Oh boy. We're in a mess. Roof rebuild FAIL.

[sillynikki]

My parents gave us their pop up. The roof was completely rotted inside due to a leak. DH claimed he could rebuild it. He was able to get all of the rotted wood and foam out. What looked like success has suddenly turned into failure. He used Contact Cement to glue the 1/8 inch luan to the roof. Then he put the layer of foam and then another layer of luan. We let it cure for a week and then sealed/painted the luan. Well, after turning the top right side up, it appears that there are areas where the glue isn't holding.
:S

His plan was to apply the bedliner to the top today, but being as it appears the glue isn't holding in spots, I told him NO WAY was I sleeping under that! Now he doesn't know if he should just take it all apart again and start over or just put screws in to hold it all together, seal all around the screws and then apply the bed liner.

The camper is OLD, needs work and was given to us for free. We really don't want to invest a lot of money into it because we plan on getting something else eventually. So far, he has put almost $300 into repairing it. We just want to be able to use it a couple times a year for maybe the next 2 years.

WWYD? Scrap it, start over (take it out and reglue it), or leave it as is and secure it with screws?

Oh, and last night, he cut out the square where the air conditioner will go, and the release of glue fumes was unbelievable. We smelled no fumes before he did that. Right now, he's got it sitting out in the full sun/90 degree temps to see if that will help release some of the gasses.

*He said I left out a lot....He Glued the luan to the shell, put 1 by 1/2 inch frames around. Put tresses, framed hole for air conditioner, put styrofoam in, laid another layer of luan, nailed it to frame and tresses.

[sillynikki]

I will keep you all updated and I will take more pics along the way. Thanks for the help and support!

[sillynikki]

rightlaneonly wrote:
To the husband, chill out, she's trying to describe something she really doesn't understand. Its just a camper and its all about camping. that's supposed to be fun. Go enjoy life together.

I love you. LOL

[sillynikki]

bfast54 wrote:
You said you are planning on putting a good roof coating on...?
If so,screw thru the roof,maybe where the AC will be,and couple other places....where those braces are,....use big....flat thin washers.......then roof coating.......should cover them.

Do you follow the thought.....would save a complete tear down......:W

I told him to just do that. He said he would redo the entire thing if I wanted him to, but I know that something would go wrong (the materials would have to be replaced, something else would break, etc) and I do NOT want to put a bunch of money into this.

[rightlaneonly]

From the pictures looks like he did a good job, congratulations. Do like suggested above, put some screws in with big washers and coat it. To the husband, chill out, she's trying to describe something she really doesn't understand. Its just a camper and its all about camping. that's supposed to be fun. Go enjoy life together.

[bfast54]

You said you are planning on putting a good roof coating on...?
If so,screw thru the roof,maybe where the AC will be,and couple other places....where those braces are,....use big....flat thin washers.......then roof coating.......should cover them.

Do you follow the thought.....would save a complete tear down......:W

[sillynikki]

Where the heck can we find THAT much Gorilla glue? I looked on their site and it doesn't show it being sold in gallon containers.

[naturist]

Wrong kind of glue, is my take on it.

Contact cement is the garbage of the glue world. A much better glue would have been the polyurethane glue known as Gorilla Glue. Properly done, you wet one of the surfaces, coat the other with the glue, and put them together. The water cures the glue and it is both strong and waterproof henceforth.

The problem is that the wood is now coated with that contact junk. You might be able to remove it with mineral spirits, but what a mess that will make. The good side is that he appears to do good work.

After you clean it with mineral spirits and give the pieces a chance to dry for a few days, maybe the contact cement residue will be gone enough to use GG. If not, you may have to throw away the pieces and start again, although the Scotch Jewish Momma in me cries out in horror over that prospect.

[sillynikki]

Well, he's all mad at me now because he said that the framing IS screwed in all all along the sides. The glue just didn't hold the luan to the roof. Will it be ok to just leave it like that? He just showed me how if you tap on the roof, the think layer of plastic/roof bobs up and down. BUT he can walk on it and it's sturdy. Do you understand what I'm saying? I'm so confused now.

[nohurry]

Sounds like maybe the Luan was to glossy for the cement to grab. If you don't want to take it apart you'll just have to use it as is, and live with the appearance. If you put any screws in at all, I might put them through the side into the framework. This will keep it from falling. If you put any through the top you are inviting leaks, and it might look even worse. Also, try leaving it upside down and putting as much weight as you can all over inside and give it a week or so. Maybe the cement will grab. Good luck.

[sillynikki]

These are the only pictures I took. Sorry I didn't get any when he put the foam in or after it was painted.

[sillynikki]

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/407/cxj3.jpg/

[sillynikki]

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/844/7p1q.jpg/

[sillynikki]

He said he also glued the frame and tresses/crossmembers to the first layer of luan.

[sillynikki]

I'm still trying to figure out how to post pics. Here's what he said: Glued the luan to the shell, put 1 by 1/2 inch frames around. Put tresses, framed hole for air conditioner, put styrofoam in, laid another layer of luan, nailed it to frame and tresses.

[sillynikki]

Yes... He is fussing at me saying I left all that out. I'm trying to figure out how to post pics from when he was building it.