roof replacement

[aj-racer]

recieved such good advise on other problems here another, have a 1978 25 ft. mallard and have trouble keeping the roof sealed, have used different products all claiming to be the best, is there a rubber fiberglass or vinle covering that will seal the roof for good?
thanks A.J.

 

[turnipbwc]

roof replacement

I dought if you will ever get it sealed right. If I was doing it I would put a new rubber roof on top of the old one. I have a friend who has an older RV and thats what he did after he couldn't get it sealed. He used the same rubber roof as you would on a house or other out buildings. After a year you should paint it with a rubber roof coating (white) to seal it and will keep it cooler inside. I would bend in down over the sides, front and back about an inch. Once you heat it it will stick with no problems.
I have a rubber roof on my shed and it's been on there for 6 years and no problems at all. The shed is 10' by 40' build along the side of my garage. Rubber roofing comes in rolls and can be bought at any Lowes or Home Depot.
Good Luck,
turnip42

 

[sp]

roof replacement

aj,

What does the roof look like now? What have you done to it so far?

sp

 

[aj-racer]

roof replacement

hi steve,
the roof has a aluminum asphalt coating on it now it was applied last year in the spring and is comming off and the roof leaked over the winter. i am going to reapply the roov coating if there isent a way to cover in a more permanant way any info appreciated.
thanks A.J.

 

[aj-racer]

roof replacement

hi turnip 42
thanks for the tip about the rubber roofing, does all the old top coating need to be removed before the rubber goes on? do you use a heat gun to seal the rubber to the unit?
thank you A.J.

 

[turnipbwc]

roof replacement

A.J.
I am not sure about the old coating coming off first. I will get to my friend and see what he did on his RV and get back to you.
When they put my rubber roof on my shed they used a long torch hooked to a propane tank, heated the rubber to melt it and seal to the other. I never used the fiberglas felt paper under it like they do on house roofs but you are susposed to. If you don't use the underlaying felt the warrenty will not be any good. I wasen't worried about that on the shed so went without it. I just put mine right to the plywood. If i was doing it over again I would use it. My shed roof still looks good and I have never done anything with it. I am looking in to buying the white rubber roof paint and puting it on this summer. I went to Sherwin-Williams this morning and don't carry it. Have to look elsewhere for it.
Get back to you,
turnip

 

[Kirk]

roof replacement

Probably the product with the best reputation for sealing an aluminum roof for the long term is Kool Seal. But the problem with that is that you will need to remove the product that you have on the roof now. There is also a rubber coating product for such use, but I have never actually seen an RV that was done with it, but I have used Kool Seal and have friends who have.

If turnip42 is thinking of the EDPM roofing material, it is glued over a plywood or strand board base and not applied to metal. If you choose to use it, you will probably need to remove the aluminun and apply a wood sheeting if you want the manufacturer to honor the warranty.

 

[sp]

roof replacement

aj,

2 summers ago prior to using the platic cote stuff I tried to put some material down because I didn't believe the coating would work by itself. I tried the following.

1. 8"wide white Quick Roof roll that was peel and stick. This worked the best and I got it at my RV place. I ran it along a few seams and then ran the Plas-t-cote up to it but not on it. The instructions warned not to put anything on top of it.

2. Aluminum Quick Roof roll that was peel and stick. I cut it up and around the sky lights, kind of like flashing. It worked good on the flat of the roof but rolled back a little from the sides of the skylight.

3. The last thing I used was a piece of black peel and stick rubber roof. It curled up alot. This time I cut the center out of the big square that I had and went over the top of a skylight. This sky light has leaked the worst over time and it is still a problem. I can tell because the tile board I used on the ceiling has some water spots circling the skylight.

I still need to go back and fix some cracks but it doesn't seem to be leaking.

Also, about removing the aluminum and putting down plywood...that is alot of weight you are adding. That is about 6 sheets.

Just my 2 cents.
sp

 

[turnipbwc]

roof replacement

A.J.
I talked to my friend and he took the old metal roof off his RV. I can't believe he did this but he put 3/4" plywood down over the existing plywood. He glued it and used screws so it couldn't move (be careful not to hit any electric wires when puting in the screws). He took off the AC and air vents and the trim molding around the edge of the RV. He melted the rubber roof to the plywood and did NOT use any felt paper under the rubber. He ran the rubber roof down over the edges about 1". He cut a smaller piece of rubber roof and put down first around the AC to make it a little taller for the water to run away from the AC. He put the AC back on and installed new air vents. Put the trim moulding back on using new rubber sealed screws and then used rubber caulking to seal the edge of the trim edge and caulked around the AC and vents.
He did this about 5 years ago and has never had a leak. He is a contractor and and works with rubber roofing a lot. I hope this helps you in some way.
Good Luck whatever you do.
turnip42