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mike2wheels

Question about roof repair

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A couple of years ago a shop replaced the roof on our HR Endeavor.  They used a single large sheet of fiberglass over new plywood underlayment.  However, the sheet was not sufficient to cover the entire width of the roof, so they used trim, screws, and caulk to seal the edge of the fiberglass sheet.  One problem is that the trim is about 3/16 inch higher than the roof, which prevents water from draining.  Now they say the caulk should be replaced every year or two.  This is over 80 linear feet of caulk and close to a day's labor plus materials.  They quoted $500 just for a touch up.

I think I can remove the trim and the caulk and replace it with Eternabond tape.  Before I proceed I want some other opinions on my plan.

In these photos you can see the trim around the edge of the roof, excluding the front and rear caps.  The coach is 40' long, so there is close to 90 feet of trim.

 

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I would pull the trim off and use sheet aluminum and screw both edges to the roof. Use stainless screws. Use Dicor self leveling caulk.  It will be a little bump but not as bad as with the trim.  This fix should last for some years.

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19 minutes ago, desertdeals69 said:

I would pull the trim off and use sheet aluminum and screw both edges to the roof. Use stainless screws. Use Dicor self leveling caulk.  It will be a little bump but not as bad as with the trim.  This fix should last for some years.

I agree - that repair created a pond on your roof and even the smallest leak would be greatly magnified. Would be great to make it flatter so the water can better drain.

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I have to ask who came up with this? That is about the dumbest thing I have seen in a long, long time. There is no rational reason to do  roof that way. They could have A) gotten a big enough piece of fiberglass. (What do they do on a 45' coach) B cut the parts so you run them across the roof and fiberglassed the joints together. Done right you could not see the joints and it would be as strong or stronger than one piece.

Is the covering on the outside of the chanel fiberglass?

Bill 

 

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No channel insert...weird.  Ditto x2 on DD69!

Whatever they charged you the first time, was to much!  Don't follow up, with another. :angry:

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If the round over that joins the sides to the roof is fiberglass, pull all that molding off and use fiberglass mesh with the appropriate epoxy for fiberglass. Be sure to fill all the screw holes with caulking. The original repair shop should fix this problem at their own expense, as that was not an adequate repair IMHO.

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Agree, the surfaces have to be totally clean.  But, with the number of holes, I would not use a pressure washer-- too much chance of water penetration into the roof structure.

Why in the world did they not order the correct width FG to make this a one piece FG roof???

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15 hours ago, jleamont said:

I look at those photos and I’m baffled. That is RV side moulding that accepts the colored vinyl inserts. I’m with DD on this! 

https://www.rvupgradestore.com/RV-Corner-Trim-Molding-Insert-16-p/20-6978.htm

 

That is a shame, we need to know who did this so no one here would go to them.  

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Thanks for your input.  The original roof was a continuous sheet of fiberglass that ran over the edges to a drip rail on each side.  I always wipe a surface with EternaClean before applying new caulk or tape.  I was considering aluminum strap or edging because it's something that will hold screws.  I'm finding that doing anything with this is a lot of hard work.

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7 hours ago, mike2wheels said:

Thanks for your input.  The original roof was a continuous sheet of fiberglass that ran over the edges to a drip rail on each side.  I always wipe a surface with EternaClean before applying new caulk or tape.  I was considering aluminum strap or edging because it's something that will hold screws.  I'm finding that doing anything with this is a lot of hard work.

The best way to repair this would be to take that trim strip off. clean all the sealant off the joint(I assume there is a joint under the trim piece). I would sand about 3" on both sides of the joint. Then apply a fiberglass repair to the joint. This will get you a lot closer to the original height and the roof will drain better.

What is your skill set? have you ever worked with fiberglass? Have you ever done fiberglass repair using resin and fiberglass cloth or matt? 

I would use acetone and a scotchbrite pad for cleaning the surface. I have never used EternaClean and don't know what a "hot solvent" is. I would definitely use acetone resistant gloves. 

