Stone coated steel roofs — the hidden Gold Rush for solar installations

By Mike Wiener

Are you a roofer or solar installer looking to improve your business offerings?

If so, then taking note of the current technologies available to contractors will surely help bolster your income.

Advancements in material production have led to decreases in costs related to once luxury roofing materials like Stone Coated Steel.

In this article, we'll go over this mysterious roofing material and provide a few tips on how to work with it so you can say yes to your next opportunity!

Solar installers consider roofing material when deciding which mounts to purchase for each gig, but many pass on job opportunities due to unfamiliarity with certain types of roofs. A prime example of this is Stone Coated Steel roofs.

Stone Coated Steel roofs are known by a few other names such as stamped metal, metal tile, metal shingle, etc. and they are often overlooked as a viable roofing material for solar installations. Why? Well, we asked installers at the recent 2022 Intersolar show and 2022 NABCEP Conference why they haven't installed on Stone Coated Steel roofs before and the consensus was clear…

While many didn't know about the available mounting solutions, most simply didn't know how they could work with the roofing material and haven't considered it any further. There is a gold mine of solar installations out there waiting to be claimed. Adaptable teams could take advantage of the gap in the market and open an entirely new line of income for their businesses if they only looked a bit further than they are currently.

Stone Coated Steel roofs are one of the easiest kinds of roofing material to install on, after asphalt shingle, and certainly easier than installing on asphalt shingle with sheet metal flashing.

Roof manufacturers like Decra and Westlake Royal Roofing's Unified Steel (formerly Boral) have guides on how to walk on their Stone Coated Steel roofs, and mounting supplier QuickBOLT has guides. At the end of the day. walking on Stone Coated Steel roof panels is similar to walking on Spanish tiles. The key is to step on where the panels are strongest, and fortunately this is the same location regardless of whether there are battens beneath the panels or not! Walk on the top of the horizontal overlap if the panels rest on battens, and if the panels are a direct to deck roof profile, you do the same! If you stick to these guidelines, you'll be walking on Stone Coated Steel roofs in no time.

Once you're walking the walk you can go ahead and talk the talk when it comes time to installing solar.

When it comes to choosing your mounting supplier there are many options available on the market that you can source from your local distributor. QuickBOLT proudly holds title as the go-to mounting supplier for Stone Coated Steel solar mounting solutions. The company's most popular items are the direct result of working with roof manufacturers like Decra and Westlake Royal Roofing's Unified Steel division.

Part numbers 17550 and 17612 are the SKUs for their adjustable mounts designed for installation on Stone Coated Steel roof profiles with battens. Those part numbers include industry-leading mounting screws which feature innovations they brought over from their wood fastener brand Quickscrews, with choices between 5/16” mounting screws and ¼” mounting screws.

Installation is simple once you've identified your mounting location. First, you'll start by removing the roof panel; refer to the roof manufacturer for more details on the model you're looking at. There are many types on the market these days, most of which are secured by interlocking edges or by nails. Once you have removed the panel, locate the rafter beneath using your preferred locating method (knocking, stud finder, etc.).

Place the mount over the batten first and make sure it rests snugly against the edge of the roof panel to ensure a proper fit when you replace the overlapping roof. Using the mount's holes as guides, you can then predrill into the rafter. Fill the predrilled holes with a dab of sealant, then place the mount and drive screws to secure. Place the Stone Coated Steel sheet back into place over the hook. 17628 and 17630 are the SKUs for fixed height mounts designed for battenless (aka direct-to-deck) Stone Coated Steel roof profiles. The two parts offer a choice between 5/16” mounting screws and ¼” mounting screws.

The beauty of metal panels is that they can be placed firmly over solar mounting hooks without the need for notching or drilling through the roof material. With easy mounting installation, this market is ripe for roofers and solar installers looking to expand their services.

So, for the next homeowner you meet that has Stone Coated Steel roofing, say YES to that opportunity, and let the money start rolling in.

Mike Wiener is Marketing Manager at QuickBOLT. QuickBOLT has a wide range of innovative solar mounts for residential roofs, and is continually working with installers to deliver the exact products needed for any type of roof. (www.quickbolt.com)

Q3 2022