Solar Roof Gutter Replacement

[SolarBob]

Where do you live for your gutter quote?

 

[gigawatt1010]

New York

 

[SoCalSolarRoof]

I had a solar roof put on, without removing the gutters.

Tesla damaged two of the gutters along the way, so they are replacing both of those at their cost.

If your gutters still work and you like the way they look, there's no reason to remove them.

 

[wjgjr]

I had a solar roof put on, without removing the gutters.

Tesla damaged two of the gutters along the way, so they are replacing both of those at their cost.

If your gutters still work and you like the way they look, there's no reason to remove them.

That is true in many but not all cases. The gutters we had were incompatible with the solar roof due to the way the gutter guards we had were attached. So, replacement was a necessary part of our project.

 

[trautmane2]

If your gutters still work and you like the way they look, there's no reason to remove them.

One key consideration covered earlier in this thread is whether the gutters will "still work" with the glass roof. There seemed to be a consensus among those I consulted that 6 inch gutters are best for glass roofs in areas with more rain.

 

[Joesmoe3]

@trautmane2 New guy here - near neighbor - roof work started Friday - PowerWall + and "standard" installed. I'm a bit frustrated by the different voices in and around Tesla - "you can't keep your gutters"; "you can keep your gutters but the gutter guards are incompatible with the roof"; and the crew Friday left it all intact. Glass has yet to be installed, so this may yet change. I saw a YouTube video of an installation in MD, and they said they went with a mesh guard. I wrote back that we had had poor performance from mesh, becoming totally clogged with maple seeds, to which he responded, he didn't know about maple seeds, and the mesh was effective against pine needles. I much prefer the more solid covers, and if we are forced to replace the covers, I would like to find which brand/model would be compatible. Very much appreciated your YouTube video - well done !

 

[wjgjr]

@trautmane2 New guy here - near neighbor - roof work started Friday - PowerWall + and "standard" installed. I'm a bit frustrated by the different voices in and around Tesla - "you can't keep your gutters"; "you can keep your gutters but the gutter guards are incompatible with the roof"; and the crew Friday left it all intact. Glass has yet to be installed, so this may yet change. I saw a YouTube video of an installation in MD, and they said they went with a mesh guard. I wrote back that we had had poor performance from mesh, becoming totally clogged with maple seeds, to which he responded, he didn't know about maple seeds, and the mesh was effective against pine needles. I much prefer the more solid covers, and if we are forced to replace the covers, I would like to find which brand/model would be compatible. Very much appreciated your YouTube video - well done !

The issue is that some gutter guards are attached directly to the roof under the end shingles or stick up too much even if attached to the gutter or fascia. This kind of setup is incompatible with the solar roof, and is why we had to have our gutters replaced. We did go with a mesh style (but don't have the same level of tree issues as we did when the gutters were put in as several older trees near our house have been removed.)

I have seen solid guards that attach to the outer edge of the gutter, and there may be ones that are designed to screw into the fascia that can fit below the shingles. The main thing for an install is that the guards cannot be secured by lifting the roof. Additionally, because the solar roof seems to shed water at a higher velocity than most other roofing materials, you may find that lowering gutters to accommodate the guards could cause water to over-shoot (even with wider gutters.) The related question would be whether this velocity is high enough to create a problem for the gutter guard mechanism, which relies on adhesion to get the water into the gutter.

 

[trautmane2]

@wjgjr 's response makes sense to me - particularly with regard to the glass roof shedding water. I don't have or need guards for my home since there aren't enough mature trees around to cause trouble. My parents live on a heavily wooded lot and have gone through several different types of guards and screens over the years. Nothing really solved the problem for them - so they've just resorted to leaving the gutters open and periodically cleaning them out.

 

[Celt]

The drainpipe for the lower roof gutter is at the opposite end of what you see in the picture (guessing that gutter runs for 30 feet). I quickly measured the drain pipe as 4'' x 2'', but when I look online I only see 4x3 and 3x2 options, so maybe it is 4x3.



Good to know - thanks. Any reason you chose 4'' over 6''? Cost or looks or ... ?

Any gutter installers recommended in the Austin, TX area?

Tesla Roof finished last week; now we need new gutters.
Thank you for advice.

 

[trautmane2]

Any gutter installers recommended in the Austin, TX area?

Sorry - no - I live in Virginia. My only recommendation is to take the time to get at least 3 estimates. You'll be amazed at how different estimates can be for the same job.

 

[danoelm]

Hello all,

I had a tesla roof installed in St. Petersburg, FL in fall 2020. By the time my roof was installed, Tesla was not including gutter replacement. No problem, I thought, I'll have them installed after the roof is done. I've now been through six gutter installers in the last year, each giving me a quote, then when the crew shows up they throw their hands up and say they can't do the install. I've called Tesla for help in our area but no joy. Can any of you put me in touch with a contractor who installed the gutters for you (even if out of my area). My hope is to talk to a contractor who has done the install, and who can walk me through the differences so that I can relay that to a local contractor. I don't know what else to do - unless any of you happens to know of a sub in the Tampa Bay area who can do this for me. It's been a strange experience - of all things I did not expect that hanging gutters would be such a challenge. The subs look at the roof and worry that they'll break something. They talk about being unable to lift the drip edge, etc. I'm not an installer so I don't know how to respond.

