Mobile home leak from water pooling(pics included)

paul12

Hi all! I recently sealed my roof with 2 coats of some black tar sealer and two coats of white reflective. I have 3 spots where water pools. I sealed it this past summer and I should have fixed the pooling but I was uncertain how I should proceed.

Is there a filler I can lay in the area I can use to build it up? Coming into winter am I crap out of luck?

Here is a pic from the inside. I just ripped it all open after dealing with it for so long. And then the top.

Bud Cline

It appears you are screwed for now until the weather warms up substantially.

Once the weather changes you could (and this is a half-a$$ed method) you could use the tar-type roofing patch and glue down several layers of roofing felt material to build the area and create a mound-like affair to shed the water.

You have to be careful not to create other pools in the process.

OldNBroken

You've got it opened up from underneath already...ever do bodywork? Push it up from the bottom and brace it up, it's just thin gage sheet metal behind that insulation I believe.

paul12

Pushing it up from the iside is a great idea. I don't know why I didn't think of it. Thanks!

What is strange is I don't think it's metal roof. It reminds me of a canvas. But then it looks like metal by the looks of it too.

I can peel it off. It kinda breaks up like a shingle would. I got the cracks fixed but it will crack along the seems and i have to patch it.

As much as i want to believe it's metal I think it's a canvas. I have never heard of such a roof though.

Bud Cline

Smart cookie! This is not the time of year to be poking holes in your roof, especially holes in the bottom of an already-low spot.

I don't know for certain but I agree...that may not be a metal roof and if it is it could be rusted to a point of no return.

OldNBroken

Not saying poke holes in it. Look underneath for a way to push it up and support it at least to temporarily keep the water from settling in it. It will only get progressively worse especially if you add more weight by trying to fill it from the top and build it up.

paul12

LOL I was actually thinking about poking a hole through another area to see if I hit steel. this made me LOl I aon't gonna mess with it.

Understood! Soon as I get a chance I'm going to rip out that moldy crap, probably wear a face mask, then once it's out push it back up and support it with something.

paul12

Hi all.

I ripped out the insulation and took a peak. It's definitely a metal roof. I tried to push up on this spot but it's really stiff. It looks like it's a seam that is leaking. Any ideas what I should do from here? I'm thinking for sure throw some kind of sealer in there I just don't know what. I love opinions from people that know! Thanks

Windows on Wash

Sounds like a superb job for.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wHGYzHygzY

Seriously though...just kidding.

A good sealant will help although if you are not sealing it form the top, it might just trap it in the seam and direct it out to another location. It should be fixed from the outside.

__________________

joecaption

That roof is shot, there's rusted holes through it and the seams now split open. There is companys that all they do is roof over that style roof with aluminum. Check with your mobil home dealer.
You will be patching this and sealing till the cows come home, there is no quick fix for it.

paul12

I understand. I have been living here for 10 years and it's a 1972 trailer. I bought it cheap and I'm not going to sink thousands into it. If I can hold back the flow so to speak I'll be okay for a bit longer. My other goals are to get it out of here and put a new one or have it sent to the moon.

OldNBroken

Already knew it was metal from the pictures. Once they are that far gone it's really not easy or cost-effective to fix, sorry.
If you cannot afford to or weather will not permit for now, a proper repair, I suggest the following:
It's heavier gage and frozen in place, you are not going to be able to just bump it with your hand. However you do need to try to raise that low spot before you attempt to patch that seam.
You will need a floor or bottle jack and a strongback with a crossmember mounted on top as wide as the sag as you can get. Slowly and carefully lift it until it reasonably pops back into place. Too far and you could split the seam and see daylight. A good urethane caulk (np1, vulcum or the like) to seal the seam. 3-coursing it with mastic and webbing may be an easier and better option than just caulk at this point. The seam must be clean and dry or you won't get good adhesion and you will have to seal the ENTIRE length of that seam or it will do no good. Sounds odd but it will work. If there is any way to install some cross supports after you are done, it will keep it from re-sagging.

BTW, do all the roof work with the strongback still in place.

joecaption

The reason the seam opened up there not even close to the number of rafters, and I use that term very loosely in this case and it looks like there every 48" instead of at a min. of 24" there's 0 support under the seam. You lucky you did not fall through.

paul12

Hi guys. It rained for a few days and I watched it a little.

There is a slow leak in that seam. But what alarmed me was the whole area where I can see the metal roof from inside was sweating. It's about 45 in that room too. At this time I am heating one area of the trailer. So I don't know why it's sweating and I can only imagine if it's sweating there it must be everywhere.

joecaption

It's sweating because the ceiling is open and there's no insulation in that area, so the moist warm air is hitting a cold metal roof.
That roof is in such bad shape and the supports they put in are so rotted and way to far apart, I'd build a pole barn type roof over the whole trailer and just insulate the best you can over that ceiling and close up the hole.