From Passive Solar System to a Completely Rebuilt Roofline

Not every roofing project begins with removing a few thousand square feet of shingles.

Sometimes, you have to remove an entire structure from the top of the house first.

That was the case with this recent project completed by Synergy Roofing & Construction.

An Unusual Piece of Roofing History

Built into the upper section of this home was an older passive solar heating system.

Unlike the photovoltaic solar panels most homeowners are familiar with today, passive solar systems were designed to take advantage of heat from the sun rather than generate electricity.

This particular system incorporated a large structure above the roof along with ductwork that helped move warmed air into the home.

It was an interesting piece of older home technology — but the homeowners were ready for it to come down.

And removing it wasn't as simple as unbolting something from the roof.

Opening Up the Entire Structure

Once demolition began, the true scope of the project became visible.

The Synergy crew removed the exterior covering of the solar structure and exposed the framing underneath. Inside were multiple ducts running through the structure and into the home.

The crew carefully dismantled the system piece by piece while working around the existing roof.

Once the solar components were removed, the remaining framing and roof structure had to be addressed so the home could be rebuilt with a conventional roofline.

This required significantly more carpentry and structural work than a typical roof replacement.

Rebuilding the Roof

With the old system gone, the crew reconstructed the area, installed the necessary roof decking, and created a continuous roof surface that could properly shed water and withstand Northeast Ohio weather.

The roof was then completed so the newly rebuilt area blended into the existing architecture of the home.

The finished result is probably the most impressive part.

Unless you saw the before photos, you might never know that a massive passive solar structure once stood above this house.

The roofline now looks clean, simple, and completely natural to the original design of the home.

Roofing Isn't Always Just Shingles

Projects like this demonstrate something homeowners don't always see when they're comparing roofing companies.

A roof replacement can uncover — or involve — much more than shingles.

There may be damaged decking, unusual additions, aging framing, abandoned equipment, complicated transitions, or structural areas that have to be rebuilt before a roofing system can be properly installed.

That's where experience becomes especially important.

At Synergy Roofing & Construction, we don't believe in simply covering up problems and moving on. Our goal is to understand what we're working with, address the structure correctly, and leave homeowners with a finished system built to last.

Sometimes that means installing a roof.

And sometimes it means taking half the roof apart and rebuilding it first.

Synergy Roofing & Construction

Professional Roofing. Personal Service. Built on Trust.