Roof repairs

[nkara]

I have two issues.. first one is we bought a mobile home a little over a year ago. The previous owners had added an addition to it off the living room. They didn't put a support beam, which we did and now it leaks. We have rebuilt a steeper pitch on the new addition with no luck, have sealed it with new roof sealer and shingles with no luck... any suggestions?

Also we had a branch puncture the roof during an ice storm so we have to patch the metal roof and ceiling in the living room. Best options for a simple patch on that issue?

Thank you

Kim

[JD]

Hi Kim and welcome to the forum,

Is the leak coming from the joint where the add on room meets the main coach or from an outside wall?

If you are using shingles on the add-on, you need a minimum 2-1/2 to 12 slope. 2.5" of rise for every 12" of extension. The next thing to look at is the flashing where the add-on meets the home. Hopefully, this is not level with the main roof. It is best to have a drop (at least a couple of inches) from the main roof to the add-on roof. That makes it much easier to seal. A flush roof joint can be problematic. If all these conditions are good, then the leak is probably coming from the main roof and traveling down the wall to the add-on room. Edge leaks are the most common roof leak on mobile homes.

If I were to patch a hole in a metal roof, I would first coat the area around the hole, larger than the patch that will be installed. I would also add a roof underlayment like Ice & Water Shield (installed upside down) to the bottom of the patch metal. This works like an insulator to keep electrolysis from eating up the patch metal. Set the patch over the hole, and screw it down real good, probably about 2" on center. It is a good idea to cover the screws with a trowelable caulk to get rid of the bumps caused by the screws. Then install seam tape over the edge of the patch. This keeps the edge from cutting through the roof sealants. There are peel-n-stick seam tapes that would work well for this. Then coat over all parts of the repair. I like to use a couple of base coats and 3 top coats.

The metal should be aluminum on an aluminum roof and galvanized steel on a galvanized roof. The tapes, trowelable caulk, and coatings are available through KST roofing products (Kool Seal) http://www.kstcoatings.com/, Ames Research roofing materials http://www.amesresearch.com/, a Conklin distributor http://www.conklin.com/pg.asp?p=1 or mobile home product retailers.

JMO
JD

[nkara]

Well since this is all new to me I'll give this to the man of the house and see if it makes sense to him>... Thank you for all the information.

[Greg]

Over and above what JD has said, the real cause actually lies under your home. Unless you have a full below the frostline foundation when the ground freezes & thaws your home shifts, unfortunatly the home and the addition shift at different rates. this shifting is what causes the problem. Greg