Community Forums

bicklebok · 08-14-2011, 05:49 PM

I did a leak check flooding the roof with the water hose. There's a section of aluminum roof thats sagging, allowing water to pond. It happens to be where a seam is, and when the water stays in the saggy spot long enough, it starts leaking. Im going to have to put some bracing in the roof and hope it lifts the saggy spot up. Very heart breaking, but I should have expected that. I have a 4 inch wide piece of eternabond over the seam and it still seaps in. Roof beams next on the list!

SyrenSkywolf · 08-21-2011, 10:48 AM

Even when you get supports put in if you can, I would say that there may have been a spot or two where the eternabond didn't completely stick. I had that in a spot where I didn't get it clean enough, or there was some residual silicone on one of my vents. Get around the edges of the eternabond thoroughly cleaned, and put some Dicor self leveling lap sealer around the edges. Should completely seal it up.

Also, look thoroughly over the roof in that area for any small holes that could be easily missed, and seal them as well if you can find them.

Senior Chief · 08-22-2011, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SyrenSkywolf

Even when you get supports put in if you can, I would say that there may have been a spot or two where the eternabond didn't completely stick. I had that in a spot where I didn't get it clean enough, or there was some residual silicone on one of my vents. Get around the edges of the eternabond thoroughly cleaned, and put some Dicor self leveling lap sealer around the edges. Should completely seal it up.

Also, look thoroughly over the roof in that area for any small holes that could be easily missed, and seal them as well if you can find them.

x2

Its likely there is a failed "stick" or an unseen hole. The self-leveling sealant is a good idea.

3 things about using eternabond;

1)clean surface, right down to bare metal or fiberglass if necessary (this is where you learn to curse the previous owners who used silicone)

2)do not stretch the tape when applying

3) roll or rub the tape down as hard as you can (to burst the microbeads and increase the adhesion)

bicklebok · 08-22-2011, 12:33 PM

Thanks for the tips Chief and Syren! Every time I get on the roof I press on the eternabond again to get more bonding action. i didnt get time to work on it this weekend because I had lost of other things to do. I put a new power window motor in my truck over the weekend. Talk about fun? That was challenging!

I will post some pics soon of my problem with the roof aluminum sagging. I have been very discouraged about it all lately. The aluminum roof is in much worse shape than I thought. And pulling the paneling out of the interior roof has turned out to be more difficult than I thought. I figure the most important thing is not to give up. Just whittle away at it a little at a time. If I was as talented as you guys with wood working, I would be in good shape!

bicklebok · 08-23-2011, 08:52 AM

Here's a picture of the sagging. To put this in perspective, the roof should be sloping downward going to the right in the photo.

A lot of what you see is old roofing material that I havent swept off yet. i was able to get the interior roof paneling pulled yesterday and I can see that one of the roof supports where the vent is mounted is sagging. I had already mounted the roof vent, so it looks like Im going to have to pull it back out and remove that one sagging support and replace it.

I am new at word working but I have learned from my mistakes already. The biggest lesson learned so far is that if I take a short cut on repairing, I will pay for it later! Take the time to do it right and it will save work later!

LokiGT · 08-23-2011, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bicklebok

Here's a picture of the sagging. To put this in perspective, the roof should be sloping downward going to the right in the photo.

A lot of what you see is old roofing material that I havent swept off yet. i was able to get the interior roof paneling pulled yesterday and I can see that one of the roof supports where the vent is mounted is sagging. I had already mounted the roof vent, so it looks like Im going to have to pull it back out and remove that one sagging support and replace it.

I am new at word working but I have learned from my mistakes already. The biggest lesson learned so far is that if I take a short cut on repairing, I will pay for it later! Take the time to do it right and it will save work later!

Man looking at it like that I'm shocked it doesn't leak more. Can you post a pic of what the actual roof looks like with the debris removed? I agree the roof beams should be reinforced but I would do that prior to adding the sealing tape and dicor.

Good luck on the project, it's great to have the wife on board, when they aren't life can be a bit difficult right guys?

bicklebok · 08-23-2011, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EndeavorV10

Man looking at it like that I'm shocked it doesn't leak more. Can you post a pic of what the actual roof looks like with the debris removed? I agree the roof beams should be reinforced but I would do that prior to adding the sealing tape and dicor.

