Taking Solar Panels Down and Putting Them Back: Cleburne Roof Work

Two local facts make panel removal common here. Half of the homes in Cleburne were built before 1983 (U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024), so many panels sit on roofs that will need replacing during the life of the array. And NOAA's Storm Prediction Center logged large hail of 1.75 inches or more within 10 miles of Cleburne in 7 of the 10 years from 2015 through 2024.

Either one can mean the roof under the panels needs work. You cannot properly repair or replace shingles, underlayment and decking that are covered by panels and rails.

Timing is the other concern. Panels should come off right before the roof work starts and go back as soon as the new surface is finished, so the system is offline for as short a time as possible and the roof is never left half open waiting on a second crew.

On older homes, the decking under a solar array is often the part of the roof nobody has seen in years. Panels keep the sun off it, but they also hide slow leaks at mounts. When the array comes down, we check those boards closely and replace any that are soft or stained before new mounts go in. A mount fastened into weak wood will not hold its seal, no matter how good the flashing is.

Read why temporary roof patches fail to see why we fix the cause rather than seal over it.