Repair, Remodel and Reality Oh My!

[wingnut60]

Eternabond won't adhere to loose particles. You can try a liquid material, but it probably won't stay where you apply it, just run down into the trailer.
You could clean the roof real good and try something, and it might gain some on the problem.
You also could talk to a specialist in flat-roof house repairs--they may have some ideas that I am not aware of.
Joe

[sprayman]

Originally Posted by OnTheMove2

Hi Jim, I am not sure if your response is to my post or to the posting from Vallance...he indicated he had put in a lot of work onto his RV and still needed more work. I posted pictures from those I took of my trailer. As I mentioned earlier, my fridge and AC work just fine. I also fixed the furnace and the water pump. I am now faced with roof work and interior work from leaks.

So, I don't know when someone is posting suggesting I get rid of the trailer, if it is because of my post or because of Vallance's posting.

I hope someone can look at my pictures and let me know what they think of my trailer please.

Thank you, Terry

I did suggest you qut and get rid of it.

Jim

[OnTheMove2]

Hi Joe, I took a look at the corner of the roof and pealed back some of the roof. The boards under that section were all solid, with the exception of small spot about an inch or two square. The front section just under the metal is where it appears to be the worst. I saw a video the other day in which some one cut out that section and replaced it with particle board (or perhaps it was plywood), then he rolled the epdm roof back over it and glued it down, then used eternabond over the edges. I am wondering if that would work. The section over the bedroom is where this seems to be the worst. I can not tell how bad the wood might be under the rubber roof without lifting it up. I understand that there is a repair kit also which can be used for repairs as well. Have you ever peeled back the roofing material to replace boards and then pulled it back over? I found that approach interesting.

Perhaps I am being polly-annish here, but it just does not seem to be that big of a problem. Sure, probably some hard work, but that is no reason to throw something away.

I am not trying to be argumentative towards people who undoubtedly know more than me, but I guess I am just not seeing it yet. What am I missing?

Thanks for hanging in there with me and helping me along this path.

Terry

[OnTheMove2]

Jim, while I appreciate that you do not like to quit any project, you appear to think I need to quit this one. While I respect everyone's opinion, I wanted to clarify that you were talking about my trailer and not a different one. Since apparently you were, it would have been nice to have received something a bit more constructive.

I can not tell if it is the pictures of the roof or the pictures from the interior which is causing you to say to quit. Perhaps both. If you want to take a moment to explain a bit, I would appreciate it. If not, then I will simply say thank you for your time and move on to making a decision based upon what facts I can dredge up.

Terry

[OnTheMove2]

Thank you Joe for your suggestion. I could talk with someone who specializes in flat roofs. I am not one to be deterred from a project just because it looks to be a problem. I do not have the money to just throw something away if there is a hope in salvaging it. I will not spend a lot of money however in trying to save something if it is hopeless either.

The pictures I took and posted were of the roof and interior of the bedroom. Taking a quick look under the corner of the roof which appears to have everyone saying I should trash this trailer, indicated that boarding under it was not soft, except for a tiny spot which I could perhaps shore up with some kind of wood rot epoxy. Then using eternabond I could clean up the edges (after of course they are cleaned up and primed). The main problem is up in the front area under the metal flashing (which sits above the bedroom). The boards in the bedroom are not rotted through (in the ceiling). However, the insulation was wet and needed to be pulled out. As I posted earlier, there was someone who pulled his rubber roof back in order to fix the boarding underneath it. Once it was replaced, he then rolled the roof back and glued it down.

This is a link to the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mx6p8u8HuKY

This is a section of the roof which is low, so I am not surprised that this is bad. The seam has come loose from the metal part in the front of the trailer.

What do you think about this approach?

The rest of the roof is still white, not black and actually feels pretty solid...but I don't really know. I am hesitant to walk on the roof as this particular trailer does not have a ladder which leads me to believe it is not meant to be walked on. I will need to get a piece of plywood to use as a support.

