A roof over my head and some food in the cabinet. Wake up alive and greet the day with enthusiasm, optimism and gratitude. Over and over I remind myself to be super grateful for all my blessings and think of the stumbling blocks hurled down my path as just another day in the greatest adventure of a lifetime!
I quit all medical treatments, stopped all medications. I bought a cheap slow mobile plan on the internet and studied at all hours of the day and night for weeks and months about alternative treatments. I struggled to walk 50 feet. Words were trapped in my head, I couldn't get the brain in gear to do the normal things of day to day life. I had to sleep upright lost in a sea of confusion and pain. Life looked bleak but on the positive side of things, I had a roof over my head and food in the cabinet.
I was thrilled to be alive and I wasn't giving up without a gallant fight.
Shortly after buying my wheel estate I discovered leaks. This lead me on a whirlwind tour the next few years of various RV repair places who picked my pockets, promising the roof was repaired, but it seemingly failed shortly there after each and every time. Didn't these guys know what they were doing?
It's extremely difficult to find quality work at a reasonable price.
I struggled to walk, adopted the doggy and began roaming around in my leaky motorhome. I bought some Eternabond roof sealant tape in hopes of patching up the worst of the worst. But I had trouble getting up the ladder. The tape sat in the cabinet. I struggled with day to day chores. But I was alive, a leaky roof over my head and food in the fridge. Life was GOOD!
During a frightening storm in a campground near the beach, a huge tree branch came crashing down into my kitchen at 3am. The hole was small because ironically the branch came down vertically. I ran around with my ragged bath towel and a small pot, trying to clean up the widening mess inside while the thunderous storm raged outside.
At daybreak I walked to the campground office, soaking wet, inquiring about borrowing a big step ladder and explaining their tree was stuck in my roof. The ranger said he couldn't believe I was so laid back, just laughing and smiling. I was just glad to be alive! I was used to a leaky roof and now it was pouring rain inside my motorhome. But I was ALIVE, so I was smiling and polite, praying he might help me. Anything was better than waking up dead. Why not be happy about it all? He rushed to find a maintenance man and a big ladder post haste.
Between waves of torrential rains interspersed with loud rumbling thunder, we cleared off the roof, cleaned out the hole, then laid multiple layers of roof tape to fill in the hole, until it was level with the rest of the roof. I put a final patch on the emergency bandaid. The nice man took his ladder and left. We were both soaking wet. I went inside to mop out the wheel estate and look for dry clothes.
Someone said I was unlucky. I was aghast! What were they thinking? I was LUCKY LUCKY LUCKY, why couldn't they see that? I woke up alive, I had the emergency roof tape on hand, the nice ranger sent out a willing helper and a huge step ladder, we patched things up and LIFE WAS GOOD! I felt very lucky indeed.
At some point I became fascinated with Eternabond reading everything I could find out about it. The more I read, the more impressed I became. It was flexible and would flex with the motorhome bouncing down the highway. It was painted and coated to protect it from the sun's UV rays.
Why had no one told me I could just tape up the roof in its entirety and be done with this leaky madness?
One wonders...
Speed forward. (Zoom!)
Hither and yonder as funds become available (A GREAT BIG THANKS TO YOU WONDERFUL EARTHLY ANGELS!) I buy up more tape and with a ton of help from a bartering friend, the roof is slowly getting complete coverage. The tape has an aggressive seal, it's painted and UV protected, it's thicker than my existing roof which has become frighteningly paper thin over the years.
Thanks to earthly Angels, Framily and Santa Claus (you know who you are!) I was able recently buy a few more rolls of Eternabond roof tape.
The repairs continue.
The job isn't finished, but it's moving along at my typical snail's place. I have high hopes for completion in the coming weeks/months/years.
Patience is a virtue.
Life is goof!
