Mobile home roof repair

Also known as "the hole I throw money into..."

Okay, so. I live in a 30 year old mobile home. It's got your standard flat tin roof over particle board. Last winter, it started leaking around the base of my wood stove chimney. I got a tube of the roof tar sealant stuff and coated it to hell and gone, and that seemed to do the trick, but when my stove guy was out here cleaning it, he said I should really look into replacing the roof.

I called contractor after contractor and no one wants to work on an old mobile home, there would be too many possible structural weaknesses and they don't want to be on the line if my roof caves in. Our homeowner's insurance doesn't cover this kind of repair (but will pay for the roof caving. Go figure, you think fixing it BEFORE then would be cheaper...)

I've worked on shingled roofs before, just helping my dad patch things up after bad storms and stuff, but I don't have a clue what to do for a mobile home roof. I am not interested in ripping it off and starting over with shingles if we can possibly help it. The idea for the moment is to live cheap in this place for the next 5-8 years and then get the hell outta dodge.

I know there are several other mobile home owners. Ideas? Tips on how to make the all-consuming fire look like an accident that was in no way connected to my woodstove?

~Rose

You could install 1/2" fiberboard over what you have there now, and fully adhere EPDM(rubber roofing) on it. Or frame an "A" frame with lumber on top and then shingle it.
Or just keep bandaiding it until you move in the next 5-8 years.

My brother did the" A" frame deal for a friend of his. Looked pretty good when it was done.

I just helped a friend install a metal roof on a trailer. It just had a slight slope of a roof. We installed 1x4 firring strips 2' on center running the long way of the trailer, screwed into the "rafters" over the old roofing. Then we screwed the metal roofing to the strips. The metal roofing is installed perpendicular to the strips.

Hog, do you have any experience with the rubber roofing? I have a friend who did that and raves about it, but the company she uses is only in the south. It sounds like the most cost-effective option (and I want to shingle a 13x72' roof like I want a hole in the head.) I don't know if band-aiding is going to cut it and I really don't want to have to move in with my in-laws when my roof caves in. I'd also like to be able to sell this heap to some other sucker at some point.

Jack, did you take the old roof off, or just put this on top? So you've got the rafters that got horizontal down the length of the trailer, and then you did the 1x4s across those, so going vertically down the length, then sheets of metal roofing across that?

Thanks!

~Rose

Rose
We left the old roof on. We screwed the 1x4s through the old roof into the existing rafters. We ran the 1x4s the long ways. The steel was 12' which we ran the shorter way. I could post pics, but It may take a couple of days to get them.

That is the way that my roof is here: perlins (1x4 pine strips) nailed perpendicular to the rafters over the original dubba wyde asphalt shingles. Seems to work OK and takes the snow loading OK here. The lower perlins tend to rot though (from water creeping back up the low slope), so you have to add 90 degree metal flashing above the perlins along the low ends. Also use roof screws designed for metal roofing with rubber seal washers on them. They are 1/4 inch hex drives, and you screw them into the perlins. Make sure they are pressed tight to make a good seal. Over time they can loosen and leak. I replaced all my roof screws this fall as the seals were dried and mostly shot, and I found a few perlins that were rotted from leaky screws, so I replaced them and replaced all the metal roof screws. Here Coastal Farm supply has the best price on roof screws, at $2.99 a pound in bulk. By the box at Home Depot they are about $10 a pound. HD does not have the best prices when it comes to nails and screws, I have found.

Metal roofs are spendy, but asphault roofing is rediculously priced these days. $50 a square for thin rolled asphault roofing... oh yah, the flue does not leak here, but some valleys did where the 2:12 trailer roofing ran out over some 1:12 porch and patio covers. I replaced the perlins there and used butylflex between the metal sheets (top and bottom) and screwed them down good to make a butylflex seal. I may use silicon in future though, as it sticks to metal pretty well over time.

