Roof leak

[ChuckWmson]

Last week when I visited my MH I noticed water on the floor and a wet spot on the ceiling. It has been about 2-3 years since I had been on the roof or coated it. This time I found where I think it is leaking, around the Fantastic fan opening. Also, it appeared even worse at the end cap areas, but no apparent leaks. The end caps have quite a bubble of sealant buildup, mostly from the original build plus the additional pastes that I have added over the years.

The openings seemed to be curled back, some large and many small areas, so I decided it best to cut out these areas and apply new sealing paste to fill these areas. Duh, after finishing the thought was why didn't I apply some Kool Seal reinforcing grid. Since I didn't I was then thinking I should redo to adding the the grid material. But, maybe best would to remove all this old sealant and install some Eternabond tape, which I don't think would add as much bulk to the area and would probably be a more permanent fix. If this would be the best way to go what is the best/easiest way to remove the old sealant. Heat gun or just scrap? Below its surface area it appears to be some type latex material, rubber consistency.

Any suggest would be most welcome. Alaska is coming up soon, late May, and I want to be ready. I know I will find lots of rain on this trip.

Chuck

[ChuckWmson]

This subject has got to have interest to many of you. What method of repair should I consider?

Chuck

[Burnerman]

Chuck
I would clean all the old putty off & use Eternabond on it. You could warm it up a bit with a heat gun to soften the putty & use a plastic scraper so you don't damage the roofing material. Check all the screws because they may have rusted off. Get yourself a small roller & roll the Eternabond down really good. If there was silicone on it you will have to get a cleaner to remove it because Eternabond will not stick to silicone. When I did our old camper I put a small bead of Dicore lap sealant along the edge of the tape
Hope this helps
Don

[ChuckWmson]

Don,

This is exactly what I was looking for.

Confirmation that I wasn't going astray. I don't believe silicone has been used before, I am the original owner and haven't used it. Will check with Monaco just in case they may have used it. There are still techs working there that worked on my or other like coaches. The Dicore lap sealant had got to be a real positive, also.

Thanks again,
Chuck

[Haffie]

Hiya Chuck,

While it's obvious that you have a roof leak and that seems easy enough to fix, it's what's between the roof and ceiling that would worry me.

Behind most ceilings is a vapor barrier, usually a sheet of plastic. When the roof leaks, the water forms a puddle between the roof and the ceiling. What's worse is that the actual roof leak might be several feet from where the water drips out of the ceiling. In the mean time, water sits on the plastic and saturates the insulation, that can cause mold and rotted wood, weakening the roof (if wood supports are used). The mold can be a serious health hazard, especially if it's growth is enhanced by the warm summer heat.

Have a good one,

Haffie

[ChuckWmson]

Haffie,

That was my initial worry, too. But when I started to remember the construction, I'm not sure that would be a major concern. Below the roof is 8" of solid Styrofoam with cutouts for ducts, wiring and whatever else is required, per the salesman and review of brochures that came with the unit .

I believe the call to Monaco is still warranted, especially with your questions about to holding of water and the potential mold possibilities.

Chuck

[ChuckWmson]

An update to the new roof sealant. I went to Camping World to get the materials I would need. The only product they had was Dicor's DiSeal Roll, no Eternabond. I got the roll figured it would be a somewhat simple installation. Not so! After cleaning the old sealant we started to apply the new tape. The clear membrane wouldn't release from the tape. Called CW and was told it was a straight forward operation. Not! Took the roll back to CW and they also tried, some release, sometimes not. They suggested I take a new roll. With the new roll in hand went home to the MH and started the install. As we pulled the membrane from the black sealant, it sometimes released other times one edge would release and the other a thin triangular segment would remain. Very difficult to have a consistent release of membrane from the sealant. Did the back endcap first with less difficulty even though we had to install around and over the roof ladder canes. The front endcap was another story. Would release a little then hangup. Ended up with a very unprofessional installation.

Found a roll of Eternabond locally and now plan to remove the Dicor and replace it. Perhaps the Dicor tape was old, no matter more trouble than I or my helper want to be involved with. This looks like a fresh roll and hopefully it will go on much better than the Dicor experience. I called Dicor and they had no suggestions. They said this was the first complaint. I told them it almost appeared as though the membrane was old or perhaps to light a material.

Have looked at some Utube sites that makes it appear to be simple, straight forward install. If they can do it that way on Utube, then I believe I can or should be able to do it, too. They were also mentioning a product called Liquid Rubber to be be used on almost any type of roof. Was thinking that might be a good sealant to be rolled onto the whole roof rather than KoolSeal Elastomeric coating that I have been using for the last 12 years, about every 2-3 years. At my age am not looking forward to doing this again for a while.

Any thoughts?

Chuck

[Haffie]

Hiya Chuck,

Go to http://www.eternabond.com and see if they have a distributor near you. If not you might be able to order directly from them. If not, you can check out Ebay.

If you want to do the job once and have little to worry about, other than periodic inspections, check out http://www.herculiner.com/index.html. Herculiner is used for beds in pickups, but works great for RV roofs too. Best of all, it comes in colors to match your RV. When I asked for a quote to do my MH a few years ago, it was like $640.

Have a good one,

Haffie

[ChuckWmson]

To update the roof repair.

Last Sunday we remove the Dicor tape and installed the Eternabond tape. The Dicor came off easy with heat, cleaned it up a bit and brushed on the bonding agent, and installed the Eternabond. What a difference! No problem with removing the membrane from Eternabond that I had with with the Dicor. Didn't flip together as the Dicor did. What a blessing, Went down so smooth.

If I ever have to install anything in the future it will be Eternabond,

Chuck

[Cal]

Chuck
Thanks for pointing out the problems you had with Dicor and how easy Eternabond tape is to work with.
You may have saved others your grief.
C