Leaky Roof repair - any suggestions?

Holasuki

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Hello all.
My Bertha (1998 fiat Ducato swift sundance) had a big leak over the winter. Everything got soaked. Some of the cupboards have warped and won’t shut properly.
While it was chucking it down and blowing a gale, did a quick repair using masking tape. Stripped all furnishings out and set the dehumidifier on it.
She’s in for her MoT today and if all’s well, I’ll have a go at repairing the roof this weekend. I’ve got some MH repair tape, a bottle of isopropanol the clear away the old tape gunk and some elbow grease.
Any advice / suggestions would be very welcome.
Cheers,
Sooze
 
Remove as much of the old sealer as as possible and re seal then tape , sounds like you have located the leak so that is a good start .
 
If you can borrow a small compressor with an air squirter on a length of air line, I'd try to blow out any damp from the joint. When happy it's dry use some PU mastic to refill the gap from cutting out the old mastic. If still worried use your tape after the mastic has set.
 
I recommend Sikaflex 221 from personal experience, others prefer other sealants... theres plenty of data from the various manufacturers on line to research.
Probably most important to fully locate the leak(s) and dry and clean it before preparing the surfaces as best you can before applying whatever sealant you decide on.
Good luck
K ;)
 
You van will be built on a wooden frame. When you locate the leak, check the woodwork around it to check it isn’t still wet and if it is, make sure you dry it out properly before you seal it.
 
Holasuki said:
Hello all.
My Bertha (1998 fiat Ducato swift sundance) had a big leak over the winter. Everything got soaked. Some of the cupboards have warped and won’t shut properly.
While it was chucking it down and blowing a gale, did a quick repair using masking tape. Stripped all furnishings out and set the dehumidifier on it.
She’s in for her MoT today and if all’s well, I’ll have a go at repairing the roof this weekend. I’ve got some MH repair tape, a bottle of isopropanol the clear away the old tape gunk and some elbow grease.
Any advice / suggestions would be very welcome.
Cheers,
Sooze
Click to expand...
Where is the leak on the roof
 
Silver sprinter said:
Where is the leak on the roof
Click to expand...
I believe the leak is where the aerial used to be. 90% sure. A tree branch annihilated it so I took it off. There was a hole in the aerial mount which I filled with some black mastic type stuff last year. Perhaps I didn’t do it so well. Bertha gets a good clean only once a year when I get on the roof and I get chance to have a good look. I’ve noticed that there’s black tape all around the edges of the roof where a previous owner has sealed it I think. This tape is looking a bit worn so it’s possible the leak is from that. So, my plan so far is to strip it all back, give it a good clean (if I can get my hands on an air compressor, I’ll try what Squirrelcook suggested) see if I can remove the mount. Maybe get some fibreglass sheet type stuff to cover it and seal it. Get some sealant around the roof seals then maybe put the tape over when it’s dry. Snapster’s point about the wood being dry is taken on board as well. I’ll get the dehumidifier in there again with all the cupboard doors open and, if we get a warm sunny day (ha! Every time I get a day when I’m free to do owt, it pees it down). get all the windows open and air it.
What d’yer think?
 
Is the roof aluminium or grp ?.. if aluminium bond a aluminum patch over the hole , if grp fill and repair with marine epoxy filler ,
 
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Hope you get it sorted mate. I used industrial strength super glu on a small crack. Not ideal with fixies it lol
 
The roof is probably aluminium. We had a 1998 Swift Royale 610 with alu sides and roof. Look for any little holes in the roof as well. Aluminium does corrode ( oxidation) and small pin holes can appear.
 
It seems my expectations we’re too positive. After removing the aerial mount, we found a lot of damp. We peeled back some plastic wall paper and it looks like both side seals at the back have been leaking for some time. Stripped a lot of it back and you can smell the damp plywood. The plastic covered wallpaper had masked the problem for some time and stopped the wood airing so the water has spread right through the wood. Devastated.
 
Holasuki said:
It seems my expectations we’re too positive. After removing the aerial mount, we found a lot of damp. We peeled back some plastic wall paper and it looks like both side seals at the back have been leaking for some time. Stripped a lot of it back and you can smell the damp plywood. The plastic covered wallpaper had masked the problem for some time and stopped the wood airing so the water has spread right through the wood. Devastated.
Click to expand...
😩
 
Sort where it is coming from and dry it out so you can see what needs doing 👍
 
Can't find the post but somebody used a product for the wooden frame that had water and was spongy to strenthing it, don't know if it was Rae, or who, does anybody remember and what it was called
 
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