BIGGER Roofing Problems

Repair help for the do-it-yourselfer.
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Denise
Posts: 71
Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2008 8:27 pm
Location: Finger, TN

xxxxxx
Last edited by Denise on Sun Mar 24, 2013 3:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Greg
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Location: Weedsport, NY

A leak in every room sounds strange to me. I think I would take a close look at the center (marriage) seam first. If you do indeed need a new roof, metal is the way to go.

Greg
"If I can't fix it, I can screw it up so bad no one else can either."
Denise
Posts: 71
Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2008 8:27 pm
Location: Finger, TN

WOW! Thanks Greg. Honest, it's on both sides now and in every room there is a brown elongated stain. It's like it runs from back to front not side to side. IF it is the marriage seam seperating what am I looking at there? This is going from a very bad dream to a nightmare!
Denise
Posts: 71
Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2008 8:27 pm
Location: Finger, TN

Each of these photos was taken just about right under the marriage seam looking towards the front of the house. The vaulted roof would make the water look like it was running to the lower ends. These are new stains since the roof repair
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Greg
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If it is the seam, there is no reason to separate the two halves. that section of the roof goes on after the home is bolted together. But since it is not dripping at the seam that may not be where the leak is. What is there for vents on the roof?

It may be time to get a pro involved.

Greg
"If I can't fix it, I can screw it up so bad no one else can either."
ponch37300
Posts: 622
Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2008 6:12 pm
Location: wisconsin

Water leaks are not fun trying to find where they are coming from. Remember water will run downhill taking the path of least resistance. So it can come in one place and run down and sideways a good number of feet away from where the leak actually is. Unless you can find something obvious it can become very frustrating. Especially in a mobile home that you can't see in the "attic" area. If you are getting water in every room I would say you have more than one leak, OR a very big leak like the marriage seam like Greg mentioned. I might have missed it but what kind of roof do you have now? One thought is your home "shifted", the outsides sank or the middle raised and pulled the marriage seam apart a little causing the leak. Is your home level? When was the last time is was leveled?

You need to, or have someone go up on the roof and see if you can see any signs of water infiltration. If you can't find it you have to either hire someone who hopefully can. Which takes some skill, putting a new roof on is easy but finding leaks is more challanging. So you have to find a reputable person/company. Or just put a new roof on and make sure it's done right.

Water leaks threw out the whole house tells me you have more than your standard leak. You have other problems like the house shifting or settling. Or the seam wasn't done right. Or a number of things.
Denise
Posts: 71
Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2008 8:27 pm
Location: Finger, TN

Thank you for your insights. The house has a shingle roof.
We are really wondering if the house is worth the repairs. We figure it will need new roofing (metal), all new insulation and new ceiling drywall and plaster.
We figure it was last leveled when it was 'placed' Releveling is not a big business here in Tennessee like it is in the Southwest. I called a guy to come out about two years ago and he said it didn't need releveling. I think I caught him when I asked if he used a water-level. Tennessee is a buyer-beware state and since moving here I have lost a lot of money and any faith in service persons/companies. We are thinking of renting a "POD" loading it up and moving out while we figure what to do since we can't do the work and can't trust anyone to do it . Rock/Hardspot.
But, really.....thanks you confirm what I think about in my sleepless nights.
1987Commodore
Posts: 383
Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2010 9:53 pm
Location: Steuben County, NY

From what your pictures show, there is no reason at this point to replace any ceiling panels. Once the leaks are fixed, some Kilz primer, ans a paint job will take care of the spots.
ponch37300
Posts: 622
Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2008 6:12 pm
Location: wisconsin

1987Commodore wrote:From what your pictures show, there is no reason at this point to replace any ceiling panels. Once the leaks are fixed, some Kilz primer, ans a paint job will take care of the spots.
I would disagree with you here. Once those panels get wet they start to mold. Mold will continue to grow as long as it has something to feed on. It loves dark damp areas like above the ceiling. I am not a fan of kilz primer. It is a decent primer but people use it for things they shouldn't. Kilz primer does not kill mold, it does not solve any of the water damage. It does not fix any of your problems. It's a cover up, a pretty good cover up, but still just a cover up. It's like the saying "putting lipstick on a pig". You still will have the mold growing behind the kilz and lead to bigger problems. I don't believe in covering things up, it only leads to bigger problems down the road.

Our park has both owned units and rental units in it. The manager of the park was talking to me about having to fix up one of the rentals after the tenants moved out. Said there was water damage in the bathroom around the tub on the drywall and said he was going to use kilz. He asked me to take a look at it and tell him what I would do and I tried explaining to him how kilz works and how the problem will still be there and the main issue of the problem continuing to grow. He went with the kilz because it was the easiest and cheapest way to "fix" it. About a year later they ended up having to tear out and redo the whole bathroom due to mold. The next time we were talking I asked him about the workers over there and he told me the mold had spread and the walls were all crumbling.

