Roof feels week - and solar panel screws didn't grab well
I recently finished installing a 2x100W solar panels on my roof. I routed them in parallel to a charge controller. I am really liking the setup. My only concern is the roof. I think the wood under the EPDM membrane is junk.
My 29ft 5th wheel is a 2004 unit. While walking on the floor, it feels crumbly underneath. I weigh 250lbs, so that isn't helping the cause either. There is no visible water damage, so I think the membrane is holding up. I did wash and put down some dicor last year in a few spots, and the extra I had to seal around the solar panel brackets, I also finished off the tube on other spots.
When I screwed in the brackets to the roof, I first put a 4x6 inch swab of eternabond, then a coating of dicor for the brackets to sit on, and then screwed in and covered the screws with dicor too.
Now the issue...
Not many of the screws took well. About 50% of them never fully grabbed at the end. They were self taping wood screws. I did the first 3-4 with a drill, then did the rest by hand so I could fill when it was at the end better. That didn't seem to make a difference. I think now my panels are mostly being held by the bed of dicor the brackets sit in. After they are fully dried, I am thinking of putting a patch of eternabond over the top of them to help hold the panels down.
I haven't measured yet, but I suspect the brackets allow the panel to sit off the roof by about 3/4". I just don't want these panels blowing off while I am going 65-70 down a freeway.
Am I overly concerned? Ideas or suggestions?
Under the EPDM membrane, there is some plywood (or close too it). I just know its about 1/2 to 5/8" thick, as I had to drill thru it to get my solar wire to the top. (I was the guy who had it pre-wired and at first I couldn't find the wires --- I ended up finding them inside the roof wall above the bedroom speakers.)
Thanks in advance!
KP
My 29ft 5th wheel is a 2004 unit. While walking on the floor, it feels crumbly underneath. I weigh 250lbs, so that isn't helping the cause either. There is no visible water damage, so I think the membrane is holding up. I did wash and put down some dicor last year in a few spots, and the extra I had to seal around the solar panel brackets, I also finished off the tube on other spots.
When I screwed in the brackets to the roof, I first put a 4x6 inch swab of eternabond, then a coating of dicor for the brackets to sit on, and then screwed in and covered the screws with dicor too.
Now the issue...
Not many of the screws took well. About 50% of them never fully grabbed at the end. They were self taping wood screws. I did the first 3-4 with a drill, then did the rest by hand so I could fill when it was at the end better. That didn't seem to make a difference. I think now my panels are mostly being held by the bed of dicor the brackets sit in. After they are fully dried, I am thinking of putting a patch of eternabond over the top of them to help hold the panels down.
I haven't measured yet, but I suspect the brackets allow the panel to sit off the roof by about 3/4". I just don't want these panels blowing off while I am going 65-70 down a freeway.
Am I overly concerned? Ideas or suggestions?
Under the EPDM membrane, there is some plywood (or close too it). I just know its about 1/2 to 5/8" thick, as I had to drill thru it to get my solar wire to the top. (I was the guy who had it pre-wired and at first I couldn't find the wires --- I ended up finding them inside the roof wall above the bedroom speakers.)
Thanks in advance!
KP
