Submitted by Milamber14 t3_z1azk2 in Maine
I have 23 panels on my roof with a leak.Revision installed them so I decided to get a quote from them. 10k to remove and reinstall the panel; it seems insane as it's more than my roof cost. Also they charge for travel so about 2.5k in that is travel cost. Anyone else have experience with them or another place?
Revision specifically notes on their website that if your roof needs to be replaced then there will be a labor fee associated with the removal and reinstallation. $7,500 for what is essentially a first time installation (new roof means entirely new hardware) seems reasonable to me. The $2,500 in travel costs is the most alarming number in my mind. Unless they’re driving up to the county I can’t see justifying that kind of added cost.
This is why an ethical solar company will not install on a roof that has fewer than 5-10 years of life remaining
They also note on their website that if your roof only has 5 or fewer years in it than you should get it replaced. It sounds like OP purchased this home with the panels previously installed and if the previous owners put them on it was up to them to take that into consideration. It’s unfortunate but at the end of the day I’d blame the previous owner/maybe a home inspector if they had one for the purchase over the installer. They did what they were paid for, nothing more.
Yeah I’m southern maine not anywhere crazy
I’m going to guess it’s about an hours travel one way from Portland to your house (give or take) and that it will be a crew of 4 traveling 2 hours a day. If they charge $50 an hour per guy and it takes a week to uninstall and then later reinstall I get $2000 by the end of the week.
Companies charge for travel. They’ve got to, you can lose a quarter of your day just traveling to a job site and they are paying their guys on that ride.
If I was you I’d call and ask them to justify that travel cost then. The other costs unfortunately make sense to me when you look at the market for solar installs. You shouldn’t try to price the solar vs the price of the roof but instead other solar installers as the only true similarity they share is they’re on your roof. The materials and skills required otherwise are not comparable and do not actively contribute to the others price. When looked at this way you’re realistically getting an installation for half the going price. It definitely isn’t cheap by any means but is still a deal compared to installing a whole new system once your roof is finished.
We bought the house and missed the warranty, up last December when we moved in and just got a leak this summer. It seems almost reasonable but enough over what I thought to rethink it. Might just make them patch it for now.
Have you gotten up there to see if it's something you can easily patch? Like perhaps just a few cracked or missing shingles from a bad storm?
Or is it really replacement time?
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It sounded to me like the panel installation damaged the roof and caused the leak. If that is not the case, I stand corrected.
Revision has a 5 year workmanship warranty, and the equipment warranties are longer than that. Think that's pretty reasonable.
It doesn't sound like they're not standing behind work, unless the install caused the leak (doubtful). The big part that stands out for me is the travel cost, not the labor of uninstalling/reinstalling the hardware.
As a longtime house builder, I doubt your "doubtful". Every time you penetrate a roof, you create the potential for a leak if the penetrations are not sealed properly. Basically, you are relying on caulk and or gaskets, which I am sure are pretty reliable but still not a whole intact roof covering. Also the top surface of an asphalt shingle is very rough and somewhat irregular, making it more difficult to get a proper seal. And a leak would not necessarily show up right away.
I said doubtful because OP stated they bought the house with the panels already on. I then assumed it was already inspected... And with solar panels on a roof, that would have also been inspected prior to purchase.
Did the installation cause the leak?
You can but a lot of oil for those numbers
I still use oil for sure; they came on the house. No way it makes sense yet to try to ditch oil. I usually run a wood stove.
No surprise coming from that company at all. Sorry you are dealing with this. They are not a roofing company so it may make sense to see if a roofing company can repair or replace the roof without getting Revision involved at all.
90% of the roof was replaced, this is just where the panels are. It's not a old roof, it was about 4 years old on the install but one of the bad storms caused some damage. Everything was replaced except the panel side as it did not seem as bad as other areas. We had everything checked during the buying process; honestly I think bad luck which is the story of my life. Totally get most of the cost, seems slightly higher than I would expect. Had a roofer come out and all set up but now cancelling. The panels only leave like a 3 inch gap on the roof so not much can be done without the removal.
Good to know; I will be installing solar panels next year.
New_Sun6390 t1_ixa51jb wrote
Seems to me there should have been some sort of warranty on the installation. Interesting to hear that Revision is not standing behind its work.