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CJ On King 5: How To Prepare Your Roof For Solar Energy

Video Summary

Video Description

Many Washington homeowners are looking into solar panel installation and the desire to go green. Three Tree Roofers are specialists in preparing your roof for Solar Energy. Enjoy this "CJ on King 5: How To Prepare Your Roof for Solar Energy" video to ensure your roof is solar panel-ready.

Video Transcript

Amity Addrisi: Many Washington homeowners are considering solar panel installation thanks to federal solar incentives and the desire to go green. We want to do good things. One thing people often overlook is the condition of the roof. Here to make sure the roof is solar panel ready is CJ McConaghy from Three Tree Roofing. Thank you so much for being here.

CJ McConaghy: Thanks for having us.

Amity Addrisi: That's not something people think of immediately; you know what, I want to do solar panels. I want to lower the price of things. We don't think about it; you must ensure the roof is in tip-top shape, right?

CJ McConaghy: Yes, I agree. We get a lot of those phone calls.

Amity Addrisi: So, let's talk about that. What goes into getting solar panels, and how do you prepare the roof?

CJ McConaghy: Solar is an excellent investment. We are all trying to reach the next step: helping the planet. Putting solar panels on an older roof is going to cause some problems. We don't want to have this great investment in solar and put it on an old roof. Then you have to take the roof off later to replace the old roof, then put the solar panels back on. You're just spending more money. The chances of damage to the solar tiles are also a problem. The solar panels need to go on a new roof.

Amity Addrisi: That makes sense. You want a good, strong foundation. How does it all work? What kind of roofs do you recommend for solar panels?

CJ McConaghy: The longest-lasting roof will be metal, which is a great choice. You get water runoff with a metal roof. I brought some show-and-tell samples with me to show.

Amity Addrisi: Oh, nifty.

CJ McConaghy: You get these cool metal clips with a metal roof. The clips can go right onto the metal, and the best part about this is the clips don't poke any holes in the metal roof. What you don't want in your roof is holes poked.

Amity Addrisi: Right, because of the leakage of the roof.

CJ McConaghy: We like this system. The metal that we get is from Auburn. It's by a manufacturer called Nu-Ray Metals. It's a local product.

Amity Addrisi: So, it's local, right here, too?

CJ McConaghy: It's made right here in Washington. We like the metal roofs.

Amity Addrisi: So you put the clip right on the metal roof, and then the solar panel attaches to the clip?

CJ McConaghy: Yes. Metal would be one option. Composition roofs have also come a long way in the industry. We've used more rubber in the blend and less asphalt in the last ten years. The shingles also have smog-reducing granules.

Amity Addrisi: Really? So, the shingles reduce smog?

CJ McConaghy: Yes, they're cleaning the air. Your roof is truly cleaning the air.

Amity Addrisi: That is wild!

CJ McConaghy: We have some neat options that go along with solar.

Amity Addrisi: I love that. What about flat roofing? I haven't seen that. People think, oh no, that's not good.

CJ McConaghy: We have many flat roofs in our area. So, we installed membranes on the roof and weld the seams; it's seamless.

Amity Addrisi: Is that what we're looking at right here?

CJ McConaghy: Yes, it is. That's a section of some flat roofing, the gray-colored material. The solar can still attach to that area. There are fancy suction cups that stick right to the gray membrane preventing the solar panels from poking holes in the roof, which, again, we do not want holes in the roof.

Amity Addrisi: Well, that is key. That's an essential factor. I understand there are different solar panels, but I know you have a Tesla solar panel here today. Mr. Elon Musk himself designed this?

CJ McConaghy: Yes, Tesla, Tesla

Amity Addrisi: Well, Let's check this out.

CJ McConaghy: We have this Tesla panel. It is your roof and solar combined in one tile. This Tesla is a tempered glass panel and is the actual size. Your roof would have these panels all over.

Amity Addrisi: That's the actual roof? Can I touch it?

CJ McConaghy: Yes, It's a strong roof. It's not going anywhere.

Amity Addrisi: Oh, wow! We are looking at some pictures of the Tesla roof. It's beautiful, quite beautiful.

CJ McConaghy: That roof is in Bonney Lake; it's nice. That roof is generating the power to take the house off-grid.

Amity Addrisi: A friend of mine did some work in Atlanta with these Tesla roofs in homes that were smart houses, and she said she couldn't believe the difference and the money saved from this. I can't believe how far we've come, and I am so happy to hear about it. A tempered glass roof would take some time to install. What is the timeline when you're putting something like that together?

CJ McConaghy: They take a little longer to install than a composition roof, but not too long, maybe an extra week. It still happens quickly, in a two- to three-week time. We have another sample here that's next to our Tesla sample. CertainTeed makes this one. What's neat about this one is that it installs with the composition shingles. The composition is a traditional roof. Then, the CertainTeed tiles are woven into the composition. This roof will be a faster install at about the same time as getting a conventional roof.

Amity Addrisi: That's great. Before I let you go, replacing a roof is a significant investment. Tell us about your warranty. How do you give customers peace of mind?

CJ McConaghy: Peace of mind is a big one. When you spend a lot of money on your house, a roof and solar are two of your most significant investments. One neat thing about Three Tree Roofing is that all our crews are dedicated crews. Our Tesla installers only install Tesla. Our metal crews only install metal. They're not cross-training.

Amity Addrisi: The specialized crews know what they are doing.

CJ McConaghy: Yes, and we did get the #1 roofer in Washington and ranked #14 in North America, based on customer track records.

Amity Addrisi: That's awesome! High five!