That was exactly the failure I anticipated when using flashings. Tearing
up the shingle to shingle adhesive and pulling those nails out is more
disruptive than the actual attachment itself. I'm going to flash on an
upcoming job for legal/ insurance reasons, but not because its better.
I too have projects pushing 20 years, and we have never had a leak.
R.Ray Walters
CTO, Solarray, Inc
Nabcep Certified PV Installer,
Licensed Master Electrician
Solar Design Engineer
303 505-8760
On 8/26/2015 10:20 AM, Kelly Keilwitz, Whidbey Sun & Wind wrote:
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
ke...@whidbeysunwind.com <mailto:ke...@whidbeysunwind.com>
PH & FAX: 360.678.7131
On Aug 26, 2015, at 7:44, jay <jay.pe...@gmail.com
<mailto:jay.pe...@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
<ja...@westcoastsustainables.com
<mailto:ja...@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
ja...@westcoastsustainables.com <mailto:ja...@westcoastsustainables.com>
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