Liquid Roof

[Jim Stoltz]

I sealed my roof with this stuff today:

http://www.epdmcoatings.com/liquid-roof.html?gclid=CjkKEQjwxN6dBRDa...

I would have liked to have just dumped it on and squeegeed it around, but the roof is too dirty and cleaning it would just have introduced more water into the interior.

My leaks were in the usual places - around the dome vents, fridge vent, where the ladder attaches to the body and every friggin spot where the rail attaches to the roof. My son wire-brushed around every protrusion and screw. I scrubbed around all the spots I wanted to put the stuff with regular-old car wash stuff and let it dry.

It says to apply it above 55 degrees. The $80 kit came with a gallon of goo, the catalyst, a mixer and some tape for sealing up the air conditioner (which I didn't use).

It says you have 4-6 hours to work with it, but after an hour-and-a-half the brush was getting hard and the stuff in the can was getting pretty thick. They say you can put the unused stuff in the freezer for future use, which I did. Next to the french fries and frozen broccoli.

I sealed the seams the entire perimeter (30-foot rig), 4 dome vents, fridge vent, TV antenna, 3 vent pipes, the ladder and rail with 1/2 a gallon of the stuff. 

I'll post pics tomorrow once I'm sure it's dry. I don't want to get on the ladder and disturb the bond right now. I hope it works because I'm really getting tired of covering and uncovering the thing. The windshield has a substantial leak, too, but I can address that with some silicone.

[Jim Stoltz]

Was able to snap some pics from my house. Not the prettiest job, but who can see the roof anyway? 

The biggest problem was where the fiberglass meets the metal. Roof has issues there from the leaks. Hopefully this will seal it up for a long time. 

[Jim Stoltz]

Pics are huge - sorry. Used a real digital camera instead of a cell phone - forgot how big they can be.

[Jim Stoltz]

Here's a closer look now that it's dry. Sort of. It's been 24-hours and some of the thicker spots are still tacky.

I wasn't the neatest with the application, but I figure no one can see up there anyway. I like how the liquid rubber finds and seals all the nooks and crannies. There's no way this thing can leak now (famous last words, perhaps). I have stains in the ceiling around every single rail mounting point, ladder attachment point and roof vent. Should be fine now.

As an aside, I spent all morning tracing and repairing an electrical problem. I lost the lights in the rear half of the rig. It's a long story but there was a hot wire shorted to ground inside the ceiling somewhere. I bypassed it by using my own wiring and by making use of a suspicious looking conduit. I think someone had trouble with this circuit in the past because there was a surface-mounted conduit in the shower that fed the circuit from the "SPARE" spot in the fuse panel. Annnnnyway....repairing it required taking the trim down from the roof vents in the shower and bathroom. I was pleased to find minimal water damage. I had figured that ceiling was all shot based on how long it sat without being sealed properly.

[Jim Stoltz]

Thanks. It's an aluminum frame 12" on center. Was worried about the plywood but it seems solid. I was on every square inch of the roof while sealing it and it seemed solid.

[Jim Stoltz]

Had a torrential downpour last night. No leaks! What a relief it is not to have to scatter tupperware all over the place to catch water dripping from light fixtures, cabinets, etc. If it lasts 5 years like they claim it was a good investment.

[Jim Stoltz]

Ugh. Roof still leaks where the ladder attaches. It's improved substantially, but still leaks. I can see where I need to get the goop but it's tough because there's trim in the way. The right way to do it is to probably remove the ladder, goop it up, and put it back on. But that could be a whole can of worms if the roof is too rotted to re-install the ladder. Plus I've liquid rubber'd the screws. Not sure how to get the stuff off.

[Lakota Wolf]

Ladders are always tricky to reseal.. Just when ya think ya have it, its never enough it seems. 

Hope its not a major task, but with your craftsmanship, it will be a piece of cake for ya.. good luck.

[Jim Stoltz]

Thanks for the vote of confidence! I think I'll try to jam the stuff where it needs to go with a paint brush.

[Jim Stoltz]

The second helping of Liquid Roof around the ladder fixed it. Had another torrential downpour last night and watched it with a flashlight. Nice and dry now. I assume that at some point in time there was a gasket of sorts between the ladder and roof. Now, however, it's just a pretty big gap that took a while to fill with Liquid Rubber. Since it's "self leveling", and the rig is pitched pretty good forward, it wouldn't settle where it needed to go. I bit the bullet and leveled the motorhome and re-applied the stuff.

Before I started my gut told me to remove that ladder but I didn't. Coulda, woulda, shoulda. But it seems good for now. Hopefully the seal will hold up.