Solar panel removal and reinstallation for a new roof
When the roof under your solar needs repair or replacement, the array has to come off first. Cali Energy takes the modules and racking down, stores them, sets new attachments into the rebuilt roof and brings the system back online. We hold both licenses the job touches, C-10 electrical and C-39 roofing, so we can replace the roof ourselves or work to your roofer's schedule.
A roof under a solar array cannot be replaced around it. The modules, rails and every attachment come off, the roof is rebuilt as if the array had never been there, new attachments are flashed into the new roof, and the same modules go back on. Cali Energy runs the whole sequence across Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley and can replace the roof itself under its C-39 roofing license, so the array, the roof and the flashing sit in one scope.
When the panels have to come off
- The roof is due for replacement and the array sits on top of it.
- A leak shows up under or near the array. Roof leak repair
- Tile or underlayment under the modules has failed. Tile roof repair
- A section of roof needs rebuilding. In Studio City a hundred square feet under a working array had to be replaced, so the modules over it came off first.
- Your installer is gone. Module manufacturers generally require an authorized installer for removal and reinstallation. In Reseda, the manufacturer's authorized list is how the owners of an orphaned system found Cali Energy.
How removal and reinstallation runs
- Before. We check the system's production in its monitoring and document the array so every module returns to its place.
- Removal. The system is shut down, and the modules, microinverters or optimizers, rails and attachments come off under our C-10 electrical license. In Reseda the array came down in a day.
- Storage. The array is stored safely through the roof work.
- Roof. The roof is rebuilt as if there had never been an array on it: tear-off, old penetrations made good, new underlayment and covering. We replace it under our C-39 roofing license, or your roofer does on a schedule we coordinate.
- New attachments. They are set into the new roof and flashed into the new courses, as on the Burbank re-roof.
- Reinstallation. The same modules go back, the system is reconnected and brought back online.
Removal and reinstallation is permitted work. In unincorporated Los Angeles County, remove-and-reinstall permits went from 4–13 a year in 2020–2023 to 153 in 2025. LA County solar permit records
Reinstall or upgrade
With the array off and the roof open, it is the moment to decide whether the old system goes back as it was. In Tarzana the older modules and string inverters were retired with the old roof, and Cali Energy installed a new system of 57 modules with a microinverter under each, together with a new 200-amp service panel. If you are thinking of adding panels instead, check what it does to your net-metering status first. Adding panels to an existing system
Warranties
A module warranty belongs to the panels, so it stays in force when the original installer has closed. Its usual condition is who does the removal and reinstallation: an installer the manufacturer authorizes. The new attachments are flashed into the new roof before the modules go back. Roof and solar warranties
Arrays we have taken down for a new roof
The roof outlived its felt. The array came off and went back.
The roof outlived its felt: array off, roof rebuilt, new flashed attachments and the same modules back on.
A hundred square feet of roof, and the array had to come off first.
A hundred square feet of roof replaced under a working array, every attachment re-flashed and the system brought back online.
The old array came off with the roof. What went back was twice the system.
The old array retired with the roof; a new 57-module system and a 200-amp panel reached permission to operate 79 days after the interconnection application.
What moves the price
- The number of modules and the type of racking.
- Microinverters or optimizers under the modules.
- The roof: tile takes more care to lift and relay than shingle.
- Whether we replace the roof too, or work around another roofer.
- Access: a second story or a steep pitch.
Solar panel removal and reinstall for a re-roof · New roof and solar together
Removal and reinstallation by city. Simi Valley · all services by city
Removal and reinstallation questions
Does Cali Energy remove and reinstall solar panels for a new roof in Los Angeles?
Yes. Cali Energy removes, stores and reinstalls solar arrays across Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley, in Burbank, Glendale, Calabasas, Simi Valley and Santa Clarita, and can replace the roof underneath under its C-39 roofing license. New attachments are flashed into the new roof before the modules go back. CSLB #1032379, based in Northridge; call +1-323-844-7777.
Can my roofer take the panels off?
Module manufacturers generally require removal and reinstallation by an installer they authorize, and an array lifted off by a roofing crew can lose its warranty. In Reseda the owners found us on the manufacturer's authorized list; we took the array down in a day, stored it through the re-roof and set it back on new flashings.
Will the same panels go back on?
Yes, unless you decide to upgrade. In Burbank the same modules went back on new attachments set into the new roof. In Tarzana the old array was retired with the old roof, and a new 57-module system and a 200-amp panel went onto the rebuilt roof.
Does removing and reinstalling solar need a permit?
Yes, it is permitted work, alongside the re-roof permit. In unincorporated Los Angeles County, remove-and-reinstall permits rose from 4–13 a year in 2020–2023 to 153 in 2025. We file what LADBS, your city or, outside city limits, LA County Public Works requires for the solar, and for the roof when we replace it.
How long are the panels off the roof?
In Reseda the array came down in a day, was stored through the re-roof and went back in a second visit; in Burbank the two visits were three weeks apart, set by the roofing schedule.
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Plan the panels and the roof as one job
Send a photo of the array and tell us what the roof needs. We will schedule the removal, the roof work and the reinstallation as one plan, with the permits each part requires.
Get a removal and reinstall quote Call +1-323-844-7777
Cali Energy · Northridge, CA · cali-energy.com