Pros and Cons and Recommendations for Concrete Tile Roof

[tthh]

To all the solar guys,

I'm thinking about solar and getting a couple quotes.

But, this new house has a concrete tile roof (flat tiles) and that's new to me. The roof is 20 years old, but looks in decent shape with rolled asphalt under the concrete tiles and counter battens in addition to battens.

One installer prefers the S-hooks and shaves off a bit of the underside so the tile lays flat. The other installer prefers the IronRidge tile replacement plates.

I'm not sure what they are doing with the electrical penetrations.

I'm not worried so much about the electrical, I can inspect that myself and my outside combo meter pan has room for the back fed breaker.

I'm more wirried about my roof leaking.

Any words of wisdom?

 

[ggunn]

To all the solar guys,

I'm thinking about solar and getting a couple quotes.

But, this new house has a concrete tile roof (flat tiles) and that's new to me. The roof is 20 years old, but looks in decent shape with rolled asphalt under the concrete tiles and counter battens in addition to battens.

One installer prefers the S-hooks and shaves off a bit of the underside so the tile lays flat. The other installer prefers the IronRidge tile replacement plates.

I'm not sure what they are doing with the electrical penetrations.

I'm not worried so much about the electrical, I can inspect that myself and my outside combo meter pan has room for the back fed breaker.

I'm more wirried about my roof leaking.

Any words of wisdom?

FWIW, the solar company I recently retired from does not install PV systems on pitched concrete tile roofs. Attachment is tricky and the tiles break very easily.

 

[jaggedben]

What's most important is how they seal around the hardware on the underlayment below the tiles, and the workmanship they put into it. I don't think the choice of hardware tells you all that much about this. I would go with who has the more experienced crew. The tile replacement flashing has the advantage of providing a number of replacement tiles in the course of install without having to find and purchase them elsewhere. But a good solar company will also know good tile sources, and the guys doing the S hooks may have been doing it for a long time and have their methods down.

It's important to understand that the tiles don't really do any water proofing. They protect the underlayment from the sun and shed heavy streams, but it is normal for plenty of water to get under the tiles. The underlayment is what keeps you dry.

 

[BackCountry]

To all the solar guys,

I'm thinking about solar and getting a couple quotes.

But, this new house has a concrete tile roof (flat tiles) and that's new to me. The roof is 20 years old, but looks in decent shape with rolled asphalt under the concrete tiles and counter battens in addition to battens.

One installer prefers the S-hooks and shaves off a bit of the underside so the tile lays flat. The other installer prefers the IronRidge tile replacement plates.

I'm not sure what they are doing with the electrical penetrations.

I'm not worried so much about the electrical, I can inspect that myself and my outside combo meter pan has room for the back fed breaker.

I'm more wirried about my roof leaking.

Any words of wisdom?

We install on tile every day. We use snapNRack tile hooks, attached via stainless lags into the rafter. On top of that we use spray adhesive after cleaning the underlayment, then we apply two pieces of peel and stick flashing over the attachment. Finally, we replace the existing tile. We also fill each lag bolt hole with chemlink M1 sealant.

Haven’t had a leak yet, knock on wood.

We’ve used the IronRidge product a couple of times, I don’t think it’s better than tile hooks.