Good luck on the project, it's great to have the wife on board, when they aren't life can be a bit difficult right guys?

Yeah, I can take a pic with debris removed. It probably wont look much better though! LOL The sad thing is, Im the one that added most of the sealants on the roof over they years.

I will take a pic of the inside support beams as well. I need to find a board with the thickness of 1 3/4". The width wont matter so much, but a few inches would be good. Is 1 3/4" an uncommon size?

Senior Chief · 08-24-2011, 07:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bicklebok

The width wont matter so much, but a few inches would be good. Is 1 3/4" an uncommon size?

I think you'll find that a standard 2x4, for example, is actually more like a 1 3/4" by 3 3/4". The modern 1x2, 2x4, 2x6 designations are "nominal" or in name only.

bicklebok · 08-24-2011, 11:31 AM

I was actually able to get a 1 1/2 inch brace in there. Obviously, it's a 1/4 inch less, but it seems to work good. My next question is this: When I mounted the roof vent the screws I added went through the support rafters. That seems like the right thing to do. But actually, no where else on the roof is the aluminum screwed to any support boards. So, when I try to slide the new support up close to the mounted vent, the screwed down vent is preventing the aluminum roof from being pushed up higher. So, I think the vent should only be screwed to the aluminum roof, and not the support boards. Is that correct?

Heres another pic of the roof. The vent is in the right corner of the pic.

bicklebok · 08-29-2011, 11:24 AM

My neighbor came over yesterday and gave me a great idea for raising the center of the roof to where it's supposed to be. As mentioned earlier, the 2 highest point brace boards for the roof are sagging, creating a dip in the aluminum roof. He suggested I jack up those boards with a jack, and bolt a piece of angle iron to the sides of the board to hold it in the position it needs to be in.

i'm going to give this a try. Hopefully it will allow me to get the roof to the rounded design like it was originally.

poppatello · 08-31-2011, 09:33 PM

I have a question about the lights. Why are you removing them? I believe you must have them or the manufacturer wouldn't put them there. My state requires them. I removed them from my Winnie the first time I took it through and they failed it because of no overhead running lights...

bicklebok · 09-01-2011, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poppatello

I have a question about the lights. Why are you removing them? I believe you must have them or the manufacturer wouldn't put them there. My state requires them. I removed them from my Winnie the first time I took it through and they failed it because of no overhead running lights...

I purchased some new overhead lights to install for cosmetic purposes mainly and to reseal against the camper to prevent leaking. But I will wire them in and maybe get them working somewhere down the line. We don't have inspections here, so I'm not too concerned with that aspect for now.

It sure would be nice to get them working some day! Thank you for your interest!

bicklebok · 09-10-2011, 10:50 AM

What can I use to seal this aluminum seam inside the seam? Is there something I can inject in it? I can tell when cleaning the outside of the seam that the material used to connect these 2 pieces is deteriorated. Thank you!

bicklebok · 09-12-2011, 07:45 AM

Yesterday I finished pulling off the eternabond I originally put on but didnt clean the surface good before adding. I have been using a screwdriver to remove the old compounds on the roof, and an electric sander to get it down to the bare aluminum. I found some more holes in the roof after removing more compound.

I also had some 2 x4's ripped to 1 3/4 inches to start replacing roof braces. I managed to get one of them in yesterday and it brought the center of the roof up about an inch! Now I'm starting to see the roof get that pitch in it like it originally had when it was new. This will keep water from ponding on the roof and finding it's way in.

I have never been good with wood working, but this project is teaching me a lot of lessons and helping me gain skills and confidence. At one point after I placed eternabond on the roof and it still leaked, I was ready to give up! But I realized after getting some good advice from SeniorChief that I didnt prep the roof surface good enough. So, it's turning out to be a slow tedious process to clean the roof, but it will be worth it. There are no shortcuts I have learned. Do it right the first time and be done with it!

I will try to post some pictures of the roof line before and after sometime soon. Take care every one!