If you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself I would look for a place that repairs fiberglass boats and see what they would charge.

Bill

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Bill, it's turned into a 3 ring circus.  Hot Solvent is used for re- crystallization, EternaClean is a company name like EternaBond.  EC is flammable, so it's only ground shipped.  It's suppose to make the old caulk, easier to remove, clean the surface, before applying new caulk.  

Re doing the OP's roof,  is way above my pay scale!  I would call RVArmor, have one of their local reps come to my house, storage area or garage and give me a bid for re-doing and applying their roofing material, from end cap seal to front cap, my coach was 40 feet at $140 a foot...I will not have to mess with my roof again for the life of the coach and the warranty is transferable to any new owner!  IMHO, money well spent. 

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6 hours ago, manholt said:

Hot Solvent is used for re- crystallization, EternaClean is a company name like EternaBond. 

I looked it up it is sold by Eternabond, the tape people. Their site wouldn't open the MSDS sheet so I could see what was in it. I just never heard that term used for solvent.

6 hours ago, manholt said:

Re doing the OP's roof,  is way above my pay scale! 

Well actually I am qualified to do that type of fiberglass repair. 

 

6 hours ago, manholt said:

I would call RVArmor, have one of their local reps come to my house, storage area or garage and give me a bid for re-doing and applying their roofing material, from end cap seal to front cap, my coach was 40 feet at $140 a foot...I will not have to mess with my roof again for the life of the coach and the warranty is transferable to any new owner!  IMHO, money well spent. 

This might be a good idea as it gives the OP some idea of cost and options. 

My main concern is what did they do to stick the edges down to the plywood sub structure. Will the edges stay down and not separate even with the  RVArmor over it. 

Bill

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Bill, don't know about that.  His roof is a "C" shoot.  I don't even want to guess how the fiberglass is bonded to the plywood, or is it plywood or fiberboard !  Way to many variables for my feeble mind.

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On 3/25/2019 at 12:05 PM, mike2wheels said:

They used a single large sheet of fiberglass over new plywood underlayment. 

This is what the OP said. Hope we hear back from the OP.

Bill

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The new roof is a single sheet of fiberglass glued to a new 3/8" plywood underlayment.  I don't know how the plywood is fastened but I was unable to pull it up.  The new surface is about half an inch higher than the old surface.  I like the idea of fiberglass, but I have never worked with it.  I think I have a solution using short flange casing bead.  It has a flange with screw holes and a half inch edge that will cover the exposed plywood.  Six inch wide eternabond tape will cover this and lap onto the old roof.  It's also very thin so I won't get a built up edge.  First up is to get the end caps painted because exposure to this Arizona sun blistered the clear coat.

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Were this my MH, I would first contact whoever installed that and request it be corrected at their expense. If they decline my next move would be to inform them I intended to file a claim in small claims court, and do so. The only thing there is to lose is the filing fee.

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$400 in Texas to file small claim, less than $5,000.  Your recipes from installer + filling fee, bring pictures of before and after.  Let them explain to the Judge, "How great their Techs are!"  All your doing is getting your $$$ back!  

There are several reputable repair facilities in your area, within 90 minutes!

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7 hours ago, mike2wheels said:

I confronted them about their decisions and received a lecture about how great their techs are.

Do they have a corporate office or something similar?

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We had a new roof put on our coach about three years ago. It is without a doubt the best roof I have seen in a long time. This is the website www.rvroof.com  I know you have spent money on a new roof but I think checkin this out might help you. You can also go to there Facebook page. Hwy 29 rv rescue. Look at the pictures and you will see a blue and white Bounder. That is our coach.

 

jdoc

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jdoc.  Welcome to the Forum!

We live in Burnet and I don't recall seeing this place.  Do you have a address on Hwy 29 or a description of where, like west or east of, the one and only signal light, in town?

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