Cost estimation full re-caulking aluminium roof (16 feet tt)

[vlopddap]

I just wanted to be sure to not get fooled by a dishonest dealer or something like that on the cost estimation... just need your opinion here! 🙂

My TT is entering its 5th camping season and all the caulk on the roof is black/green with A LOT of mildew and some obvious wear. No way adding fresh caulk over that******will adhere... there's no leak by now, but I think this year is the year of a full re-caulking job from scratch on the roof.

My TT is a 16 feet but the roof itself is 13 feet long. Moreover I don't have a roof A/C, just 2 standard 14x14 vents + 2 tank vent. The roof is a 1 piece aluminium roof.

I think the job will be to remove all the old caulk, then put new Dicor self levelling lap sealant everywhere.

For a professional (and honest) RV shop, how much time (hours or labor) it should take to accomplish that kind of work on a tiny trailer like mine? Or how much should be the job overall (parts & labor)?

Thank you!!

[vlopddap]

Okay, if I decide to remove all the old caulk and start "from scratch", how do I deal with the kind of metal moulding which is screwed on the edges of each side? What's that exactly? It's like a moulding that hold the aluminum cover in place? How do I deal with that? Do I need to remove it completely or I just remove the caulk above the moulding without removing it? Does it have a seal underneath or is it just caulk? If I completely remove the moulding, how do I reinstall and reseal it thereafter?

[westend]

It looks like some spots need removal, the caulk has shrunk away from the trim edge. I wouldn't trust just applying new sealer over that mess. If it was me (and a few years ago it was) I'd remove the old sealant and replace it with Eternabond tape. The tape needs a scroupulously clean surface to adhere. I used scrapers, a grinder with wire wheel, followed by mineral spirits and lacquer thinner. My roof is aluminum, too.

[DaHose]

At least you are all aluminum up top. Wiping it down with a strong bleach solution should help. Just be careful it doesn't drip down the sides.

Having a shop do the roof on my 26 ft. was nearly $500. WAY too much, but it was new to me and I wanted to see how a "pro" did the work. Needless to say, I will NEVER ask a shop to do that kind of work again.

Jose

[vlopddap]

What some mildew folks?! Check this out!!

I can't believe my trailer is actually only 4 years old... it probably have something to do with northern weather and also because I live at the countryside? Believe it or not, I even cleaned my roof almost once a month with soap & brush all summer long and my caulk is still looking like that :

[DaHose]

Wash, scrape off old Dicor, clean the aluminum with acetone.

Finish with Eternabond, then put the aluminum trim back on the ege. The screws for the trim go in through the eternabond with a strip of butyl underneath.

Jose

[Huntindog]

Since you have an aluminum roof, you can use stronger stuff to clean the Dicor. Acetone will clean just about anything. I would do the soap water , and then touch it up with acetone.

[John___Angela]

vlopddap wrote:
Okay, if I choose to not scrap the entire Dicor to bare metal, should I use any kind of mildew remover (bleach based) and after a in-depth cleaning just reapply a coat of Dicor over??

As some people told, there's no leak at this point... I'll take some picture of my caulk tonight at home, you'll be able to see exactly the state of the caulk.

Strong soap and water and a brush will get it clean and if you are worried about mildew a watered down bleach solution will work. After its good and dry go at it with the self leveling dicor on a warm day. Check it every year for cracks. Clean and fill as necessary. NEVER use a power washer on the roof. I don't even use a hose on mine.

[vlopddap]

Okay, if I choose to not scrap the entire Dicor to bare metal, should I use any kind of mildew remover (bleach based) and after a in-depth cleaning just reapply a coat of Dicor over??

As some people told, there's no leak at this point... I'll take some picture of my caulk tonight at home, you'll be able to see exactly the state of the caulk.

[John___Angela]

Cloud Dancer wrote:
To do right,....IMO, will take many hours of hard work. Let me reword, to do it my way would take a long time. And, it wouldn't be easy. This always puts me in a big dilemma. I can't depend on shop personnel to do it right, and that's why I end up doing it myself. Well, that and the expense.
Try and find someone with RV roof experience, and ask them how they would do it.

Yep. Without knowing exactly what they will do it is to hard to guess. If they were to completely clean it back to scratch I would guess around 1200 dollars. However I doubt it needs that. Get rid of anything loose and prep the surface would probably be 4 hours plus on something like that. Parts, shop supplies and labour maybe 600 bucks on something like that. To do it yourself probably 50 bucks.

[Cloud_Dancer]

To do right,....IMO, will take many hours of hard work. Let me reword, to do it my way would take a long time. And, it wouldn't be easy. This always puts me in a big dilemma. I can't depend on shop personnel to do it right, and that's why I end up doing it myself. Well, that and the expense.
Try and find someone with RV roof experience, and ask them how they would do it.

[John_Joey]

Don't put all your faith in this forum (or my post even) but...

Dicor does not dry rock hard, as you already found out but the prior poster will go to their grave arguing.

Scrapping away and getting a clean surface is something that can damage a roof if not done right. So you're right about if you don't feel comfortable doing it, DON'T.

Using tape may void your 10 year warranty. Tape for some reason is real big in the virtual world, not so much when you're on the road.

I'm guessing the RV shop will just clean and touch up. They'll use a bucket of soapy water, and a brush. When that's done they'll use 10% bleach water and brush the Dicor again. Wait a day to dry and then touch up. Two to four tubes of Dicror, and two hours to apply. You can figure how much labor to clean.

Now if they pull all the Dicor off and reapply, I would guess for me to do that it would be 15-25 minutes per running foot plus materials. Figure out how much time and times it by the shop labor rate.

Last note is I might even check on what can be done not to void any warranty you may still have left on your roof. You know the old saying "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

[vlopddap]

Fiverwheel wrote:
On a one piece roof all there is to reseal is around your vents and along the edges. Eternabond is the quickest, most effective and longest lasting fix. There are instructional videos on YouTube that should set your mind at ease as to the process.

Don't laugh on me, but do I need to scrub the Dicor sealant before applying the Eternabond tape on the roof surround and around the vents?

[Fiverwheel]

On a one piece roof all there is to reseal is around your vents and along the edges. Eternabond is the quickest, most effective and longest lasting fix. There are instructional videos on YouTube that should set your mind at ease as to the process.

[vlopddap]

Blackdiamond wrote:


If you can do mechanical/electrical you can seal the roof, A dealer is just going to have the guy he pays the cheapest hourly rate go up there with a putty knife, scrape off some of the old and put some new dicor over it. They are not going to take a highly skilled tech (expensive) and put them on a roof for a job any unskilled laborer can do.

I would go a different route and use eternabond

Eternabond? You mean to use this product instead of any Dicor self-levelling lap sealant or in addition to? I have a 1-piece aluminium roof remember. I was thinking the Eternabond is more to repair rubber roof... or something like that?