Picture this: a hail storm rolls through your neighborhood on a Saturday afternoon. By Sunday morning you're on the roof doing a damage assessment, and by Monday you've called your insurance company and started getting contractor quotes.
Then you find out your roofer can't start until the solar panels come off, so you call your solar installer but they're booked out three weeks. Your roofer can't wait that long, so now you're calling around trying to find a solar company that can do a detach and reset quickly, coordinating between two separate contractors who have never worked together, and watching your recovery timeline stretch from weeks into months.
This is the reality for most solar homeowners after a significant hail event, and it's entirely avoidable. Here's why choosing a single contractor who handles both solar and roofing is one of the smartest decisions you can make before the next storm hits.
The Two-Contractor Problem
When a hail storm damages a roof that has solar panels on it, the recovery process involves two distinct scopes of work that are completely dependent on each other:
- Solar detach and reset — a licensed solar contractor must remove every panel, disconnect the system from the grid, and store everything safely before any roofing work can begin. Once the roof is done, they return to reinstall and recommission the entire system.
- Roof replacement — a licensed roofer tears off the damaged shingles, inspects and repairs the decking as needed, and installs a new roof system.
The problem is that these two scopes of work are almost always performed by two completely separate companies, and coordinating them is harder than it sounds.
What Coordination Actually Looks Like in Practice
When you're working with two separate contractors, here's what the communication chain typically looks like:
You schedule the solar company for detach. They come out, remove the panels, and hand off to the roofer. The roofer completes the roof, but it takes longer than expected because they discovered damaged decking that needed repair. Now you need to call the solar company back to reschedule the reinstall, but they've filled their calendar in the meantime. You're waiting again.
Meanwhile, you have two separate insurance claims to manage, two sets of documentation to submit, and two contractors to follow up with. If something goes wrong, a panel is damaged during removal, or the new roof flashing isn't compatible with the existing racking system, you have two contractors pointing at each other.
This isn't hypothetical, it's the experience of a significant number of Colorado solar homeowners every hail season.
The Single-Contractor Advantage
When one company handles both the solar detach and reset and the roof replacement, every friction point in that process disappears.
- One schedule — your contractor knows exactly when the panels are coming off, how long the roof work will take, and when reinstallation is planned. There is no handoff, no gap, and no waiting for two separate companies to find a window that works for both of them.
- One point of contact — you make one call and one person is accountable for the entire job. Questions about the project status, the insurance documentation, the timeline, the material choices — all of it goes to one place.
- One insurance claim — a contractor who handles both scopes of work can provide unified documentation for your adjuster, covering the D&R, the roof replacement, and the reinstallation under a single detailed estimate.
- Faster timeline — in a post-storm environment where demand for both solar and roofing contractors spikes simultaneously, the scheduling advantage of a single-contractor approach can shorten your recovery by weeks.
- Better accountability — if anything goes wrong, there is no ambiguity about who is responsible. One contractor, one warranty, one conversation.
The Financial Case for One Contractor
Beyond the convenience factor, there is a real financial argument for consolidating solar and roofing work with a single company.
- Reduced mobilization costs — every time a contractor shows up to your property, there are labor, travel, and setup costs built into the price. A single company makes fewer total trips, and those savings can be passed on.
- Better insurance outcomes — a contractor experienced in both solar and roofing understands how to document hail damage comprehensively across both systems in a way that maximizes your insurance recovery.
- Warranty alignment — when your panels are reinstalled by the same company that managed their removal and oversaw the new roof installation, there is inherent alignment between the roofing warranty, the panel reinstallation warranty, and the overall system performance.
What to Look for in a Combined Solar and Roofing Contractor
Not every company that claims to do both solar and roofing is equally equipped to handle both well. When evaluating contractors, ask:
- Are they licensed for both? Solar installation and roofing are separately licensed trades in Colorado. Confirm that your contractor holds both licenses and that both are current.
- Do they have a track record in both? A solar company that started offering roofing six months ago is a different proposition than one that has been doing both for years. Ask for references and completed project examples for each service.
- Are they manufacturer-certified? Certifications from solar manufacturers like Enphase demonstrate a standard of technical competence that goes beyond the minimum licensing requirements.
- Are they local? A locally owned company with roots in the community has more at stake in every job than a national chain or out-of-state contractor chasing storm work.
- Can they handle your insurance claim? Look for a contractor with experience working directly with insurance adjusters and a process for documentation that covers both scopes of work in a single unified claim.
Planning Ahead: The Best Time to Find This Contractor Is Before You Need One
The worst time to be searching for a combined solar and roofing contractor is the day after a hail storm, when every qualified company in the Denver metro area is fielding calls simultaneously.
The best time is right now; before the storm season peaks, the scheduling backlog builds, and before you're making decisions under pressure. Find a contractor you trust, save their number, and know exactly who you're calling when the next hail event rolls through.
Along Colorado's Front Range, that's not a question of if, it's a question of when.
Solar Side Up is Colorado's only locally owned company offering solar detach & reset, roof replacement, and full solar reinstallation as a single integrated service. Based in Centennial, CO and serving the entire Front Range since 2011 — with over 1,500 completed installations and recognition as the EnergySage Local Installer of the Year. Call Solar Side Up at 720-740-7085 or visit solarsideup.com.
