I had solar installed last week. The past couple of days it has been raining so I went to my attic to check for any leaks. I didn't notice any leaks but I noticed the following:
Mounting screws weren't on framing. One barely missed the rafter and another one doesn't seem to be long enough to be deep into it. Should I worry about the panels getting dismounted with strong winds?
What's up with all the nails? Was that to secure the shingles? Are these sealed? Should I worry about leaks?
Highly unlikely the nails are from the solar installation. They probably are part of the original construction. Not leaking...no problem.
The screws anchoring the solar panels do not need to be into the roof rafters/ trusses, only into the roof decking. Again, not leaking...no problem.
In the event of high winds, it is more likely that the anchoring point on the panels would fail before the screws pull out. Should the winds be so great that the force on the panels cause all the screws or mounting points to fail, you will have much more damage from other sources, such as wind driven debris and the panels will be a secondary concern. ( This after 6 hurricanes and 1 no-name storm of experience)
Quite simple; the screws should be in the rafters. Look at the size of the screws and the thickness of the decking which is normally only 5/16”. It is the lifting force of the panels by strong wind which will pull out the screws through the decking. For my roof I needed to send the research of the screws through my metal rafters to the permitting dept.
Part of the answer.
It looks you have asphalt shingle roofing. The nails are holding them down. If done properly, the shingles overlap the nail, so there is no issue with leaks.