Also you have the issue of insulation. Once insulation gets wet its garbage and won't insulate worth a darn. It needs to be taken out and replaced.

The spots may look small from those pictures but if you have ever opened up a ceiling with little spots you find much bigger water stains above.

Kilz is nothing more than a cosmetic fix, kind of like if your subfloor is all rotten you just putting new laminate over it and calling it "fixed". It may look fixed but the real problems are still buried underneith and will continue to get worse.

Weather the home is worth fixing or not will depend on a lot of things. Things like the condition of the rest of the trailer and your financial situation. Would you rather pay to fix this one or buy a new one with a payment? Those are things only you can answer. If the trailer is paid for and in decent condition I would personally fix it vs buy a new one and have a monthly payment. The first thing to do would be figure out where the leak is and what it will take to fix it. You will have to get on the roof and see if you can see anything that looks out of place. Shingled roofs on MH are fairly simple, no valleys, etc. Not a lot to go wrong so it should be fairly easy to spot. You don't have an addition tied into your roof do you? Things like vents and the mariage seem would be where I would start. See how the shingles and tar/caulking look around these things. How old is the roof? Mine is a 2000 model and the cheap shingles are starting to show signs of deterioration and I will be replacing it this summer or the next. Once the leak is found and fixed repairing the celing panels isn't to bad and not to expensive if you can do them yourself. It will take a couple people and renting a drywall lift but all in all isn't to bad.
Denise
Posts: 71
Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2008 8:27 pm
Location: Finger, TN

Thank you for replying to my Plea for Help.
I apologize for my whinny attitude. I'm am just so concerned about the smart steps to resolving this issue and having reputable assessments and repair. We both are in our early sixties and physically unable to handle these repairs ourselves. He had a stroke in January and we've both had prior heart attacks. I would love to be very 'hands on' and learn a lot. The house is a 1999 Fleetwood. There is no 'add-on'
YES! the insulation and drywall will have to be replaced. With our health problems we don't need to add COPD or aspergillus to the list.
If this is going to get done it's going to fall into my lap to do it. Looking over all the recommendations where do you suggest I start? I'm too blinded/emotional by the issue to see objectively.
Thanks so much,
Denise
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Greg
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Well as long as I am here I may as well add to the confusion a little.

BOTH Commodore & Ponch are right to a point. Yes mold will grow as long as there is a food source. That is the key, as long as the leak is stopped there is no water for the mold to feed on.

Given your financial situation & your physical problems I think I would be tempted to repair the leaks, KILZ the ceiling AND keep a close eye on things. Should and more signs of leakage appear then I would plan on doing a full blown repair.

If you are willing to reach out and ask for help I am sure that there are groups (Church, neighbors, even Scouts) that would jump in and lend a hand. Not to mention Government agency's & programs out there.

Greg
"If I can't fix it, I can screw it up so bad no one else can either."
ponch37300
Posts: 622
Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2008 6:12 pm
Location: wisconsin

I think we all agree the first thing you need to do is figure out where the leak is coming from and fix that.

I think Greg has a good idea of reaching out for some help. Even if it's just to find a reputable contractor to fix the leak so you don't get ripped off. Ask around to anyone you know or go to a church and ask or anywhere else you can think of to see if they know someone or some company that can give you an honest estimate of what needs to be fixed and how much. The leak may cost 100 bucks to fix or it may cost a few thousand depending. But you need to find someone that can tell you what is wrong to start.

After the leak is fixed it's onto the mold. I personally don't like painting over for a number of reason's I listed above. But if money is tight I *MIGHT* consider doing that for now and save or tax return or something to fix it right eventually.

Mold is a tricky fellow. Once it's started it will continue to grow and feed on things. All it needs is a little moisture and a food source such as the paper on drywall. Mold doesn't need water to spread, it needs moisture. The problem is that your insulation is compromised. So now you have heat from your house heating the drywall on one side and cold attic air on the other side in the winter. Anytime you have cold and hot meeting each other it will create moisture. Also in the summer you can have high humidity in the attic. Anyway you look at it the mold can and probably will continue to grow. The food is the drywall and insulation and moisture together will keep the mold growing. So even if you fix the leak mold can still grow. My MH doesn't have a vapor barrier above the ceiling panels, so nothing to really stop the moisture. There is lots of imformation online about mold and how it grows.

So step one is to fix the leak. Step two, if money is tight would be to "seal" the mold with kilzs like the others recomended. Please remember that this isn't a fix, the mold will still be there and can continue to grow. But it will help to keep the mold spores from affecting you as much as possible. Then when moneyis there find someone who can fix the problem right.

I know how overwhelming something like this can be, especially when you are at the mercy of others. But take it one step at a time. Especially right now when you don't know where the leak is or the extent of the damage. I don't mean to scare you with the mold issues, I just am not a fan of kilz because dispite it's name it does not kill mold or get rid of mold, it simply covers it up. Good luck and please keep asking any questions you have.
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