Roof Vent Replacement?

[tiinytina]

Sent: 12/12/2005

Our Ne'used 1987 Allegro came with all vents needing replacement. All the covers are cracked (now covered in plastic), most missing screens, fans gone etc. I ordered replacement vents.... which I think are on the pony express somewhere in Kansas at the moment, shipping from OR last monday...

I searched the message boards but lots on roofing not much on vent replacement. Any help appreciated. I'll be getting the Eternabond sealant supplies, but any "idiots-guide" things I need to watch out for, be on the lookout for while doing this (hopefully it won't snow... again...) would be greatly appreciated! I already found a few leaks around the existing stacks and vents and recaulked those. The roof itself is in great shape. looks like one piece of aluminum.

Thanks!
Tina

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Sent: 12/12/2005

Just make sure you thoroughly remove all the old putty tape, and then use new putty (or better yet) butyl tape when installing the new vents.  Also, don't reuse the old rusty crusty screws, but use new screws, stainless if possible.  Finally, when they are all in place, lay a bead of silicone sealer (or the equivilent) all along the edge of the new vent, and around every screw.  That's it!  Oh yeah...make sure they all open to the rear, not the front, and make sure that if you are installing any with 12 volt fans that the voltage supply going to the vent fan really is 12 volts, and not 120!

Kev

[DanD2Soon]

Sent: 12/12/2005

Tina,

Ditto on Kevin's advice above -

Except - If you're going to use Eternabond Tape around them, DON'T use any silicone products under the Eternabond - it's a great product! BUT, Silicone is the only thing in the world that Eternabond adhesive Will Not stick to.

Getting the old ones off is usually the tough part (Rusty screw, etc.) - putting the new ones back should be a snap.

Good luck,
DanD

[Oz]

Sent: 12/12/2005

To further simplify things, put the Eternabond tape over the screws and over the edge of the vents.  No need to caulk.  It's what I did with mine.  Totally leak proof and since the tape stays pliable, you won't have to worry about it for years and years.  Get the aluminum backed tape, "A Seal" (narrow) 2" x 50' roll is $49.

[tiinytina]

Sent: 12/13/2005

thanks! Is it cheaper to get the Eternabond tape at Lowe's or mail order (given its the holiday season and shipping is taking a ton of extra time)... According to UPS my vents "should" arrive today off the slow truck from Oregon... I did order one "futura4000" vent that has a full size fan runs forward and backward for the bathroom. Thanks for the heads up on checking the voltage... Of course I would have simply "bum-U-me"d things...

[Slantsixness]

Sent: 12/13/2005

Kev's getting all excited....somebody said Futura again...!

Vent replacement is fairly straight forward, however...

Did you buy a lower inside trim frame?
If you did, you will need to trim them to fit your ceiling size and bow, and hopefully they are large enough to trim and fit properly. You can always re-use the old vent trim, too if it's not yellowed too bador brittle.

The way I did my roof vent was to put down a layer of Butyl, then screw the new vent down throught he butyl. After I was finished, the screws were sealed of with Alex adhesive caulk. A week later, I installed a MaxxAir vent cover, too. Since the whole roof is coated with Kool Seal, this works. If the allegro has a rubber roof, then the Kool Seal or Elastometric sealers will not work! But the butyl bead will. I'm not totally sure, but some Tiffin's (Allegro) have an all fiberglass roof, too, which changes things for you again!

If you have a fiberglass roof, then DO NOT reuse the original mouting holes and the same size screws in replacement, or it will leak! if you had #10hex screws, use #8's (3/8"hex head) then use any sealer but silicone on the screw heads.

Eternabond is god's gift to mistakes and pin holes, but if you ever have to remove the vent again, it's next to near impossible to get eternabond back off, so consider that when replacing a vent, too.

I use caulking, in particular I use "Alex" adhesive caulk. water cleanup, lasts for 5 or more years, an the stuff is cheap. the watercleanup is nice to dress the caulk upwhen you are sealing, not as messy. And NO, when it dries it is no longer water soluable and still flexible. This stuff sticks to anything, wood, rubber, fiberglass, metals, and even glass there is some silicone in it, but not like what you see in "100% silicone" caulk which only sticks to itself and your fingers!

Tom

[Oz]

Sent: 12/13/2005

Eternabond is far more than "God's gift to mistakes and pinholes".   It will last much longer than the low-cost, "5" year caulking.  Also, consider this:  you don't have to take out every screw and carefully caulk every seam and screw hole and screw... just clean the surface and press it down over the seam and the screws,... it is well worth the price.   And, it's no more difficult to take off than that black pitch stuff people buy in order to save money (don't ever buy that stuff... it IS hard to get off.  The PO of the Winnebeast used it and it was a long, messy process, and it only lasts a year or two at best!) so yes, it is hard to get off, but you won't need to take it off for much... much longer than caulk. 

In fact, if you really want to make life easy for a real long time, get the One Step Miracle Roof Tape (Eternabond).  $72 for a 37' roll isn't cheap by any stetch of the imagination, but it has a Lifetime Warranty.

Also, Eternabond makes repair tape for every type of application... aluminum, rubber, and fiberglass.

http://www.eternabond.com/default.htm

(The tape will stick to glass too, just as well as anything else... I know, I tried it for sh**ts and giggles... no, not easy to get off, but that's a good thing if you think about it!).

