Oh boy. We're in a mess. Roof rebuild FAIL.

[sillynikki]

My parents gave us their pop up. The roof was completely rotted inside due to a leak. DH claimed he could rebuild it. He was able to get all of the rotted wood and foam out. What looked like success has suddenly turned into failure. He used Contact Cement to glue the 1/8 inch luan to the roof. Then he put the layer of foam and then another layer of luan. We let it cure for a week and then sealed/painted the luan. Well, after turning the top right side up, it appears that there are areas where the glue isn't holding.
:S

His plan was to apply the bedliner to the top today, but being as it appears the glue isn't holding in spots, I told him NO WAY was I sleeping under that! Now he doesn't know if he should just take it all apart again and start over or just put screws in to hold it all together, seal all around the screws and then apply the bed liner.

The camper is OLD, needs work and was given to us for free. We really don't want to invest a lot of money into it because we plan on getting something else eventually. So far, he has put almost $300 into repairing it. We just want to be able to use it a couple times a year for maybe the next 2 years.

WWYD? Scrap it, start over (take it out and reglue it), or leave it as is and secure it with screws?

Oh, and last night, he cut out the square where the air conditioner will go, and the release of glue fumes was unbelievable. We smelled no fumes before he did that. Right now, he's got it sitting out in the full sun/90 degree temps to see if that will help release some of the gasses.

*He said I left out a lot....He Glued the luan to the shell, put 1 by 1/2 inch frames around. Put tresses, framed hole for air conditioner, put styrofoam in, laid another layer of luan, nailed it to frame and tresses.

[ut_pupcamper]

I would make sure and caulk all the screws real good before painting them. You can never put enough caulk for the screw holes.

[Nv_Traveler]

This whole thing sounds like something my wife and I would/have go or gone through 😄 The picture looks like it turned out very nice, hope the inside looks good. I'll bet that with the screws and paint it's going to be nice to look at, and water proof. P.S. I never thought of the bed liner as a water proofer. Our old pup had leaks here and there and I used silicone sealant, alot of time and energy. I like the idea and look of the the bed liner, good job. Now go enjoy. And I think this time and money will be returned several times over with the fun you guys are going to have with it. :C

[sillynikki]

The bed liner has been applied. Also attaching a closeup of one of the staples and screws/washer that he used throughout the top. He's painting it white today.

[sillynikki]

As for knowing we were going to have to spend money on it, I'm wanting to spend that money wisely and have things done RIGHT the first time. I think that the majority of people feel that way when doing repairs. If you pay someone to do something and it's not done right, then you want your money back. We don't have the option of getting our money back...therefore, I prefer he does his research (which he refuses to do) and do it RIGHT the first time. Because of the suggestions on here and me passing them along to him, we may have nothing to worry about.

[sillynikki]

MNtundraRet, Um it takes a good bit of time for water to do damage that we can SEE. It doesn't rot overnight.

[frankwp]

@MNtundraRet, you make a couple of good points about the roof, but I'm not sure that the marriage counseling is appropriate or appreciated.

[MNtundraRet]

Quit complaining.

You have nothing to lose by putting it together and see if it leaks or not. Run the water-hose on it, or wait for rain. Camp close to home until rain tested.

It does not have to look perfect to actually be leak-proof. I do not think your helping your marriage much with this post. It either works, or you are no worse off when you accepted your parents unusable trailer.

You accepted spending some money to rehab the trailer when you accepted it. Quit blaming your husband as a failure before it is tested.

[frankwp]

I guess it's a little late, but here is my experience.

Our 1st trailer was a popup with a roof very similar to yours, also very leaky. I removed all the inside liner & foam insulation & cleaned the underside of the aluminum thoroughly. Then, using construction adhesive (PL400), glued steel hat track to the underside of the aluminum across the roof every 24". (hat track is a light weight but strong channel, 1" thick used in framing commercial drywall ceilings). Extrude polystyrene board was then glued to the aluminum between the hat track with foam board adhesive. Finally I glued some 1/8" hardboard with a decorative vinyl coating on 1 side to the underside of the hat track, again using construction adhesive.

The seam down the center of the roof was the source of the leak. After the roof was rebuilt I thoroughly cleaned it & used clear caulking to seal it.

The roof was very rigid & was still in excellent condition when we sold it several years later

[sillynikki]

Oh, and he insisted on buying the black bed liner since it's all they had in stock here in town. He says he's going to paint it white once he's finished. My personal opinion is that the white paint will scratch off. So, if you ever happen to be camped next to a pop up with a roof that has lots of black showing through where the white paint has scratched off and looks like the most redneck camper ever, I apologize!

[sillynikki]

Hi Everyone. Just wanted to give an update. DH decided to use some kind of staples or something. Whatever. I guess he knows what he's doing. He's out there sanding the top now and then will clean it and seal the staples somehow. After that he will put the bed liner on. He did wonder if he should paint some kind of primer on it before applying the bed liner. Suggestions? I'm including a pic of the rotted roof before he began and also a pic of the staples.

[liberty2010]

I would use the above washers and secure them into the frame prior to the coating you are planning on using. When the AC is fastened into the center of the roof it will add a lot of holding power for the top sheet of luan. fix it to the best you can and enjoy it.
Do not sweat the small stuff and everything is small stuff.
LeRoy

[ScottG]

There are very specific adhesive to use with foam insulation. It is not a contact adhesive but a "Panel Adhesive". You need to use this or it will fail.

[bondebond]

It actually was the right kind of glue for the application, it was just not used in the right manner for the type of application. Without strategic clamping or enough weight placed to minimize expansion, Gorilla Glue (one of my other favorite adhesives) will produce permanent bulges.

Without being able to look at the exact situation, I would look for ways to relieve any fumes trapped inside, as the existing contact cement can still be used if it has not completely dried out. The problem comes in if the fumes produced were trapped and caused the surfaces to separate long enough that the cement completely cured, you will not get them back together permanently.

At this point, I would use mechanical fasteners to finish the job. On the inside, something like brass screws and decorative washers like these:

or other decorative but functional screws.

Externally, even with a coating going over it, I would still use stainless steel from a paranoia perspective.

[YC_1]

If you can peel it back out use some liquid nails. Comes in a caulking tube and will hold about anything in place and much cheaper than Gorilla Glue,

If you cannot detach it and there is an actual air space between the roof and the new piece you can drill a small hole and inject some spray in foam. Get the non expanding kind. Less than $10. Then find a nice matching wood hole plug to cover the hole.

[powderman426]

I could be wrong, but if when he cut the hole for the AC you could smell glue tells me that the contact cement hadn't dried yet. When I put new roof material on my fiver, I had bubbles and was sure I screwed up. When I told an rv repair guy he said not to worry as it was the glue outgassing and to wait a day or two and roll it. Sure enough when rolled it stayed in place. I hope this is true in your case.