I would really appreciate knowing if it is the inside pictures or roof picture that appears to be of most concern. Or if more pictures are needed.

Truly, your continued advice and suggestions are really most helpful. I know I am stumbling a bit here and trying not to fall, and sometimes I can be overly optimistic. But there are several things I am just not getting. Is there no way to repair a rubber roof? Is it all predicated upon how the underlying boards are doing? Can boards be shored up by epoxy or do they need to be replaced? If the boards need to be replaced, can this be completed in sections (such as shown in the video?)....I am happy to post any additional pictures if that would help.

Thanks so much, Terry

[OnTheMove2]

Hi Vallance...I am not sure why I can't do the same thing to my trailer. I mean, the corners have a few soft spots but other than that it truly feels pretty solid. I have not walked on it, but as it does not have a ladder I am not sure it was really meant to be walked on. I read that somewhere. So I will need to lay down a piece of plywood to use as a support structure. What did you do with the soft spots you encountered on your trailer? Did you have to pull up the roof and then repair under it? I also know that there are repair kits that can be purchased, as opposed to an entire new roof. I would not want to try and replace the roof. That is when I would call it quits for sure.

However, if I can address any weak spots, perhaps with wood epoxy (provided they are not rotted through) and or pull the roof back to replace any rotted wood sections, then pull it back over, use eternabond on the seams and the edges and then use a liquid roof over everything...wouldn't that work? How did you create a shell? If I can get the roof able to last a year or two, that would be fine with me. We need to use the trailer so I can help my daughter out with her baby. I am hoping I can find a way to do this...even if it is somewhat temporary.

Any suggestions are much appreciated.

Thanks a bunch, Terry

[GENECOP]

If you really want to do this the first step is to clean all debris off the roof, get all the pine needles and leaves off the roof and out of that pocket, having any wet debris up there is not helping the cause....After that you need to cost out material, on the best day you have between 3-500 in material to execute a reasonable repair, are you prepared for that? This repair assumes that the Rubber roof material is sound, for the peel back thing to work the rubber must have life left in it, if it does not it will fall apart as you peel it back, now you must add another 7-800 for an entire new sheet...and your overall project will grow substantially in the labor dept...The cost of PROPER repair will quickly exceed the value of the trailer...If you have no options get a plastic heavy duty tarp big enough to cover the entire roof. Cut it to size allowing an extra 6-8" overhang to come down over the sides. Cut out all roof penetration tightly and cleanly around roof vents and air conditioners...Clean roof, get two 5 gallon buckets of Karnak roof tar or equal and a 1/4" notched trowel. Spread tar around perimeter and all penetration, bed tarp into wet tar, press in, smooth out...now depending on budget get either wood lath, firing strips, or flat stock aluminum, and a couple of boxes of self taping screws. Go around the perimeter a couple of inches down from the roof edge on the wall and secure the strips over the excess tarp that you left hanging over.....This is the most reasonable repair IMO considering cost and value...good luck...

[Vallance]

I agree with Genecop. I too thought of using tar but opted for paint as I had no actual
breaks or holes in my roof. You appear to have started pulling the "guts" out of your ceiling. At this point I am lost as I decided not to peek into the underlying problem but
to cover it up and worry later. Hasn't leaked so for this season .

[wingnut60]

Terry,
I guess most of us are hung up on trying to repair something that has little value even if fixed to the point on no leaks--we keep forgetting your objective is not to end up with more value, but something livable.
Probably, what ever you end up doing will not cause more harm than is already done, so as GENECOP said, clean it really, really good and begin trying to peel back the roofing material. If it holds together, pull it back to where there is good plywood/base, then begin repairing the rotted portions. I don't think there is any good EDPM material to work with in that one corner, tho---
I am beginning to think you may get thru this with a workable solution, so guess you need to start the hard part--doing it.
Remember, if you have an loose/rotted material left, anything put on top of that probably won't do its job/last very long. If you get this done, take lots of pics, you may end up helping someone else facing a similar disaster.
Wish you luck and success.
Joe

[wingnut60]

Terry,
Check your PMs...sent you a couple of notes.
Joe

[OnTheMove2]

This is a "shout out" LOL to Joe (wingnut60), Vallance and GeneCop...Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! You guys have come through for me. GeneCop, I truly appreciate your step by step directions on how to use a tarp and tar should all else fail.

