We have finally reached the point where we can unroll the Dicor Rubber Roofing material on top of our rig and prepare for gluing it down.
The additional extruded styrene foam board by Owens Corning has been glued in place between 1" wood framing.
The aft corner has been squared off.
Edges of the wood, have been sanded with a disc orbital sander to add a bit of a soft curve. All screw heads have been checked to make sure there is nothing sticking up that could damage the new material.
The water based Dicor glue was rolled on to the roof with a short nap roller, then the rubber was rolled forward and then aft, one section at a time, as per directions that come with the material.
----------------------------------------------All went smoothly, however since there is a recommended Spread Rate, I'm going to make a recommendation that I did not follow, but should have. One Gallon should cover 200 sq.ft. I estimated I had to spread the glue over 160 sq. ft. (20x8') so I should have marked the roof in say.. Five foot sections and poured a bit less than a quart of glue into 4 disposable buckets. Starting at the front, I could have Spread the Glue quite precisely. Instead, I rolled it on to what looked correct, but was less than the suggested rate. I ended up with more glue than I wanted to. Everything looks good and seemed to work and I'm sure the company allows for variances in Spread Rate, but I would have been more comfortable KNOWING, I was spot on! So for your benefit, measure and apply CAREFULLY for the best application.
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The outer edges of the roof had been built up by one inch of added wood; just enough to contain extruded polystyrene insulation. This was then covered with a 1/4" of luan wood and later coated with the same glue and one side at a time. A day after the flat horizontal roof surface was glued down, the edges...of the Rubber Roofing material was gently drawn down for final adhesion.
Since we were REDOING an older roof, I wanted to re-use the original screw holes in the side of the motorhome for re-installing the aluminum track/molding. To do this accurately, we had marked with a pencil, the old screw holes in the side of the motorhome from the aluminum track around the upper edges. When we lifted this rail back into position, we used duct tape to hold up one end after a tiny and thin screw driver was inserted through ONE screw hole/ on one end /for alignment. The other end was held up by my wife while i aligned the center. Once the center was held level with an ice pick, into one of the holes(Pre-marked), I inserted a #10 x 1" Pan head Stainless steel screw. Note that UNDER the Dicor roofing and on the fiberglass material of the M.H.'s side, you need to apply the butyl gummy tape in advance of installing the track. (I marked the center hole with a dimple). OK, when you start inserting the rest of the screws, everything falls neatly into place.
My wife had prepared the original molding, by carefully removing the old butyl gummy tape residue with a 1" scraper. We then tapped out the depressions made in years past when the original screws had been pulled in too tightly by others. We used a 5/8ths" piece of soft wood, to act as backing in the track as we gently hammered the backside down flat by inverting the track and using the male end of a 3/8th's" ratchet 6" extension, as the tool; and a hammer.
The Vertical Edges were actually done on a 2Nd day, not the first. On the 1 st day we concentrated on getting the Horizontal portion of the roof covered and all the bubbles brushed out.
Inside our rented 20' x 40' storage unit, the temperatures in our Florida environment up 15' off the ground and a 5' from the ceiling, would get well over 100 very humid degrees; so I could only take so much of this each day as my sweat dripped like rain and no matter how much I drank gatorade and water, I would get dehydrated by mid afternoon or a bit later!
Vent openings on top, were attended to after the sides were attached.
Those openings, were slit and the material stapled down with stainless steel staples. I applied a small piece of Eternabond tape to the inside corners, but as this should be a dry area is probably not needed, but I did it anyway.
The rolled material that comes with the Dicor Kit, is butyl putty. This gummy grey 1" tape is a gummy material that needs to be applied to ONE surface while still on the paper tape. Once applied to a surface, you can peel of the paper. The butyl tape was applied to the roof after all the holes from the small 2" PVC pipe vents were marked on the rubber roof with a pencil. This way all screw holes will be sealed. The vent was placed into position and #8 x 3/4" pan head s.s. screws used to draw it down into the butyl tape.
Dicor lap sealant(from a 10" tube) seals the screw heads from above, then all was covered with Eternabond 4" tape as an extra measure!
The Refrigeration Vent Cover, was done the same as the other vents. Always, plenty of attention to detail.
The opening for the Air Conditioner, had Extra attention and was built up with an additional layer of material to prevent any standing water from being near the seal. I found a 3.5" x .75" x 96" piece of what I'll call "Plastic wood"/white in color, in Home Depot. I chose to use this, as it will never, never be able to rot. Approximately 14" sections of this were cut and then screwed around the hole/ sealed with dicor lap sealant from tubes/ then covered with the Eternabond tape completely and well! Photos of this probably tomorrow as we prepare to reinstall the A.C. itself.
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