Installing solar panels rails on Concrete Tile Roof

venvis

Hi all,
I am thinking of installing solar panels myself & I have concrete tile roof. When I looked at youtube or other sites, mostly it talks about removing shingles, drilling holes to hold the rails, etc.
Any idea/tips on how solar panel rails are installed on concrete tile roof? Are the tiles removed fully for the area, remove the cover sheets, then drill/install the panel rail holders, etc? And how to put back the tiles (drill holes in tile?)
Or is there a special method/material involved here?
I plan to do most work myself & get electrical contractor for other electrical connections/PG&E audit/approvals, etc. thoughts? I read the Solar forum (Arizona sun-wind.com forum) & few other sites for tips as well.

Windows on Wash

First place to start would be with the panel manufacturer. Most times you will can remove the selected tiles and drill them for the brackets.

By the time that you factor in the lessened pace by going surgically at it, most times people can remove that entire section of roof more easily to get right to the truss/rafters attachment points than trying to sniff around and find them.

__________________

joecaption

http://www.gizmag.com/srs-curved-sol...f-tiles/12584/

Windows on Wash

They don't work that well and certainly not by comparison to panel systems.

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joecaption

I just thought it looked like a cool Idea and looked a whole lot better then panels stuck to the roof.

AndyWRS

We typically remove the section of roofing where the solar is going and install new underlayment. Our solar guy comes in and sets his stand offs then we reinstall the existing roofing. If your roof and its underlayment is in great condition you could do it without removing the entire area.

Take a look at prosolar, they have a good selection of mounting options.

venvis

Thanks everyone - especially AndyWRS.. Looks like removing tiles/replacing underlayment (roof is 12+ years old - so my guess is underlayment need to be changed!) is the right option. Question, after installing the stand offs, while putting back tiles, I assume we have to put tiles around the stand-off /w proper flashings, etc. (not put holes in tiles, right)? I am a 'medium' level DIY person - so wondering whether I should have professional handle this?
thx again for all who read/respond.

Windows on Wash

Yes.

Most of the bracket suppliers will have penetration flashing details, recommendations, and/or materials.

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AndyWRS

http://www.solarpanelstore.com/solar...ok.info.1.html

If it were my house i would opt for a mount like this. It allows for the installation on conrete roofs with no penatrations. Far better than flashing each stand off and you also never have to worry about potential leaks due to the penatrations. Also, flashing all the penatrations is probably not a DIY job unless you have roofing experience.

This system would be far more DIY than flashing each individual stand off. Best of both worlds imo, no penatrations to worriy about and more DIY.

venvis

AndyWRS,
Thanks a lot. Now, I feel like it could be a DIY stuff. gives me some confidence.

venvis

I liked this even better:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/4O0mX1G0sZ0

by creotec
another link I got:
Actually, take a look at page 25.

http://www.blueskynj.com/images/CLIC...n%20090828.pdf

Both of the links above I got from the support forum of solarpanelstore site!

AndyWRS

i agree, pg 25 is good also.

The vid shows a vertically oriented connection point, this is designed for the rails they are using in the vid...Not all rails will attach to all bases, be sure you buy comaptible hardware. The one shown in the vid is not one i have ever seen, looks good and the end result is the same.