Roof replacement
Nobody can give you a real number without seeing the array, but you can absolutely understand what drives the price before you call anyone.
Panel count is the obvious one. After that: roof height and pitch, because a steep two-story array is a different job from a single-story walkable roof. Mounting system and roof material, since tile takes longer than shingle. Whether the system uses optimizers or micro-inverters, which adds panel-level components to handle. And how long the panels need to be staged.
Removal, staging on your property, reinstallation, and verification of production afterward. If a quote covers only the removal, ask what the reinstall costs before you accept it, because that is where the number often changes.
A roofing crew will sometimes offer to pull the panels for a few hundred dollars as part of the roof job. That price is real, and so is the risk. Roofing insurance generally excludes solar equipment, panels get stacked and walked on, and there is no documentation if a warranty claim comes up later.
If your roof is being replaced under an insurance claim, solar removal and reinstallation is frequently a recoverable cost. Your adjuster needs it itemized and documented, which is a good reason to have the array handled by a company that writes things down.
Ask three questions: is reinstallation included, where will the panels be staged, and will you receive production readings before and after. The answers separate a real quote from a number.
Questions we get asked
On paper, yes. In practice the savings disappear the first time a panel is damaged or a warranty claim is denied for undocumented handling. It is a small saving against a large exposure.
Often, when the roof itself is a covered claim. It needs to be itemized and documented. Ask your adjuster directly and get the answer before the work starts.
Some roofers will offer this. You end up with old decking and old underlayment under the array, which is the part of the roof you can least easily get to later. It is almost always a false economy.
Usually the length of the roof job plus a day on each end. Every day off the roof is power you are buying instead of producing, which is why coordination matters.
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