Search “roofing and solar companies near me,” and you will get two very different kinds of results. Some are roofers who bolt panels onto whatever deck is already up there. Others are solar installers who sell you a system and then hand the actual roof work to a subcontractor they met last month. A true dual-trade company is a third thing, and it is the one worth finding. When one contractor owns both the roof and the array, a single crew is accountable for every screw that goes through your deck, and that changes how the whole project holds up over the next 25 years. This guide walks through exactly what to look for so you can tell a real both-trades company from a middleman with a nice website.
Why hire one company for both the roof and the solar
The moment a solar panel is mounted, dozens of lag bolts pass through your roof and into the rafters. Every one of those is a potential leak. If a roofer installs the deck and a separate solar crew drills the mounts, you now have two companies who can each blame the other when water shows up in the attic. A single company that installs the roof and then sets the array owns that entire seam. There is no finger-pointing because there is no one else to point at.
That single point of accountability is the core reason to hire one contractor for both. If a roof replacement is all you need, you should still choose the right roofing team for a replacement on its own merits. But once solar enters the plan, the question shifts from “who is the best roofer” to “who can carry both trades under one warranty and one crew.”
The two license classifications a real dual-trade company holds
This is the fastest way to separate a genuine both-trades contractor from a reseller. In California, roofing and solar are governed by different license classifications, and a company that legitimately self-performs both will carry both.
C-39 for the roof
The C-39 Roofing classification is what allows a contractor to install and replace roof coverings. If a company is doing your tear-off and re-roof in-house, its California license should show C-39. No C-39 means the roof itself is going to a subcontractor.
C-46 or C-10 for the solar
Solar photovoltaic work falls under the C-46 Solar classification, and some firms perform the electrical tie-in under a C-10 Electrical license instead. A real dual-trade company holds one of these alongside its C-39. A general B license can also cover a project that involves multiple trades, but you still want to confirm the actual roof and solar work is self-performed rather than farmed out.
How to verify it in five minutes
Ask for the license number and look it up on the California state license board site. Confirm the classifications, that the license is active, and that the bond and workers’ compensation coverage are current. A company that does both trades well will hand you the number without hesitation.
One warranty that covers the roof and the mounts
Here is the scenario a combined warranty protects you from. Two years after your project, a stain appears on the bedroom ceiling below a panel. With two separate companies, the roofer says the leak is at a solar mount, and the solar company says the flashing failed. You are stuck in the middle, paying for a diagnosis while the water keeps coming.
When one contractor installs the roof and the array, a single workmanship warranty covers the roof plane and the penetrations together. The roof carries the entire solar array, so the mounts and the deck are treated as one system, not two warranties with a gap in between.
Ask who honors the warranty in year ten
A warranty is only as strong as the company behind it. Ask how long the firm has operated under its current name and license, and think about what happens if the installer goes out of business before your coverage runs out. An established local company that self-performs both trades is a safer bet than a thin sales outfit that could disappear.
In-house crews versus subcontracted solar
Plenty of companies advertise “roofing and solar” while actually running one trade and brokering the other. That is not automatically bad work, but it does mean the accountability you are paying for gets diluted the moment a subcontractor steps onto the roof.
Ask directly: are the roofing crew and the solar crew your own employees, or are they subcontractors? A company that self-performs both keeps the same standards, insurance, and warranty across the whole job. When solar is subcontracted, you inherit a second company’s scheduling, quality control, and liability policy, even if you only ever signed one contract.
Questions to ask a roofing and solar company near you
Before you sign anything, run the company through a short list. A confident dual-trade contractor answers all of these easily, and the same standards apply when you vet a trustworthy contractor on the roofing side.
- What are your license classifications, and can I have the license number to verify?
- Do your own employees perform both the roof and the solar, or is either trade subcontracted?
- Does one warranty cover both the roof surface and the panel mounts and flashing?
- If a leak appears near a mount, who diagnoses and pays for it, and how fast do you respond?
- Will you replace the roof before setting the panels if the deck is near the end of its life?
- Can you show me local projects where you did both trades on the same home?
That last question matters most. A company that has genuinely done both on many homes will have a local portfolio to show. If every reference is a solar job with no roof work, or the reverse, you are looking at a single-trade firm reaching outside its lane.
Sequencing the two jobs the right way
A real dual-trade company will not let you put new panels on a roof that is about to fail, because it will be the one taking those panels off and putting them back later. The correct order in almost every case is to replace the roof before the panels go up, so the deck under your array is new when the system goes live. If a company is eager to mount panels on an aging roof without a word about its condition, that is a sign the roof is an afterthought to them.
Doing both jobs under one project also means the roof is designed for solar from the start. Mount locations, flashing details, and attachment points get planned into the installation instead of being drilled in later by a crew that never watched the deck go down.
Red flags when a company claims to do both
Not every “roofing and solar” sign in the yard means the company self-performs both. Watch for these warnings, which sit right alongside the classic red flags of a weak roofing contractor.
- Vague or missing license classifications, or a refusal to share the license number.
- Two separate contracts and two separate warranties were presented as if they were one.
- Pressure to install solar on a roof that the company has not inspected or will not comment on.
- No local portfolio showing both trades on the same address.
- A quote that only pencils out with expired incentives baked in. In 2026, the real math rests on rising utility rates and battery savings, so a company should be able to justify the numbers on those alone.
How US Power Roofing handles roof and solar together
At US Power Roofing, the roof and the solar are treated as one system installed by one accountable team, which is the entire point of hiring a company that does both. The deck is installed on our new roof installation checklist, the mount locations and flashing are planned into that installation, and the penetrations are made to the same standards as the rest of the roof. Because we serve homeowners across all 58 California counties, that consistency travels with the crew rather than changing from one subcontractor to the next. And since a combined project is a larger investment than either job alone, we offer flexible financing for the whole project so both trades can be budgeted as a single line item.
Bringing it all together
Hiring one company for both your roof and your solar is not about convenience; it is about accountability. When a single licensed contractor installs the deck and sets the array under one warranty, there is no seam for a leak to hide in and no second company to blame. Confirm the C-39 and C-46 classifications, confirm the crews are in-house, and confirm the warranty covers the mounts as well as the roof. When you are ready to plan the project the right way, get started with US Power Roofing and let one team carry both trades.
Frequently asked questions
Should I use the same company for my roof and my solar?
In most cases, yes. A single dual-trade contractor owns every penetration where the array meets the deck, so one warranty and one crew are accountable for leaks instead of two companies blaming each other. Just confirm the company self-performs both trades rather than subcontracting one.
Do roofing and solar companies near me need two different licenses?
A company that self-performs both in California typically holds a C-39 Roofing classification for the roof and a C-46 Solar or C-10 Electrical classification for the array, or a general B license that covers both. Always ask for the license number and verify the classifications and status on the state license board site.
Is it cheaper to get roofing and solar from one company?
It can be, because a combined project shares mobilization, planning, and permitting instead of running two separate jobs. The larger benefit is that the roof is designed for solar from the start, which avoids the cost of pulling panels off and resetting them later if the deck fails.
What if my roof is old and I want solar?
Replace the roof first. A reputable dual-trade company will insist on it, because mounting a new array on a failing roof means taking the panels back off within a few years. Doing the roof first puts a fresh deck under the system for its full service life.
How do I know if a company really does both trades or just subcontracts one?
Ask whether the roofing crew and the solar crew are the company’s own employees, ask for the license classifications, and ask to see local projects where the company did both on the same home. A single-trade firm reaching outside its lane will have a portfolio that is all roof or all solar, and vague answers about who actually does the work.
