Here at 8000 ft in Colorado, and back in my days in New Mexico, I
regularly found the roof screws came loose. My neighbor has the local
roofing company come out every year to tighten them. I thought it might
be due to wind vibration, but Tyrone's theory that its thermal
expansion/ contraction checks out. If your client wasn't diligent on
checking and tightening loose screws, it could certainly grow into a
bigger problem. I'm pretty sure retightening is part of the
manufacturer's maintenance recommendations. Even 5/16" lags will work
loose occasionally.
We still like our metal roofs, because they shed snow, hold up to the UV
radiation, and are fire proof.
Ray Walters
Solarray, Inc.
On 9/25/2026 1:16 PM, Tyrone Houck wrote:
Yep. Delta Rib/trapezoidal roofing with exposed screws is notorious
for screws slowly backing out over time and progressing into rot spots
and leaks especially at higher altitudes with seasonal snow/freeze and
warm summers. My guess is your attachments are less likely to be the
issue than the roof fasteners. Best of luck in your investigation!
On Fri, Sep 25, 2026, 11:35 AM William Miller
<[email protected]> wrote:
Colleagues:
I have a long-time PV client with a metal roof. This is the type
of roofing with trapezoidal ridges every 12 inches. Over the
years we have installed three phases of solar on this roofing. We
original caulked DPW feet onto the roof with fasteners into the
framing. Later we used DPW EZ-feet with the included butyl tape.
The client informed me that have had minor roof leaks due to
failure of the fasteners. To quote: “Unfortunately I chose the
less expensive version of the roofing, way back then. It has
“exposed fasteners”, the screws and washers are working loose.”
(No one has claimed our attachments are leaking but you can bet I
will be looking at them closely.)
This is the first time I have ever heard of this type of failure.
Have any of you experienced this? Can you offer any explanation
on what caused this and how you dealt with it? I would be very
grateful.
It seems to me that replacing the fasteners would invite stripping
of the threading into the wood sheeting.
Thanks in advance,
William
William Miller
Miller Solar
www.millersolar.com <http://www.millersolar.com/>
CA License C-10 77398
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