Roof Rack Mounts - Where and What to Buy?

[jmoles]

Could you recommend any sources for deals on racks and mounting hardware for asphalt roofs?

I'd also love to hear about the pros and cons of the various options, particularly using flashing mount hardware vs a quickmount.

In terms of codes/regulations is there anything I should keep in mind as I'm looking at hardware? (This will be a permitted and inspected residential install)

 

[pvgirl]

It will come down to personal preference what type of system you want to use. Systems that use long rails can be expensive to ship, as fright shipping can be costly for small orders. Check with local electrical or solar supply houses(CED greentech has a location near Baltimore) to see what they stock and have available.

Some racking manufactures have design tools which can help with design and bill of materials, some can even generate a signed set of plans if required. For permited install you will need to make sure the panels you are using are UL listed with the mounting system you are using, many mounting systems have an engineer approved design guide which you can reference to make sure your design can handle the wind and snow loads for your area. There are also design services that can get you an engineer stamped set of plans if those are required.

 

[millsan1]

I used these from Signature, with good success

Shingle roof Mounts

 

[Kuma]

Installed Ironridge due to support, includes eng calcs, design tool is awesome, up to 8ft mount spans are possible, and the components are top quality. Given all those attributes it is not cheapest. The rails were sourced locally at Platt Electric.

 

[42OhmsPA]

Big fan of Tamarack from NAZ solar.
You can buy the shorter lengths and splice them together, this avoids freight shipping.
I put together my own 'kit' instead of buying their pre-bundled kit since I didn't need the optimizer mounts.
I wouldn't hesitate to order Tamarack again, it was very easy to work with.

Edit to say, NAZ solar is having a sale.

 

[Tulex]

I went with Unirac, very happy with them, very easy to use. Can get decent pricing if you piece it together at multiple sources.
Their Flashloc means no flashing. Both Ironridge and Unirac have on site software to lay out your panels, and includes bill of materials.
City Electric Supply has free shipping, but they appear to be out of the rails at the moment.

 

[jmoles]

It will come down to personal preference what type of system you want to use. Systems that use long rails can be expensive to ship, as fright shipping can be costly for small orders. Check with local electrical or solar supply houses(CED greentech has a location near Baltimore) to see what they stock and have available.

Some racking manufactures have design tools which can help with design and bill of materials, some can even generate a signed set of plans if required. For permited install you will need to make sure the panels you are using are UL listed with the mounting system you are using, many mounting systems have an engineer approved design guide which you can reference to make sure your design can handle the wind and snow loads for your area. There are also design services that can get you an engineer stamped set of plans if those are required.

Thanks PVGirl this is a treasure trove of information!

The PE stamp is one of the hurdles I'm sorting out right now.

I've looked at IronRidge and their layout tool so far.

Are there some tools from other manufacturers and design services that can get an engineer stamp that you recommend I check out?

 

[Quattrohead]

Rexel and City Electric both supply Ironridge products.

 

[jmoles]

I used these from Signature, with good success

Shingle roof Mounts

These are interesting. So you were able to use these with your snow and wind load requirements? With your project did you need a structural engineer stamp?

 

[thewilliam]

My installer used..
RoofTech Rt mini mounts

The install looked pretty easy, they didn't have to worry about hitting a rafter every time. My project/plan paperwork included the PE signed letters.
Paired with Iron Ridge rails.

 

[millsan1]

These are interesting. So you were able to use these with your snow and wind load requirements? With your project did you need a structural engineer stamp?

Roof support needed ot be engineered and beefed up, by sandwiching some beams. No one cared about the roof mounts.

 

[zanydroid]

These are interesting. So you were able to use these with your snow and wind load requirements? With your project did you need a structural engineer stamp?

You're going to have a tough time with inspections with something so sparse in design tools and certificates. IMO you should only use something that smells like this if you want a hard time.

"Nobody ever got fired installing UniRac/IronRidge/similar tier hardware"

As for stamps, you can consider asking around on GreenLancer. Unirac also provides plans and stamps. So I assume any company above a certain scale will as well. Lots and lots of options for roof mount. Huge, huge volume and ecosystem in the US. You can also get plans from a lot of distributors (EG, pretty sure Renvu offers them, and they probably just sub it out to some randos or to the racking company).

 

[millsan1]

You're going to have a tough time with inspections with something so sparse in design tools and certificates. IMO you should only use something that smells like this if you want a hard time.

"Nobody ever got fired installing UniRac/IronRidge/similar tier hardware"

As for stamps, you can consider asking around on GreenLancer. Unirac also provides plans and stamps. So I assume any company above a certain scale will as well. Lots and lots of options for roof mount. Huge, huge volume and ecosystem in the US. You can also get plans from a lot of distributors (EG, pretty sure Renvu offers them, and they probably just sub it out to some randos or to the racking company).

I assume the top part is directed at me. I passed all my inspections.

 

[zanydroid]

I assume the top part is directed at me. I passed all my inspections.

No it's directed in general, because I think it would be easier to use hardware from big names that have more infrastructure to support permit sets

By using combination of listed hardware and framing above a certain strength, I got my plans approved by my AHJ without needing stamps.

If I did not meet EITHER of those requirements I would have needed a PE stamp. And the PE would have needed to be comfortable stamping for whatever hardware I found.

 

[jmoles]

You're going to have a tough time with inspections with something so sparse in design tools and certificates. IMO you should only use something that smells like this if you want a hard time.

"Nobody ever got fired installing UniRac/IronRidge/similar tier hardware"

As for stamps, you can consider asking around on GreenLancer. Unirac also provides plans and stamps. So I assume any company above a certain scale will as well. Lots and lots of options for roof mount. Huge, huge volume and ecosystem in the US. You can also get plans from a lot of distributors (EG, pretty sure Renvu offers them, and they probably just sub it out to some randos or to the racking company).

Yea I'm gonna stick with the stuff that will save me permitting headaches or the need to hire an engineer. The cost savings would get burned up real fast if I ran into trouble.

I used the Unirac and Ironridge builders. The PE stamped letters are great. My county will issue a builders permit with those.

Using the builders, the Unirac pricing was around $2900 and Ironridge came in around $4k for my plans. I'm trying to get a quote for SnapNRack from a local distributor. I'm also seeing I may have over built my racking system so I need to go back over it to make sure I'm not overbuying stuff.

 

[jmoles]

Aaand I got way better pricing shopping around online with a materials list. Cost for SnapNrack is now looking more like $2k or less for all the rack, mounts, and clips.

 

[zanydroid]

The biggest constraint is shipping of rails. Everything else, I guess the issue is counterfeit or whatever. Not sure that’s even a thing.

Some brands like IronRidge have factory cut rails that are short enough to ship regular UPS.

A handful of stores will cut and ship to you.

Easiest is local distributor. CED has Unirac in a lot of places.