Roof Repair Services

Well I'm doing this job myself with the help of my nephew who is a very good carpenter. A friend of mine has a large storage building with 12' overhead doors and he is letting me use space to do my project. Being an architect and engineer, I can certainly figure out how this roof goes together and how to rebuild it. I am also a master handyman myself. If I can renovate, rewire, plumb, new heating system, roof, windows, doors on a 1875 Victorian house; I can certainly do this. I have also done a few corvette restorations. I found a couple cut away details by Winnebago that show how the components go together. I don't see where this will be hard at all. Just my time and materials. I ordered the epdm and installation materials from PPL Motorhome in Texas who had a great sale, no tax and $9.99 shipping to NY. I'm only in for $5oo so far. I just need some luan plywood, rigid insulation board, glue and some other misc materials. I should be able to do this for about $1000.
To answer one of the other questions - no I'm replacing the entire roof structure, just some roof deck panels. There are aluminum roof cross rails that tie the walls to the roof, like rafters. These will stay in place. The sandwich panels fit in between the cross rails. The existing fiberglass roof is just a skin that peels up. No different than the epdm, just different material. Whether it is fiberglass or epdm will have no impact on anything.
It will probably be December before I start. When I do, I will post some pictures of the work.

I use to tell my computer clients that their dreams of a restoration of their asset would only accomplish this: It would be no better than just before it failed. If you liked it then, you'll like it when we return it. But it'll be no better than that. Base your judgement of the work on that.

I'd say we got the job 50% of the time. And they knew what they were getting back. Being honest like that made it easy to sell up. And no hassles with the repairs if they went that route, of course the repairs where almost always less expensive than new.

I'd tell this OP the same thing. And if he can find a quality repair for a sum he's willing to pay, go for it. But only if he liked the RV before he discovered the problem.

Yes Dale, that was the repair I was talking about...thanks for the link.

Jim@HiTek wrote:
,,, A few years ago, I followed along on a web site by a 30ish handyman who redid his Class A roof that had extensive water damage. During a winter in Florida. In his spare time. He'd rented a building so he could work out of the rain. Installed a new EPDM roof after repairing all the decking that needed it. So I know there are still skilled people in the world. Just sometimes it's hard to find them.,,,

I recall the same write up. Pretty sure it was THIS owner.

Roof replacement is a BIG job. Your looking at potential labor time pushing a hundred hours or more and material cost not far behind. Also there is the potential of hidden damage that could quickly escalate the repair cost beyond the quote. You really need to think this one thru a bit considering the repairs will probably exceed the value of the coach.

Maybe find a Craiglist handyman? That has resources, and assets available to help, and a shop? Or a metal building for cover, since winter is approaching?

A long shot I know, but finding a competent carpenter with the resources to do the job at his property might be easier than finding a RV shop that wants to take it on.

A few years ago, I followed along on a web site by a 30ish handyman who redid his Class A roof that had extensive water damage. During a winter in Florida. In his spare time. He'd rented a building so he could work out of the rain. Installed a new EPDM roof after repairing all the decking that needed it. So I know there are still skilled people in the world. Just sometimes it's hard to find them.

Good luck. Post pictures so we can follow along with the work.

I already removed the a/c unit and put a temporary plywood/epdm patch over the whole. The deck was starting to sag from the a/c weight. The deck needs to be replaced for about 8' from the rear forward and the entire width.

Alpin Haus called and said they can't do the work. Gave a few excuses, but basically they and other rv dealers are just not geared to do this kind of work.

Novice here on issues like this.

Just thinking out loud here.

You are going to re-engineer the entire roof? They are going to remove the fiberglass roof and replace it with an EPDM roof?

I dunno, but that seems really extreme and really expensive. Maybe
overkill. I would really think hard about a project like that.

To be honest, is an RV of that vintage really worth sinking in what could be $5,000 - $8,000. Even after you spent that much money, what will you have as an end result? An RV designed for a fiberglass roof that now has a EPDM roof that may or may not actually perform properly. To my thinking, that is good money going after bad.

Just my opinion, and I really know nothing about your situation. Just shooting from the hip.

Why don't you just remove the AC cutout the bad area and have a good fiber glass shop repair the damaged roof???

Well I brought it to Alpin Haus in Amsterdam, NY to get an estimate. They say the can do the work as a winter project when they would be slow otherwise. We will see what this costs!!!
The problem was not the roof finish as that is a single sheet fiberglass roof and is completely in tact and in good shape. The problem is it leaked around the air conditioners into the roof deck. The deck has soft spots that need to be removed and replaced. Of course they will not be able to salvage the fiberglass so I will probably go with epdm.

Thanks for the input.

I would imagine that the shop you choose should probably have a crane to remove the entire roof in one shot and to replace it in one piece. That may be the bigger challenge than the labor. While I was at Newmar this summer, I saw them remove a roof on a big rig. They had about 8 guys on it when they took it off and used a crane.

Why not look in to one of the spray on roof systems and get rid of your roof problems? There are several companies that do this and a few are Rhino-linings, RV Armor, Line-X, and a others. An online search should turn up a dealer in your area.