And the cost breakdown was also very helpful. I do have to keep an eye on cost or what's the point, right?! And Yes, I truly believe that putting on a new EDPM roof would be way beyond even my energetic optimism.

Vallance, I do hope you don't get any more leaks. Such a complete and total drag to have that happen. I started pulling out the ceiling because the neighbor guy couldn't help as soon as he thought on the roof, so I thought, what the heck, might as well look at the inside guts...Oh WOW! That was ugly. But seems to be contained in small areas...afraid of the walls...but I think I am only dealing with the wall around the window. So...now I am committed but if I hadn't done it, those areas would have never dried out. So...in for a penny...in for a pound.

Joe, thank you for completely understanding here. You are quite correct. I am looking for a trailer remodel here to have when I visit my daughter for a few months and also for use as a pseudo guest room for company. I have a small house in the country so not much room. My aim is to make it livable not flip it and sell it for more money. That would be a great idea but goodness...I have no energy for that.

I did start to peel the roof back from that corner and you are quite correct...the roofing material started crumbling away. I am not sure however if that is the case all over. Could just be in patches. I completely agree about replacing rotted material. It makes no sense to cover up something that is going to continue to be such a problem. Have you ever used a wood epoxy for small areas of wood? Or do you think it best just to tear it out and replace? I know that there are EDPM repair kits out there for small spots. If the roofing material is solid (it brushes out to a white powder color...not black) then I could perhaps use a patching kit. If I can peel the roof back far enough to sound plywood and then replace the rotted sections and then move the roof back...then I should be able to cover it all with a liquid roof and finish it off with Eternabond...right? Probably just wishful thinking on my part, but until I get to the hard part of actually doing it as GeneCop says, I won't know all the facts.

In any case, thank you again so very much. I feel much more armed up going into this battle. And you bet, I shall take tons of pictures for posting. If I have success, heck...anybody can have success.

Terry

[RVGuy1966]

I feel for you, Money is not something we all can afford to have tricked out of us. Not saying that happened here as I have no ideA but to spend what you did on this and have such issues which prevent you from enjoying it just sucks. Just because you can sell something like this doesn't mean you should UNLESS the buyer knows everything they are getting. just my opinion as again money doesn't come easy for most of us.

I hope you fix it and have fun....

I got my fingers crossed for you.

[OnTheMove2]

Thanks RVGuy1966 for your understanding. Yeah, I guess if we had all kinds of money we would have a pretty nice rig that wouldn't need work...what a world that would be...LOL

But I intend upon having a swell time during my learning experience and hopefully keep an eye on the bouncing $$ ball in the meantime.

Appreciate the crossed fingers.

I will try and keep everyone updated. Who knows...perhaps some other stubborn, overly opinionated newbie like myself will find it worthwhile reading.

Terry

[sprayman]

Originally Posted by OnTheMove2

Jim, while I appreciate that you do not like to quit any project, you appear to think I need to quit this one. While I respect everyone's opinion, I wanted to clarify that you were talking about my trailer and not a different one. Since apparently you were, it would have been nice to have received something a bit more constructive.

I can not tell if it is the pictures of the roof or the pictures from the interior which is causing you to say to quit. Perhaps both. If you want to take a moment to explain a bit, I would appreciate it. If not, then I will simply say thank you for your time and move on to making a decision based upon what facts I can dredge up.

Terry

Terry, my comments were based on cost vs value.

Jim