Practice 03 — Solar Reroofing

Roofing systems
for the solar era.

A specialized practice for the careful disassembly, reroofing, and recommissioning of solar-equipped properties — kept end-to-end under a single project director.

Founder John Morris Active engagements 42 properties · 2.6 MW under management
Solar array on a desert roof at golden hour
01Coordinated reroofing across solar-equipped communities
A working thesis

Arizona installed solar faster than it specified the roofs underneath it. Those roofs are now coming due.

A measured estimate of the residential and small-commercial fleet now approaching the end of its first underlayment lifecycle.

~120kestimated
AZ solar-equipped roofs installed 2011 – 2017
12 – 18yr
Service life of the underlayment beneath them
25 – 30yr
Service life of the solar panels they support

A working roof beneath an underperforming roof. A reroof done badly will void warranties on two systems at once. The remediation is unforgiving, the choreography is real — and so the specialist exists.

The Work

A documented sequence. Eight phases, one project director.

Each property follows the same protocol regardless of scale — and is documented identically for warranty, insurance, and asset records.

01
Inspection & forensic survey
Roof-condition assessment, infrared moisture survey where indicated, photographic record of every penetration, attachment, conduit run, and array footprint. Written condition report on file before any work is priced.
~1 day
02
System reselection
A written specification matched to the building, owner horizon, and array configuration. Manufacturer approvals collected. Underlayment and attachment hardware selected to coexist with the existing solar mount geometry.
3 – 5 days
03
Solar disassembly
Coordinated with the original installer where contactable, or under our own licensed solar handling. Panels, microinverters, and optimizers labeled, racked, and stored on-site under cover. Electrical lockout maintained throughout.
1 – 2 days
04
Tear-off & deck condition
Existing assembly removed to the deck. Any moisture-compromised sheathing replaced. Deck flatness verified. Penetration record cross-checked against the new array layout to identify any conflicts before underlayment.
2 – 4 days
05
Underlayment & assembly
Selected high-temperature underlayment installed under documented protocol. Flashing details executed to the specification. Photographic milestone audit at every concealed phase. Third-party inspection at owner discretion.
3 – 6 days
06
Solar re-set & flashing integration
Array reattached using the new specification's mount integration. Penetrations flashed and counterflashed per manufacturer. Old penetration locations sealed and documented. Conduit pathways re-routed where the new layout requires.
2 – 3 days
07
Recommissioning & verification
Electrical reconnection, optimizer / microinverter wake-up, monitoring reconnection, and baseline production verification against pre-disassembly readings. Any deltas are documented and held against final invoice.
1 day
08
Documentation & warranty registration
Manufacturer warranty registered. Owner receives a bound deliverable — photo audit, spec, manufacturer approvals, electrical verification, and the inspection schedule we will execute on the building for the warranty's life.
~1 week
Solar array detail with mount integration
02Mount integration & flashing detail
A note on craft

The forensics matter more than the marketing. The detail that ends a roof early is almost always the one no one photographed.

— The Practice

Compatibility

Systems we specify underneath solar.

Underlayment and membrane selection isn't generic. Geometry, mount type, and array age all shape what we recommend.

Asphalt-shingle residences
Tri-laminate architectural shingle over self-adhered high-temperature underlayment, with reinforced ridge ventilation. Mount flashing replaced; no reuse of original flashings.
Concrete & clay tile
Synthetic high-temperature underlayment, batten reset to current code, tile carefully palletized and re-laid. Hip and ridge sequence documented. Broken units replaced from on-site reserve.
Standing seam metal
Clamp-mounted arrays preserved during panel re-roll where feasible. Seam clamp inventory verified; replaced where torque history is unknown. Striker bond and grounding re-verified.
Low-slope TPO / PVC under commercial arrays
Existing ballast or attached racking lifted in zones. New membrane installed in a phased sequence that keeps a portion of the array online at all times where the inverter topology permits.
Working questions

What owners ask, answered candidly.

We'd rather lose a project on honesty than win one on language.

Can the array stay on while you reroof?
+
Almost never on a residential pitched roof. On low-slope commercial arrays we can sometimes phase the work to keep a fraction of capacity online, but candidly: an honest reroof requires the assembly underneath to be exposed. We will not promise otherwise.
Will my solar warranty survive the work?
+
In most cases, yes — but only if the disassembly and re-set are performed by a licensed installer with documented chain-of-custody. We hold the appropriate licensure in-house and document each panel by serial number. We coordinate with the original installer where required by the panel warranty.
How disruptive is this for an occupied multifamily property?
+
We treat occupant communication as a project deliverable in its own right. Residents receive a written schedule, daily updates, and a single point of contact. Power-down windows are scheduled and brief. Quiet hours are honored. We have completed coordinated reroofs across 200+ unit communities without a single resident escalation.
What about microinverters and optimizers — who handles those?
+
We do, in-house. Module-level power electronics are removed with the panels they sit beneath, labeled, stored under cover, and reinstalled to the same module on re-set. Pre- and post-production data is captured against the cloud monitoring platform to verify recommissioning.
How is the work priced?
+
A written, line-item proposal. The roofing scope, the solar scope, and the contingency reserve are itemized separately. We do not bundle scopes to obscure margin. Most engagements include a small but transparent forensic allowance that is returned to the owner if not consumed.
Speak with the practice

The next step is a
30-minute call and
a walk of the roof.

Engagements typically begin with a brief on-site survey and a written next-step memo. No estimating funnel. No follow-up calls you didn't ask for.