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d3500ram's avatar
d3500ram
Explorer III
May 26, 2018

Partial roof repair: what material to use...?

I posted in THIS THREAD REPLY about the bad and ugly on EternaBond not working for me and am recopying it below for subject context.

I cannot stand how bad it looks and want to cover it up. I am going to remove the skylight bubble and toilet vent to put down a 40"x46" piece of roof material "something." Basicallly, I want to remove the roof components, prep the roof and lay down a clean sheet of material to cover over that nasty looking roof.

What should that "something" material be?

I would consider using EternaBond as that roof material as it does adhere well to the existing roof, that is if they make a large enough piece. Is there another partial piece of roof material other than EB that I should consider?

I want to fill-in the red-lined area with a new piece of roof material:


From the other post for picture context, I give you the "ugly."

I read and heard that EternaBond (EB) is the cat;s meow and perhaps its true, but I doubt I will ever use it again. I wanted to try and reduce my roof sealing maintenance chores so I bought a roll. Read about how good preparation is key. I chose a nice sunny warm day and started around the rood bubble over the shower near the adjacent plumbing vent:







I scraped away all of the old caulking, THOROUGHLY cleaned and de-greased the the roof and bubble and carefully cut and laid down a layer of the EternaBond to try to make it look neat and good- forgive me the late day shadows:





I was kinda' proud of the job in cutting rounded corners, lapping it properly for proper overlay (starting at the rear.) All was good until I inspected it a couple of weeks later when I noticed that the ED did not stick at all to the plastic bubble!

I know that EB is a pressure activated tape so when I put on the bubble I was sure to place the tape over the flat part (not running it up the sides.) I used the thinner wheel roller (the one similar to a wide but serrated pizza cutter) and was sure to apply pressure around any of the bumped up fastener protrusions.

The EB was adhered pretty good to the roof but not at all to the plastic bubble. I had to do something because the area where the tape did not seal was creating a pool under it. I tried to remove the EB but the areas where it decide to stick was a nightmare to remove; the part on the bubble came off with no problem as there was absolutely no adhesion at all. I manually scrapped off as much as I could and put down good ole' reliable and pliable roof caulk seal...

...but it looks like arse!!



17 Replies

  • I see where EternaBond make a 48" wide product... but in but in 50 foot length!!!
    If I could find someone who would slice a 4 or 5 foot portion then it is something I would consider.
  • I will look into Hengs but I would really like a big pice of roof material to cover it up... sorta' how finish carpentry covers up mistakes to make a room look good.
    (BTW- good finish carpenters who take pride in their workmanship are truly master craftsmen and can make less than perfect substrate materials and trades look good.)
  • jfkmk wrote:
    Strange, I used EB last year for the same reason you did....pm as opposed to fixing a leak. I only went just a bit onto the skylight and it stuck just as good as on the roof.
    I lapped over the bubble flange a decent dimension... 1/2 to perhaps 3/4" never thinking that it would not stick. I took my time prepping and cleaning to do this one-time PM and it was awful! EB sticks great to the roof as I cannot get it off (hence the craapy look now!) ...but it did not take to that roof flange.


    jfkmk wrote:

    Just curious...is that your ladder that leads right to the skylight?

    Yes, gotta' side step the bubble to access the roof.
  • Except for a bit of dirt, I don't think it looks bad at all. The best part is, no leaking!

  • Strange, I used EB last year for the same reason you did....pm as opposed to fixing a leak. I only went just a bit onto the skylight and it stuck just as good as on the roof.

    I've seen pics of the Hengs coating, and it looks pretty good.

    Just curious...is that your ladder that leads right to the skylight?
  • I would not mind paint, but I am most likely putting the camper on the market and am trying to get something that looks a little better than a paint-over. Even though it would work, I do not want ti to look like a band-aid.
  • I struggled with a leaky skylight for years. Nothing worked, not Dicor and not Eternabond. I finally discovered Heng's rubber roof coating, which goes on like paint.

    That worked.