Roof worries: bubbles and folds (with detail pics)

Thanks! Does anyone have a recommendation for a shop in the greater Seattle area?

That corner looks like it must be leaking already.

That looks like a TPO membrane, not EPDM to me.

I'm thinking lawyers and refunds. Looks like really sloppy work to me.

You should get all of that spray stuff off your EPDM roof. It is full of solvents and petroleum distiilates that may harm the roof. Here's the MSDS that will show you what you're using.

The best sealants for roof through-holes and seams are Dicor sealants (sold at most RV related shops) and polymer caulks like the Geocel products. Eternabond tape is also a good sealant but, as posted, there is a learning curve and some cleaning of surfaces involved.

I would suggest that you take your rig to someone knowledgeable about RV roofs and sealing. Ask them to remove all the old sealant that was applied with a canoe paddle, the loose sealants, and the spray stuff. After cleaning the surface, a new bead of sealant or Eternabond would then be applied to the joints that need sealing.

This is the video I found useful:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzAjZbCEbLU

using home armor flexible sealer http://www.amazon.com/Home-Armor-EHFS01-Flexible-10-Ounce/dp/B007YYOY7A/qid=1390809484

I'll call Baydo's tomorrow to see if they can look at the skylight they replaced.

I apologize the pictures are bit out of context showing different issues in different areas

The warping is all over the place, what looks like a vent is actually the upper end of the ladder. This isn't modified by us or the shop, that's the factory sealant

Where you see someone peel back the seal at the side, that's also factory and not modified by us or the shop.

Where you see large bubbles in a layer of sealant, that was us applying a general purpose sealant bought at Fred Meyer (Kroger). I can't find it right now only thing I remember is that it was spray-on. We applied it to some areas where the previous sealant was cracked.

The area with the smaller bubbles is what Baydo's applied when they did the factory recall skylight replacement. Ironically, the factory recall letter stated "It has been determined that the polycarbonate
skylight which was sealed with the aid of a primer has become brittle and will crack"

So. live with the warping for now, but have the sealant replaced where it's bubbly or cracked?

RVUSA wrote:
what sealant did you use?

The pic where you peeled it back with the finger is typical of poor cleaning before sealing. You'll have to pull it up and clean properly and then reseal. Does the vent stack actually have any sealant touching it? The whole idea is to seal the gap between it and the roof, it doesnt look like that happened.

If you did the work, you have a lot to learn about sealing before it rots the wood in the roof or causes the sidewalls to delaminate. If you paid someone to do that I wouldnt be going there ever again and I would be finding someone to redo it before the rains start.

I agree with that assessment and you IMO have a sloppy mess and poorly done at that. I think trying to bandaid that is a loosing proposition and the best thing would be to bit the bullet and clean all that existing mess off there and start over. You obviously don't have much experience with caulking RV roofs and IMO trying to find someone to do a quality job is not going to be easy or cheap. I prefer Eternabond to normal sealant, but it takes some experience and attention to detail to do it right and most RV places don't or won't use that method. That caulking is just asking for water intrusion problems and you need to get it fixed ASAP. A critical area and one where most caulking IMO is not really that good are those corners where that metal trim molding comes up onto the roof and forms a right angle with the end caps molding and where water will pool in at least one and probably two corners regardless of how the RV is leveled. Almost all caulking except some of the 3M Marine types are not designed for continuous or extended exposure to water. I entombed those areas with Eternabond to solve this trouble prone area.

You have some works cut out for you ahead to get things properly done before you have serious damage potentially to your trailer.

Larry

The wavy spots on your roof looks like the glue applied at the factory did not adhere the rubber roof to the plywood substrate properly. It may look bad but I would'nt be as concerned about that as I would the sealant in the photo's. As previously stated, the lap sealant needs to be removed anywhere it has failed to adhere, properly cleaned, and resealed.

Basicly, someone did a quick and sloppy job. The self leveling sealant is fairly easy to work with, you just have to take your time and not over do it. Also, as previously stated the sealant should be up against the vent tube if that's what I'm seeing in the picture.

There are some how to videos on youtube on sealing an rv roof, you might check some of those out. There's some good info there.

what sealant did you use?

The pic where you peeled it back with the finger is typical of poor cleaning before sealing. You'll have to pull it up and clean properly and then reseal. Does the vent stack actually have any sealant touching it? The whole idea is to seal the gap between it and the roof, it doesnt look like that happened.

If you did the work, you have a lot to learn about sealing before it rots the wood in the roof or causes the sidewalls to delaminate. If you paid someone to do that I wouldnt be going there ever again and I would be finding someone to redo it before the rains start.