leak around skylight - caught too late

I have dried out a leak around a roof vent by removing the inside moulding.This gave access to the ceiling area and allowed removal of soggy insulation and speed up the drying process with improved air circulation.
You may want to remove the moulding around the skylight and have a look if that will improve air circulation,all depending on the roof construction, of course.

Alex

You will not be able to get the wrinkles out by any means, as the wood panel itself is delaminated. For those that don't know, it is a 1/8" panel or luan with a vinyl layer bonded to it.

You can minimize it a bit with a small amount of heat but Caution! It is very easy to melt the vinyl cover on the the wood. If you use a hair dryer, don't hold it on one area too long and don't get too close.

The only way to fix it so you can't see it is to replace the panel itself. But this is a very MAJOR undertaking to do properly. The ceiling and wall panels are 4X8 sheets and go on the roof first before the roof is lowered onto the walls and fastened down.

So therefore replacing it properly involves complete disassembly of the roof and lifting it off the trailer to get the old panel out and the new one in.

Not worth it.

The only other replacement option is to cut and patch it. Problem with that is that you will take away the structural integrity of the roof by doing so. RVs rely on all the components together to hold the thing together as we bounce twist and flex down the road.

Best off to try to minimize the outward appearance of it and leave it alone.

But do make sure you apply enough heat inside the unit to dry the ceiling out. I don't mean a hair dryer on the affected area but rather plug it in to shore and wind up an electric heater for a couple weeks. Yes I said weeks. It will take a while to get all the moisture out if the inside of the roof area. It isn't vented and the moisture has no place to go. Some time in the hot sun would really help too. Get the roof nice and hot and leave the AC off.
Trouble is its only March.....

Replacement of the ceiling panel is the only way I know to fix.

A less invasive method might be to re wet the ceiling panel and place a board with a brace under it until it dries. It may take some of that ripple out.

The ceiling panels are water damaged and warped.... pretty unlikely you can get rid of the appearance. The good news is you caught it quickly, likely before it did any structural damage. I really don't think replacing ceiling panels is a huge undertaking for someone that knows what they are doing. When they are down it would be good time to ensure there is no damage.

S.Dupree wrote:
Any advise would be appreciated -

I would try a heat gun to start....gently. Maybe a hair dryer.

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