Oh, and... the A Seal I recommended is also recommended for water tank cracks.
 
http://www.eternabond.com/installation_tank.htm

Notice that the Miracle tape is 4" wide.  You can cut the width to 2" and have 74' of it for $72!

[rlm98253]

Sent: 12/15/2005

I received the following information from EternaBond's customer service center:

To remove EternaBond you can heat the tape with a heat gun or high heat
hair dryer and pulling on the tape as it is heated.  There will be adhesive residue left that can be removed by wiping the adhesive with acetone or lacquer thinner and scraping it as it gets loose with a
stiff, dull scraper.  Repeat as necessary. 

If you need to remove the tape to replace a skylight or vent, removing
the tape is not necessary.  Simply cut around the flange where it meets
the roof, remove the screws, and lift out the skylight/vent.  Position the new piece in location, secure with screws and seal with new EternaBond tape. EternaBond will bond to itself. 

Doug Fuller

[Oz]

Sent: 12/15/2005

I stand corrected... Eternabond tape isn't as hard to remove as I thought then.  Still not easy, but as I said before... if you think about it... that's a good thing!

[tiinytina]

Sent: 12/16/2005

The roof on the surface appears to be one big aluminium sheet.... have no clue as to whether its original or not. Vents finally.... came in.... Will start working on it tomorrow. We have buckets of "Alex" caulk as the hubby works in construction. I'll check Lowes on the fly home to see what they have in terms of eternabond. Don't know if the vents came with trim or not. The old vents are caulked in with gobbs and gobbs of whatever caulk, should be a fun time scraping it all off.
        Will hopefully get to take pics if I get home from work while roof stuff is happening.
Thanks
Tina

[bboat101]

Sent: 12/16/2005

If you are a koolseal user, they also make a patching cement. After I installed mine with the putty tape, I went over the area with the patching cement then painted the whole roof with the koolseal
coating.
brian

[Oz]

Sent: 12/16/2005

Well hell...  If you can get buckets of the caulk for nothing... that's even cheaper than cheap!  And, if it does last 5 years... you've certainly gotten your money's worth.  All things are relevant to cost and what you are willing to spend.

[Slantsixness]

Sent: 12/19/2005

I have over 50 feet of eternabond miracle roof repair 4" tape on my roof, along the side seams, and to cover an area where a PO had made a "mistake"(cut the antenna hole too large), and on the rear where the PO had improperly installed extra tail lights, and the original water supply hole, which is now on the side on mine.
And Just for giggles, I covered a rusted out wheel well on my pickup truck with some left over Eternabond, and it's still holding strong too, after a year.

I have had to remove some eternabond, and I did use a heat gun, and even with the heat gun, it is not easy to remove, and still leaves residue on aluminum, and takes hours to clean off comletely with acetone and other solvents. I found that "GooGone" or nail polish remover will take the sticky gray goo off the best, especially when it gets in your clothes.

Using Eternabond is not a "mistake" in any way. The stuff works better than anything I have ever used. being "gods gift to mistakes" is meant to mean that when you make a mistake on an aluminum roof, Eternabond is the best product to fix it, without having to re-skin the roof or a portion of it.

Still, I don't favor the use of Eternabond over removeable items, like a roof vent, air conditioner, skylight or roof exit, primarily because it is so hard to get the Eternabond off for subsequent maintenance or replacement of these items. Eternabond is strong enough to damage the mating surfaces of these accesories if you do try to take the tape off. Still, I did use eternabond under my vent, but not over the screws or vent frame.

Alex caulk is gearanteeed 5 years, not that it means it goes bad in 5 years. if you keep the exposure to sunlight at a minuimum, Alex will last 30 years. I check and recaulk things on my winnies every year anyway. sooner or later something may shift, crack or break, so I try to stay ahead of the game and check my roof often.

Tom

[tiinytina]

Sent: 12/20/2005

The old vents had some beige soft caulk under them, edges were sealed with silicon, then some hardened silvery sealant over that... oiy. Took an hour to get the first one out.... but the "Fantastic" is now in place! We ended up using a newer Alex caulk (after spending $320 on new vents and $260 on a new carb... hubby didn't want to get the eternabond) that stays soft to -20 since it was in the mid 30's while we were working.

[Jonbbrew]

I know this is an old thread, but....just to be clear....when replacing a vent, AC etc, do NOT place double sided E-Tape between the roof and the frame of whatever you are sealing? Instead cover the frame where it meets the roof?

[tiinytina]

Actually do both.. under frame and around it...  I caulked the edges as well and they get a coating of the roof elastomerized coating every 2 yrs on top of that.... 

[legomybago]

I know this is an old thread, but....just to be clear....when replacing a vent, AC etc, do NOT place double sided E-Tape between the roof and the frame of whatever you are sealing? Instead cover the frame where it meets the roof?

Do NOT! Unless you are the one in the future that is going to be replacing whatever it is your sealing? Use Butyl Tape as a gasket.

[Rickf1985]

I usually stay away from the butyl tape argument since I have had both good and bad experience with it but I want to add something here. I just removed and resealed the rear windows on my RV using the butyl tape and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the tape I used (Dicor I think) is a lot better that the stuff I have used it the past. It sticks better, it does not break apart like putty like older stuff and it seems to seal better. That said, it is stiffer so if you have a thin flange in a roof vent that may be an issue if the screws are spaced far apart. you may want to get one of those small wood rollers for the eternabond tape and roll the flanges down.