implement a solution and properly fit our customer’s Deck House home with solar panel mounting brackets. This was accomplished by working with the solar panel contractor to determine the exact layout of the brackets, which was then transferred to a layout for solid blocking. With the layout in hand, the shingles were stripped off of the roof that was going to support the solar panels. Solar companies recommend installing over a relatively new roof, as re-roofing after the panels are installed is beyond difficult.
Once the roof was stripped, the layout was transferred onto the plywood surface. Buchanan Custom Builders’ owner, Steve Buchanan, implemented an installation detail to provide a solid surface for the solar brackets to mount to, while maintaining the integrity of the Deck House roof system. This design included cutting channels into the roof, installing blocking, and installing a waterproof membrane under the shingles. The shingles and solar mounts had to be installed at the same time. Properly shingling around so many mounts, so close together, takes time and much experience. In the end, the layout was successfully transferred from paper, through every step, and onto the finished solar mounts.
At this point, the roof was ready for the solar contractors to complete the installation and flip the switch to turn this Deck House home into a residential solar farm!
For some specifications on this customer’s Deck House solar install, visit his energysage.com page here: Energy Sage
Contact us at steve@buchanancustombuilders.com or call 978.365.5110 if you’re considering a solar package for your Deck House home.
Buchanan Custom Builders 