Community Forums

bicklebok · 08-07-2011, 03:51 PM

here's what I got done today. This is before

bicklebok · 08-07-2011, 03:55 PM

here is after. I am horrible working with wood but doing the best I can. I will paint the walls when Im done. Still have lots more to do. Im hoping I will get better at it with the experience Im gaining and the mistakes I learn from.

bicklebok · 08-07-2011, 04:02 PM

I talked my wife into working on the roof. She's a keeper for sure! She was doing good cleaning the roof in preparation for eternabond until she got a blister and quit.

bicklebok · 08-09-2011, 06:50 AM

We are starting to get rain every day, and I dont want want the interior work that I have been doing to get ruined, so I am going to concentrate strictly on the roof until I get it repaired. I have decided to go ahead and brace up the roof beams good in preparation for another roof air unit next year.(I took the old one out years ago because it was leaking and causing the roof to sag). In the meantime, i ordered a roof vent to mount in the hole.
Now I just have lots of cleaning to do on the roof preparing for eternabond, pulling off all the different compounds that I slapped up there over the years. What a mess!

There is one compound that I put on the roof in the past that I'm having a difficult time removing. I wish I could remember what it was because it seals really well. It's pretty good stuff! It's black, rubbery, seals tight, and is about as hard as a car tire.

Anyway, Im going to pull it off because the roof looks horrible with all the lumps and clumps of different compounds and there is evidence where water seaped under some of the compounds and stagnated under the material.

Senior Chief · 08-10-2011, 07:07 AM

Unfortunately for you, you don't have the relief that most of us do in cussing out the previous owner when we do repairs on somebody else's work.

"What idiot did this!!? How could anybody be so stupid?!! What were they thinking!! They should have known XYZ wouldn't work!" etc, etc.

Just goes to show me that my own "perfect work" might not seem so perfect to somebody fixing it in later years

Nuge · 08-10-2011, 07:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Senior Chief

Elastomeric caulk is also ok, but AVOID silicone sealer.

Why is silicone to be avoided? I have some sealing and refinishing to do and am taking notes..

melvonnar · 08-10-2011, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nuge

Why is silicone to be avoided? I have some sealing and refinishing to do and am taking notes..

I used the silicone bath tub stuff on my old southwinds roof; it's important that the surface is clean and dry; I had the motorhome 14 years and never had a leak.

I had a leak on my (new to me)coachman; two years ago; cleaned up the area, put the silicon on and no leaks now.

bicklebok · 08-10-2011, 11:55 AM

I would like to say a few things about eternabond tape. I had a hole in my aluminum roof- gouged a screwdriver through the roof back in my drinking days(Yes, I quit drinking). I had tried several different things in the past to patch it due to my laziness and inexeperience. Obvioulsy, nothing worked. Well, when I learned about eternabond I bought some and just for a test I placed a piece over that hole. The aluminum where the hole is sags, allowing water to pond at the hole, which I intend to correct. But just for a test I left it sagging and took my water hose and filled water in the sag spot with the eternabond over the hole. It does not leak! I am sold on that stuff! For me and my tight budget it's expensive, but it's worth every penny!

Senior chief, youre right! I have no one to blame but myself! LOL

Senior Chief · 08-10-2011, 02:08 PM

Silicon sealer is not a preferred sealer on RV roofs for several reasons. The first is that NOTHING, including more silicon, will stick to it adequately later, and it is a pure T b**ch to remove completely. Second is that it is not a particularly long-lasting sealant, even if applied perfectly the first time.

Yes, some people use it and some say they've had success with it, but I believe they are way outnumbered by those of us who have scraped off pounds of the stuff from all those un-repaired repairs where its been globbed on by those aforementioned Previous Owners.

Save the silicone for around your bathtub (where it will also leak) and use Dicor or C-10 or 3M 4200 on your roof.

JMHO

Senior Chief · 08-11-2011, 03:03 PM

Incidentally, I've used a flat serrated offset blade with a cheap multi-tool from Harbor Freight to cut through some of that fossilized stuff up on the roof- works slick.

bicklebok · 08-12-2011, 09:23 AM

I will see if I can find something like that. My roof vent should be in today, so Im going to mount it this weekend if I have time. That 14" hole was patched(by me) with a piece of sheet metal, which leaked of course! And while im ripping out the ceiling paneling to replace it, I will mount some more roof supports so I can buy another roof air unit next year. That's the plan anyway.

Senior Chief · 08-13-2011, 07:36 AM

Good plan! I have learned through painful experience (emphasis on the "painful") that it pays to think ahead to what you'll need in the future, not just be focussed on today's project.

bicklebok · 08-13-2011, 05:33 PM

I worked on this mess today! Very tedious work, and it's going to take some time to get the roof repaired. I dont want to shorcut the hole patching and have leaks later. I used acetone for prepping the patch sites and it's some pretty strong stuff! I didnt finish today and I doubt I will tomorrow. Hope it doesnt rain!