Guide
The roof needs work and there are panels on it
Removal and reinstallation — R&R — is routine. What is not routine is what happens to the system afterwards, because a reinstalled array is handed back with no proof it works as well as it did.
A solar array usually has to come off before a roof can be replaced under it, and putting it back is a normal job for a licensed contractor. The risk isn't the removal — it's that almost nobody establishes what the system was doing before it came down, so when it goes back up there is nothing to check it against. Panels get reinstalled in a different order, an optimizer stops reporting, a string is left disconnected, monitoring never gets reconnected — and the first anyone knows is a bigger electricity bill months later, or a buyer's inspection during the sale.
When panels actually have to come off
Not every roof job needs the array removed. These are the cases that usually do.
Full roof replacement
The most common reason by a distance. New underlayment and new roofing material can't go down under a mounted array, so the whole system comes off and goes back.
Repair under the array
A leak, damaged sheathing or a failed penetration in the roof plane the panels sit on. Partial removal is often enough.
Structural or rafter work
Anything that changes what the mounts are attached to. The attachment points have to be re-established, not just re-used.
Moving or reconfiguring the array
A remodel, an addition, or shading that has changed since the system went in. This is a redesign, not just an R&R.
What to capture before anything comes off the roof
Fifteen minutes here is the difference between being able to prove the system came back properly and taking someone's word for it.
A production baseline
Open the monitoring app and screenshot the last twelve months of production, then the last thirty days. This single artefact is what makes it possible to answer "is it producing what it used to?" afterwards. Without it, the question is unanswerable and everyone is guessing.
Module-level detail, if the system reports it
Systems with microinverters or optimizers show every panel individually. Screenshot that layout view. If two panels stop reporting after the reinstall, this is what proves they were reporting before.
The layout and the string arrangement
Photograph the array from the ground on every roof plane, and photograph any labelling at the inverter and the disconnect. Which panel sat where matters more than it sounds — reinstalling in a different order can change string behavior and shading patterns.
Equipment identification
Photograph the data plates on the inverter and, if they're accessible from the ground or a window, note the module make and model. Equipment that goes up on the roof should be the equipment that came down.
Who holds the monitoring account
Log in and confirm you can. If the original installer set it up and never handed it over, that is a problem to solve now rather than after the array is in pieces on the driveway.
The paperwork that governs the system
The original agreement, the permit and, where one exists, the utility's permission to operate. Whether the system is owned, financed, leased or on a PPA decides who is even allowed to authorize the work.
Who is allowed to take a solar array off a roof
Work on a photovoltaic system in California is licensed contracting work. The Contractors State License Board issues a C-46 Solar classification, and PV work can also be performed by a C-10 Electrical contractor or a Class B general building contractor. You can check any license number, its classification and its status on the CSLB's own lookup in about a minute, and it is worth doing before work starts rather than after.
Roofers and solar contractors are not the same trade, and R&R sits exactly on the seam between them. Some roofing companies subcontract the solar side; some solar companies subcontract the roofing. Neither arrangement is wrong — but ask in writing who is responsible for the roof penetrations after the array goes back, because that is the question that turns into an argument when a leak appears eighteen months later.
Permitting varies by jurisdiction. Some authorities treat R&R as a permitted alteration and some don't, and the answer can differ between two cities in the same county. Ask the contractor what they are pulling and confirm it with the building department rather than assuming either way.
One more thing worth knowing before you sign: the original installation warranty may not survive someone else touching the system. Module, inverter and workmanship warranties are separate documents with separate terms, and "the warranty" is rarely one thing. Read what you have before the array comes down.
What should be verified once it's back on the roof
This is the step that routinely doesn't happen. The panels are back, the roof looks finished, the invoice is paid — and nobody has established that the system works.
Production against the baseline
The comparison you made §02 possible. Same season, same weather, similar days: is the system producing what it produced before? A shortfall that shows up in the data on day one is a service call. The same shortfall discovered a year later is an argument.
Every panel reporting
On a system with optimizers or microinverters, the layout view should show the same number of reporting units it showed before. A single unit that never comes back is invisible on the bill and obvious in the app.
The inverter's fault history since the reinstall
Inverters log faults for years. Arc-fault detections, isolation faults, ground faults and communication errors dated after the reinstall are the clearest evidence there is that something was reassembled wrongly.
Rapid shutdown
The safety system that de-energises the array for firefighters. It depends on components being reconnected correctly, and it is exactly the kind of thing that gets missed on a reassembly because nothing visible changes when it doesn't work.
Attachment, flashing and penetrations
New holes in a new roof. Mounts should be lagged into structure, flashed, and sealed — and the old holes should have been properly closed, not just covered by the new roofing.
Conduit, wire management and grounding
Conductors that were run and secured once now have to be run and secured again. Wiring resting on roofing material, unsupported conduit and disconnected bonding are all common findings on reinstalled systems.
Monitoring actually reconnected
Not "the panels are on" — the platform receiving data, on the right account, with the owner able to log in. Monitoring that quietly stopped after an R&R is one of the most common things we find, and the homeowner almost never knows.
When the roof was done during the sale
R&R shows up in escrow more often than anyone expects, and it creates a specific set of questions.
- A new roof is a selling point — a reinstalled array isn't, yet
- "New roof" reads as value. "The solar came off and went back on" reads as a question. Production data from after the reinstall turns the second one back into the first.
- Ask for the R&R paperwork specifically
- It is separate from the roofing invoice. Who did the solar work, what license, what was replaced, was anything found and not fixed, and what warranty — if any — covers the reinstallation.
- Establish who warrants the penetrations
- The roofer warrants the roof. Somebody has to warrant the holes made through it for the mounts. If those are two different companies, get the split in writing before closing rather than after a storm.
- Disclosure is the seller's, not the inspector's
- Work done on the property is a disclosure question for the seller and their agent. We document the condition we observe; what has to be disclosed and how is between the seller, their broker and, where it matters, their attorney.
- Leased systems add a party
- If the array is leased or on a PPA, the provider authorized the R&R — or should have. An unauthorized removal on a leased system is a problem that surfaces at transfer, which is the worst possible moment.
Common questions
Does the system need to be reinspected after a reinstall?
It doesn't have to be — but a reinstalled system is a system that has been fully disassembled and reassembled by someone whose main job that day was the roof. If there is a baseline to compare against and the production comes back where it should, that may be all the confirmation you need. If there is no baseline, or the numbers look off, an inspection is how you find out what actually happened.
How long does R&R take?
It depends on the size of the array, the roof, the crew and the weather, and any number we published would be wrong for most people. What matters more for planning is that the solar work has to bracket the roofing work on both sides, so it is two site visits with the roof job in between, not one.
What does it cost?
We don't quote this work and won't publish a number for it — pricing depends on system size, roof type, access and who is doing it. Get more than one written quote, make sure each one says clearly what happens if something is found to be damaged, and check the license on the CSLB lookup before you sign.
The panels are back but production looks lower. What now?
Screenshot what you're seeing and go back to whoever did the reinstallation first — most companies will return for a genuine reassembly fault. If you're not getting anywhere, or you want to know what is actually wrong before you make the call, that is a reasonable thing to have inspected independently.
Can you take the panels off for us?
No. We inspect solar — we don't remove, install or repair it, and keeping those separate is what makes an inspection worth having. We'll tell you what we found, help you make sense of a quote, and help coordinate on request. Who does the work is your call.
Working a weekend transaction? So are we
The office is open Monday–Friday 9am–6pm, but inspections run on weekends and requests are open around the clock. We'll call to confirm the date and time.
Requesting an inspection isn't a confirmed appointment — we'll contact you to confirm timing.