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| The roof has to be thoroughly cleaned and dried before the tape can be laid down. To the left is dirty roof, the middle is roof tape and the right is the cleaned area ready for taping. |
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| While the roof tape is difficult and somewhat unforgiving, it has a super aggressive adhesive. You only get one chance to get it in place correctly. |
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| New tape was applied months ago up front, it hasn't been cleaned lately, so you can see the dirt. The strips are overlapping. To the right is my opened awning. |
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| If you are not an RV-er then you may wonder what all this stuff is sticking up. Forward is the raised TV antenna. The big white box up front is the heat pump cover. The heat pump provides heating and cooling. Behind that is an open hatch. On the right is a rectangular vent for the refrigerator. It can run on propane and needs a chimney. The chimney needs a roof to protect it from rain. At the bottom of the picture is the sewer vent. |
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| To my eyes, this is a work of art! |
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| One of the numerous previous fixes was rubber paint applied to the roof. I am not so sure it was the correct paint. I think the guy just slapped something on to make it look pretty and pocketed my money, probably laughing at me for being such a fool to trust him. The repairman that did that charged me a fortune and it still leaked. He refused to honor his warranty. Tsk tsk tsk. But I am on a better path now! Wheeeeeee! |
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And we Thank You oh so much!
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I had to call repairmen several times over the few years I owned a 5th wheel, and all but one was a thief! I don't think they are stupid - I think they see some easy money when it's a woman alone. I hate to say that because there are a lot of good men in this world, but when it comes to repairs they can tell pretty quickly if you know nothing about what is needed, and some will take advantage. I think you've done a super job - not sure I could have laid that tape as well.
ReplyDeleteI had the same thing happen, but it was in a house in the Sierras. During a big snow storm one of my cedar trees lost it's top due to the weight of the snow, and it came straight down into my roof. The bare truck, with the branches scrapped off on the way in, was coming through the ceiling. It also took out my upper deck and part of my fence. I was like you - very calm about it. Luckily, though, my home insurance paid for the damage. It was quite an experience!
ReplyDeleteI wondered if that stuff really worked. I think I will get a roll for emergencies:)
ReplyDeletei'll leave the cost of eternabond to you, but i could see $10. easy with it still on the shelf. labor of application will be several times that. i used to apply it on factories. $50. bucks an hour. if you want to negotiate price goes up $10. bucks an hour. the price NEVER comes down. period. i can and have walked. it's mucho more now.
ReplyDeletea rough guess is 200 to 216 sg ft. times $10. bucks = $2160. bucks. + me yabba yabba doo. @ $75. bucks an hour you could have 4k or 5k in this. a lot of rv joints charge way north of that. i have no problem with that. don't forget tax.
as to not telling you about eternabond well hell somebody did. maybe it came when you bought your home. idk. but a lot of rvers are well aaaaahhhrrrr CHEAP. some just making it. i perceive the latter is your group. that about covers it.
when we call around and ask for the low dollar well why would anybody in their right mind will offer a 5k solution. i have the one time rule. i tell you all of the potential solutions once. i ain't your mommy or your daddy. i tell you that i will not bring it up again. if you ask then i will address it. including 5k job. i let you buy what you want. you. hell you are going to buy something. your broken and not functional. i'm also the only person in sight. i give them my hourly rate and service call charge on the phone.
ice cream raz
chunk and anneke. yes eternabond works. BBUUTT. FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS. did i say follow the directions. to the t. all the problems that i have seen have came from ignoring the prep work. mermaid followed the prep. good on her.
ReplyDeleteby the way i get no spif. i have never purchased it. i was strictly contract labor. general contractors loved it. they marked me up 25% and just pointed at the material. some times i would get purchase orders and i would order what i needed.
ice cream raz
A person (not me!) bought a cheaper version that was NOT eternabond and then they yelled at me cause it didn't work out for them. Duh...
ReplyDeletethey could have saved the big bucks and just used duct tape or blue tape. that will not work either. there is no cure for stupid. if we don't learn from our mistakes we are STUPID.
ReplyDeleteice cream raz
It’s good to know everything is doing great with you. And the RV looks nice after that little revamp. What’s your first destination for this year? I can’t wait to see your future travel adventures. Have a nice day!
ReplyDeleteLiza Pilon @ Prairie City RV
RV Rooftop repair and substitution both are frenzied, for the individuals who have less cash, lack of time and assets. EPDM Rubber Roofing is a decent and dedicated friend to stay away from this circumstance for quite a while.
ReplyDelete