Coaly- thanks so much for your comment! I went right out and found the tube and yup, you're right, it's asphalt based. It didn't say anything about not using on metal roofs (did mention the EPDM thing though) so I didn't look into it. The fact that this happened in a relatively warm March with just a freak snowstorm is probably why it worked. I will get up on the roof ASAP and get some of the right stuff.

The only problems with the roof leaking we've had is around the chimney, but it is REAL REAL shaky when walking on it and the metal is very warped.

~Rose

Rose,
Yes I have laid many miles of EPDM as well as tar, shingles, metal etc. roofing. Was my career for years.
The tin is probably rotting through at this age. And the penetrations and along the edges will prolly be the worst areas. Geocel as mentioned is good stuff, but again is only a bandaid . Any roof, especially any penetrations like the chimney, should have solid decking, and proper flashing.
Coaly is correct that you do not want the rubber in to be set in asphalt products. A little bit here and there will not hurt. But you do not want to lay down rubber and then caulk stuff with asphalt, roof cement, muck as we call it. If the roof is tin, you do want to put a minimum of 1/2" fiberboard over the old roof. And the old roof must be somewhat flat. Meaning if it has standing seams, they will have to be hammered as flat as you can get them, then the fiberboard is installed over top with screws & plates that are made for such a system. You can chance going over the metal, but IMO your just asking for trouble down the road. And you will void the warranty if there is one if you go over the metal directly. The pipes, chimney and any penetrations are then flashed with flashing made for the EPDM system. Best to have a roofer that knows what he is doing, because any roof is only as good as it is applied. The flashings used to last 10+ years. Maybe longer these days. I have not been roofing other than personal, since about 2000.There are usually only 3 caulk types used in EPDM. Lap sealant as coaly stated, which is mostly for caulking the edges of any seams after the are glued. In seam sealant goes along the back edge of the seams where any two pcs of rubber meet. And water cut off mastic is used along the top of any flashings that meet concrete, masonry etc & pipe boots. We used it on any vertical edge where rubber ended. And you may also need termination bar on any flashings at walls etc. Fully adhered is the way to go. Costs a little more, but with your roof you ain't going to use ballast, which sucks anyway. And the mechanically fastened system could work, but is not as secure as fully glued down.
a 13 x 72 mobile home roof is a fairly easy jog for any rubber roofer that knows what he is doing. Be careful of guys claiming they know rubber roofs, and try to talk you into a torch down or cold applied modified bitumen. That is NOT rubber roofing! And many hack roofers will call it and sell it as such.

The cheapest (but not the most aesthetic) thing to do with an older mobile home with roof problems is to build a pole barn type structure over the mobile home. It will also add a little bit of thermal barrier to reduce the transfer of radiant heat to the interior in the summer.

That is called a ramada here (in the Oregon building code). I am not sure if that is the cheapest solution, as it requires a lot of framing and foundations and poles and and a roof put down over it. I have seen several of them done well, and they actually looked OK. The owner of one said that it cooled the house by 10 degrees in summer and helped keep the heat in winter. Here you need a permit to build one around your house (anything over 200 sq ft needs a permit here). A metal roof on perlins will also help reduce the heat transfer from sun to the house.

Yeah, I don't think that would work for my house- The trailer is on a concrete pad, and I'd have to go out and sink the poles in the dirt outside of it. Though that would give me a covered driveway...

~Rose

Around here the BTR (Blue Tarp Roof) is the cheapest and most common

Trust me, I've considered it! That, and duct tape... I mean what could go wrong? =P

~Rose

I put a metal roof on my old mobile by myself 2 years ago. Got tired of patching leaks : )

You have a doublewide! I AM SO JEALOUS. =P

~Rose

Not a double wide Rose. Just has a 12 X 16 sunroom on the side.
But i do have a Moat, if that helps : )

I'm about to have seven people in a single wide three bedroom. I would take a sunroom. =P

~Rose