Help with leaky roof..

[mopower440]

He said this is a mobile home and I don't think I've ever seen one with an attic that you could be into. They may, or may not, have the HVAC ductwork in the "attic", but no crawl space. It's also very unlikely to have a ridge vent; that would be unusual in a mobile or manufactured home. However, it's quite common for them to staple clear plastic on part of the roof to prevent wind damage in transit. BIG staples are used, so when the plastic is removed, someone needs to remove those staples and caulk the holes.

Of course, once the OSB gets wet and sags, I don't know of much you can do except some major replacement of a section of the OSB, shingles, etc. Perhaps a "patch" on the bottom side of the OSB???

Bird, you hit the nail on the head, only they used nails instead of staples, So, now i have to find something to caulk all the nail holes that are in the shingles, you know of anything that will work?
thanks

 

[Bird]

It's been a few years since I did any shingle caulking so I don't remember the name of the stuff, but I would think most any roofing supply place would have the caulk for the shingles. I do remember that I used two entirely different ones in years past, but they both worked just fine.

 

[Soundguy]

the tubes of roof patch come caul-gun ready.

soundguy

 

[mopower440]

Well, i got some asphalt based stuff in a caulking tube, got up on the roof and caulked 80 nail holes in the shingles!! 80!! Its a wonder the whole ceiling in the place isn't ruined. Turns out all the nail holes are from when they moved the home from georgia to here in TN. They had a big tarp over it and nailed it down to the roof!! I dont feel comfortable with all those holes just patched with that caulking, so i dont know what to do, maybe try to replace the shingles as time and money permits..any advice?

 

[Bird]

In all probability, you'll be just fine if you found all the holes and caulked them. When I bought a new double wide in 1997, of course the manufacturer contracted with a mobile home moving and installation company to deliver and set it up, and they probably couldn't have found a worse company for the job. Anyway, that was just one of the things they failed to do. Since I was there and watched them set it up, and didn't see them pull staples or caulk, I went up on the roof myself and found numerous staple holes as well as numerous partially pulled staples. I did succeed in getting them back out there to do it right, although it took a few phone calls. The guys apparently were telling their boss that they did caulk all the holes when they actually had not caulked any at all.

 

[davitk]

mopower, you need mocaulk.

I am a contractor, and use OSI brand RF 140 roofing sealant, however, there are many quality roofing "tars". Tar, and caulk, require annual maintenance, and should be checked and recaulked (yes, I use the caulk gun type) regularly.

Repairing or replacing shingles opens a whole new can of worms, e.g. damage to the surrounding shingles, and if I were you, would just maintain the caulk.

Good eye on catching all those holes!! No shortage of idiots out there working on our homes.....

 

[Robert_in_NY]

pulling the plastic off the tar strip under the shingles (which some feel that removing the strip isn't necessary; why is there in the first place ).

The plastic strips are there to keep the tar on the shingles from sticking to the shingles laid on top of it while in the package. If they shipped the shingles in a package without the strips you would have a solid block of ashpalt shingle when you opened it for use.

Some brands of shingle even have "Do Not Remove" printed on this plastic strip.

 

[2manyrocks]

Some caulks hold up better than others. Some of it will seal for years, and some of the caulks will dry out in sunlight and weather over what seems like a few months. You may just want to keep an eye on what you sealed to see how it holds up. It can be difficult to replace a shingle here and there without tearing the shingles around them and having the job grow on you.

 

[Amontilado]

The plastic strips are there to keep the tar on the shingles from sticking to the shingles laid on top of it while in the package. If they shipped the shingles in a package without the strips you would have a solid block of ashpalt shingle when you opened it for use.

Some brands of shingle even have "Do Not Remove" printed on this plastic strip.

The big question that boggles my mind is, if the tar strip on top, which the plastic strip sticks too, isn't there to seal to the shingles beneath after the shingles are installed, then why is it there in the first place. I just don't see the logic. I understand the strip being there to keep the shingles from sticking, due to the dots of tar on the top of the shingle. Why not eliminate the strip on the bottom of the shingle, save a bit on costs. After all, why stick on extra tar
if it isn't needed; just use the dots to retain the plastic strip so the shingles don't stick.

To rephrase in a different way, why isn't the strip (something that is designed to keep the shingles from sticking), removed before the shingles are attached to the roof, a place where I would think that the shingle sticking together as much as possible is a good thing.

Steve

 

[davitk]

The plastic (sometimes paper) strips help keep the shingles from glueing themselves together while in the package; once placed on the roof, sunlight heats the shingle and the sealant is activated. I am not an engineer and don't worry myself as to the "why", but the sealant penetrates the tape, making removal unneccessary.

Different manufactures us different methods, and different types and locations for their sealant. Hard to answer your question exactly without actually seeing the shingle you are describing, just trust us, don't waste your effort removing it. Won't hurt anything if you remove it, however those little strips blowing everywhere tend to litter the neighborhood, not good PR for the shingle manufacturer or the roofer.