Thanks to all in advance.

-Dan

 

[holeydonut]

Hello all,

I had a tesla roof installed in St. Petersburg, FL in fall 2020. By the time my roof was installed, Tesla was not including gutter replacement. No problem, I thought, I'll have them installed after the roof is done. I've now been through six gutter installers in the last year, each giving me a quote, then when the crew shows up they throw their hands up and say they can't do the install. I've called Tesla for help in our area but no joy. Can any of you put me in touch with a contractor who installed the gutters for you (even if out of my area). My hope is to talk to a contractor who has done the install, and who can walk me through the differences so that I can relay that to a local contractor. I don't know what else to do - unless any of you happens to know of a sub in the Tampa Bay area who can do this for me. It's been a strange experience - of all things I did not expect that hanging gutters would be such a challenge. The subs look at the roof and worry that they'll break something. They talk about being unable to lift the drip edge, etc. I'm not an installer so I don't know how to respond.

Thanks to all in advance.

-Dan

I'm kind of confused, are you saying the installer just put on tiles, but did not put a drip edge or gutter apron in below the underlayment? Like they only put the solar (edit: shingles? tiles?) onto the underlayment and terminated everything at the eave/fascia with no flashing or guard?

I don't know about Florida's code book, but California lets people get away without a drip edge on tile roofs since we don't get much rain and the tile could just be lifted up if the homeowner wanted the drip edge. With asphalt shingles, the roofer has to install a drip edge. I guess the grey zone is a Tesla Solar Roof could be deemed a "tile" composition. But with the downside that the homeowner cannot simply lift the tile up to get under it. Welcome to semantics hell hah.

https://www.contracosta.ca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/45906/RESIDENTIAL-RE-ROOF-REQUIREMENTS

Provide a drip edge at eaves and gables of asphalt shingle roofs. Adjacent pieces of the drip edge shall be overlapped a minimum of 2 inches. The drip edge shall extend ¼ inch below the roof sheathing and a minimum of 2 inches up the roof deck. The drip edge shall be mechanically fastened to the roof deck at a maximum of 12 inches with approved fasteners. The underlayment shall be installed over the drip edge along the eaves, and under the drip edge at gables (rake edges). Shingles can be flush with the drip edge if allowed by the manufacturer.

I feel like it would be weird for any roofer in a high-rain area to do any roof without putting in the apron/edge-flashing first even if they weren't doing a full on gutter replacement.

 

[trautmane2]

Unfortunately, I don't have any Tampa specific recommendations for you. Two of the three gutter contractors I solicited for bids (in northern Virginia/Maryland) already had experience with Tesla solar roofs. The contractor I selected did not have experience with the solar roof, but he was not concerned. Ironically, his team broke a tile while installing the new gutters: Solar Glass Repair / Replacing Tiles . Tesla ended up repairing the broken tile for free when they returned a few weeks after install to clean up other minor damage that occurred during install. My broken tile was small and not PV, so that might have factored into Tesla's willingness to repair it for free.

My understanding is that installing gutters should not be a problem as long as installers are careful to avoid banging their ladders against the fragile edge of the bottom row of tiles. The tiles are otherwise very strong - the weak spot is the edge.

 

[Coney129]

I finally feel like I can contribute some information after months of just taking. So, I just went through all of this in Maryland, and I am paranoid about water on top of everything else. I knew I wanted to replace my gutters and downspouts with larger models (and covers), given all you mention about water coming off faster (and it does). Before this roof, I was having clogging issues on the old gutters, so I knew those had to go. Still, I was concerned about not having gutters for a few weeks, so I asked both the Tesla installers and the gutter guys Tesla recommends (Complete Exteriors in MD) if I could leave my gutters, do the roof, and THEN replace the gutters. Got the same answer from everyone: the roof install is much cleaner and easier without gutters (nothing to cut around on the bottom rows). They also both were adamant that I wanted the big gutters given the shape of my roof and the new flow rate. So we pulled the gutters when we pulled the roof, then afterwards added back the bigger gutters and spouts. Very happy with the results. I will say, it made for a harrowing few weeks, with some big storms, but I bought some rolls of painter's plastic to put around the house, and then at night I cut pieces off the Firestone underlay off the rolls lying around my driveway to cover the foundation in the areas that took particularly heavy amounts of rain. I figured if it was good enough for the roof.... In the end, really happy with the install of both items, and the system works great. I will say that I ran point in terms of telling the gutter guys when to come, etc. Tesla is supposed to do this, but there are a number of posts in this site about communication breakdowns, and I will tell you my involvement as a go-between definitely sped the process. Hope this helps!

I’m in Maryland too. Did you get gutter gaurds?

 

[dhquigley]

I’m in Maryland too. Did you get gutter gaurds?

I did. Complete exteriors had two options that work with solar roof, EZ Lock and GutterRX. Went with the latter and have been very happy.