Many of you who know me, know how I harp about inspecting your roof seals at least once a year. Its not that I like to nag you and see you wince and squirm at the realization that may have never done it. Its that it is critical that you do to endure the life of your rigs no matter how big or small. Repairing water damage is expensive so a little diligence and regular maintenance will save you thousands of dollars in the long run. I wanted to share a little story with you about a recent clients experience with roof seals.
A few months back one of our storage customers came to me with a concern that one of his moldings seals had a gap in it and might be leaking. I went through the explanation of how to correct the problem with him of which he did. Later in discussing the outcome, he expressed concern because in the same area on the inside, his shower and roof paneling had begun to bubble. Now being the unit is only two years old, this is unusual. We discussed opening up the corner of the roof where the seal had been cracked to make sure there had not been water damage and the customer agreed. When we removed the top cap seam molding and the front molding and pulled the roof skin back and guess what we saw? Yup, you guessed it, mold and rotten wood from the corner of the roof down into the wall of his two year old trailer.
My point here is, your RV doesn't have to be ten years old to be in jeopardy of water intrusion damage and dry rot. It only takes a few times of moderate water intrusion to cause damage. Usually by the time you see water coming into the RV, its already been seeping into the roof structure for a while and damage is probably already present. Even if your RV is brand new, you should inspect your seals because the manufacturers use a minimal amount of sealant in many cases just to get you through your warranty period then its no longer their problem. After just a few years, these seals will be in need of re-doing.
If anything remember, the maintenance of your roof is far less expensive over the life of your unit than the repair if water has its way. To see what we had to go through to repair this clients RV, click on this link for a quick slideshow
So go check your roof seams today and start down the road to recovery because I'm tired of nagging you!
Take care, and Happy Camping!
Michael Kahle
Murrieta Creek RV
No comments:
Post a Comment