Thursday, December 20, 2018

Rubber Roof Renewal

In April '09, I was installing a new Dicor Rubber roof on my 1991 Class C.  The original roof was 18 years old which had it's share of minor delamination of the thin plywood under the original rubber membrane at some of the roof edges that had been poorly protected by cheap original manufacturer installed moldings. Repairs were done by selectively cutting out bad material and replacing with new.


 Glued in first, then seams taped with fiberglass cloth before being trimmed with an additional 1" of framework

and filled with foam insulation before finally topping with a 1/4" layer of plywood.

Dicor says it's membranes are good for 10 years.  Everything looked decent now in 2018,  I could see very minor crazing in the white coating of the Dicor product that covers the actual rubber membrane.
I ordered 2 gallons of Dicor's more expensive re coating product, called Signature Extended Life RV Roof Coating.

 rather than the cheaper more common liquid product Dicor also has on the market.  The reason for the choice is 'longevity'.  The cheaper product sold everywhere is good for 3+ years but the more expensive product is good for 20.

Since the job of re coating is labor -read that "time"-intensive, I chose the more expensive product so I will not be doing this job again for many years to come or ever...

The original Dicor membrane being installed.
and completed in early May 2009.


The condition of the same membrane after 9.5 years shows dirt stains and a close up view showed the white film seen on the surface was crazing, so no longer could be trusted to protect the actual rubber beneath it.

The solar panels and some other items had to be removed first.
The roof needed pressure washing as seen below. The area under the solar panels were really dirty but were in generally good condition, as they were mostly protected from sunlight.
 ...but now quite clean, the new coating was applied to edges first, with a brush.


OK, 2 coats have now been applied on edges and 2 complete coats to everything, by roller.  Solar panels reinstalled.