Feel free to PM me, exchange email, send me your electric bill, address (to look at house from satellite - or pics/measurements if you don't want me to know your address) and I'll give you the info you need to decide. Or do it itt is fine with me as well.

I can post here so others can learn as well. Seems like a pretty decent idea. ROI would be around 5-6 years if Im reading things correctly.

Here is what the first guy has sent me. Another coming tonight to quote.

Well, not that much to say since you have a quote that sized the system already. $3.40/watt (the price not counting the roof) is a little high nowadays, especially for a system that big and especially if it's a one story asphalt shingle roof. It is broken up into 4 different arrays, which is a bit more work, but $3/watt shouldn't be hard to get.

Are the tax credit dollars real dollars in my pocket? some make it sound like it 100% is and others frame it as "if you have a large tax liability, you will benefit and if you do not, you won't".

do normal 9-5'ers who typically have a break-even tax year actually get the 30% in real dollars eventually?

It's a straight credit off your tax liability. If you pay more than $12k in federal taxes you'll get that $12k back (or you could pay less up front if you mess with your deductions) and I believe you can roll it over for up to 3 years if you don't pay that much in the first year.

How big is your roof? $15,000 seems really high to me. We did ours 2 years ago and it was ~$7,500cdn

Gotta know the kind of roof to price it. My recommendation is Presidential-TL by CertainTeed. Very tough. Will still look new after the solar installers walk all over it.

Great news on the tax credit.

$15k just an estimate, but I think they will get there. We love our termites. No leaks, but guessing 10%+ decking + some overhang work. Bunch of stuff was noted when I bought the place 6 years ago, but we just tented and didn't fix any of it knowing this day was coming anyway.

Not really up on roofing prices but I think $10-$15k is pretty standard for a single story SoCal roof by a licensed roofer.

Ya I also got my slightly smaller roof done a few years ago for less than 5K$cdn. lol california

Prices on everything contractors do everywhere vary by like 100% (and the more expensive isn't always better) and also material costs vary by at least 100% (more is usually better, but not always).

Man it chaps my ass that the government uses tax dollars to pay almost 50% of the cost of the solar power system.

Side note: It also ticked me off that the government used tax dollars to give first time home buyers $8k to buy a house, but I took the money so I probably don’t have too much room to *****.

Got a second quote last night from SunRun. ~$15k higher. They insist LG panels are needed, but agreed to quote a less expensive brand...then didn't. Never had a concern about my roof either, it was just an after thought to them.

I'm only considering solar because I need a roof and its the right time. I only need a roof. (ie...make me feel good about my roof before trying to sell me $40k of equipment for the top of it.

Anyway, they gone.

Guy did bring up an interesting point though. He framed the battery install as a method to ensure that you are always doing your charge back to PG&E during peak hours to receive the peak rate. Not 100% I understood how to make sure that happens, but def sounded interesting.

First guy pretty much framed a battery install as (short term) insurance against outages.

Interested in hearing more on the value of having storage installed.

The analysis of when you sell back power is very complicated (and unpredictable) and it's also complicated to set up if your goal is maximizing return on investment. I don't think it's remotely possible that a residential customer will benefit *financially* at this point, but it depends on the details of whatever time of use rates are for your utility and then also only your personal usage patterns. The value of backup power is largely subjective.

LG panels are more expensive than most (they are higher output than most), but you should still find about $3/w with them on a one story comp roof.

Don't assume the big companies are better in any way at all, including more likely to be around to honor the warranty.

I wouldn't let it be a big deal whether you project supplying 80% of your power vs. 100% or something like that. The last bit may be much more expensive per unit of energy provided because rates are tiered and you might end up spending more on high output panels just to get there.

Good stuff, thanks

I’m kind of interested in solar but I have to imagine it’s a horrible financial decision living in Michigan. I’m going to be doing a roof next year. I’m aware you’re a California guy but is there some sort of “solar line” where in if you don’t meet a certain criteria it’s not an economically sound decision? (Environmental reasons aside)

There are a lot of factors. Some states have incentives (CA's are mostly gone). Some utilities have much more expensive power than others. All else being equal, Michigan gets like 20 or 30% less energy from the sun as California. Say Thinman was going to pay $3.50/watt for solar and I just talked him into finding $3/watt. That just about makes up the difference. And even then, if he's looking at 5 year payback, maybe you're looking at 8. But it depends on other stuff too.

Financial decisions are complicated too. Solar will almost always be better than just keeping the $15k (or whatever) in the bank at 1.5% for 10 years. But, maybe you have to borrow the money or you are killing it in the stock market or maybe you're moving soon or a lot of other stuff.

So I bought this house about a year and a half ago. I noticed some discoloration on the ceiling of one of the bedrooms about a year ago form some kind of minor leak, but it doesn't rain here much so when I went to check in the attic there was no sign of leaks--not in the insulation or anywhere.

It rained pretty hard a few times since then and I didn't see anything thing the one time I went up there when it was raining so I decided to just keep an eye on it. Assumed maybe it was a specific wind direction maybe.

We had a really bad rain storm a few weeks ago and no problem. We are having on enow and I noticed the spot got darker, so I went up tonight and found the leak. The insulation under the drip was not that bad, but clearly wet/damp. I walked over there on the rafters to take a better look and the drip started getting much worse before my ****ing eyes. I took this video.

Anyone know the best steps to take here--both short and medium/long term? The velocity of the dripping seems crazy now--I am wondering if my weight on the bracing made it worse somehow. It's still raining hard.

Your roof looks pretty steep and steep roofs don't leak much in the rain because the water gets off so fast. The snow just sits there, so probably leaks are more likely (not that I know about snow and leaks in SoCal).

I'd say keep something up there to catch the water until the roof is clear and go up and fix it, but I don't want you to kill yourself, so call a roofer.

It's likely coming from that chimney, probably a flashing/sealant issue. Your being up there shouldn't make it worse. If it were me I'd scoop the dry insulation away from where it's dripping, and remove any wet insulation using a garbage bag. Then set the biggest bucket/plastic tote you have under the drip. You need to put a piece of plywood or a couple of 2x4's across the bottom chord of the trusses so that the weight doesn't rest on the drywall.

Long term call a roofer and tell him you've got a leak around your chimney.

That was a wacky typo- “we are having one now” meaning rain storm—looked like I was saying snow but no snow.

Think you are right. I’m assming the wood just got saturated and that’s why it’s intermittent?

Thanks guys.

Edge of driveway next to concrete slab walkway. The gap is about 2.5in/6cm wide, and the height differential is about 1in/2.5cm (the gap itself drops an additional inch below the asphalt). It's a tripping hazard.

What's the plan?

Cold patch asphalt? Polyurethane Sealant? Something else? The Dalton Latex-ite Pli-stix look pretty sweet and I'd get to use a torch to melt them, but they are designed for smaller gaps and surfaces of equal height. Guess I could just use a bunch of them and try to melt a ramp.

Seems like cold patch asphalt is the most popular but it's still winter here in DC so not sure I'm going to get a warm enough day any time soon.

from a few dozen posts upthread (watch the youtube link) if you want to do more than patch it.

Cold patch for sure, you could probably even out the transition with a bag or two, then give it some time and seal the whole area and you won't nothing the difference in colour.

Rent a big grinder for 2 hrs and take the edge off that concrete.