Was dead wrong about solar panels on older homes until last month

I used to tell customers that older roofs couldn't handle solar panels without major structural work. Then I helped my uncle install a 6.4kW system on his 1960s ranch house in Austin, and the roof passed inspection with zero reinforcement needed. Has anyone else found that contractors are too quick to assume old houses can't handle upgrades?

2 comments

2 Comments

paigewood2d ago

Even 1960s houses were built way tougher than most people give them credit for.

king.dakota2d ago

Lived in a 1967 ranch for about 12 years and that house was a TANK. The walls were thick plaster over rock lath, not that cheap drywall you see now. We had a tree fall on the roof during a storm and it barely cracked a few shingles. The old growth lumber in the framing was so dense you couldn't drive a nail through it without pre-drilling. Those builders just used way better materials and actually cared about their work.