Solar Panels and Your Roof

The order matters. Roof first, panels second, and here is why.

Last updated 2026-09-16

How old is too old

Solar arrays are designed to last decades. A Houston asphalt roof commonly runs eighteen to twenty five years. If your roof is at fifteen, the arithmetic is simple: the panels will outlive it and somebody will be paying to take them off and put them back.

Get an honest assessment of remaining roof life before you sign a solar contract. A roof inspection that gives you an estimated remaining life is exactly the input that decision needs. Ours is free and you keep the report.

The mounting penetrations

A solar array is attached by lag bolts driven through the roof into the rafters. Every one of those is a hole in your roof, and there are a lot of them.

Done correctly, each mount is flashed: a metal flashing plate slides up under the shingle course above, the bolt passes through a sealed grommet, and the water sheds over the flashing the way it sheds over everything else. Done badly, the bolt is driven through the shingle and a blob of sealant is put over it. That works until the sealant moves, which in Houston thermal cycling is a couple of years, and then you have dozens of potential leak points under an array that makes them difficult to find and expensive to reach.

Ask your solar installer specifically: is every mount flashed, or sealed? Get the answer in writing.

The warranty question

Three warranties are now in play and they can interact badly.

• Your shingle manufacturer's warranty. Penetrations by a third party can affect it.
• Your roofer's workmanship warranty. Most roofers, us included, cannot warrant work that somebody else has since drilled through. Ask before the array goes on, not after a leak.
• The solar installer's warranty. Ask specifically whether it covers roof leaks caused by their mounts, for how long, and what happens if they are no longer trading.

Ventilation and shading

Panels shade the roof surface beneath them, which slightly reduces thermal load on those shingles. That is a genuine minor benefit. What matters more is that the array must not obstruct your ridge vent or your soffit intake. An installer unfamiliar with roofing can lay out an array straight over ridge ventilation without thinking about it. Why that matters.

If you already have panels and need a roof

The array has to come off and go back on, which is specialist electrical work rather than roofing work, and it has to be scheduled around the roofing so the roof is not left open. Expect it to be coordinated between two companies, and expect it to cost meaningfully more than a roof without panels.

Storm damage

Hail on solar panels is a different claim question from hail on shingles, and coverage for the array may sit under a different part of your policy or under a separate endorsement. Ask your carrier how your array is covered before you need to know.

Common Questions

Should I replace my roof before installing solar?

If the roof has fewer than about ten years left, yes. Removing and reinstalling an array to re-roof underneath is expensive and entirely avoidable by doing the roof first.

Do solar panels cause roof leaks?

Properly flashed mounts do not. Mounts that were sealed rather than flashed commonly do, once the sealant moves, and they are hard to find and reach under an array.

Will solar void my roof warranty?

It can affect both the manufacturer warranty and your roofer's workmanship warranty, because a third party has penetrated the roof. Ask both before the array goes on.

Read Next

• Free Roof Inspection
• Roof Replacement
• Attic Ventilation & Houston Humidity
• Roof Warranties Explained