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Roofing Materials?


MoonTimber

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I have a 1991 27' Fleetwood Jamboree Rallye Class C Motorhome.    Last fall I started sanding down the roof so I could recoat it.  Then I discovered the roof has two soft spots, one around the A/C another near the rear.  I put it under a tarp and left it till a week ago.  I asked a craigslist RV repair tech what he'd charge to replace the wood and he told me $6,000.00 plus materials.  The RV would probably be worth $4500 with a good roof, so that was out of the question.  

I'm thinking of ripping up the roof and replacing the plywood myself so I can REALLY get in over my head.   Before I go tearing into it, I'd like to go buy the plywood and put it in my garage.  Can I use any plywood?  Do I need to get something specific?  Can I use whatever thickness is on sale?  I also read somewhere that some companies put down cheap plywood and then put Luan on top of that to get a smooth finish.  Do I need to do it that way?

I don't need to buy the cheapest stuff out there, but I don't want to spend a lot on an old worn out RV either.  I already have some liquid roof and proflex primer to coat the wood.  In the worst case scenario I think I'll need six sheets of plywood.  I think I'd like to try and use whatever Fleetwood had up there to start with.

Also, If I just wanted the wood replaced, what should the labor cost here in Northern California?

 

 

 

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Usually the roof is done with luan plywood.   You wont be able to get anything thicker to bend with the radius of the roof. Can use 2 layers and stagger the seams. I would glue a rubber roof over that.

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@Ranger Smith

My roof is flat, so I won't need to bend the wood.  When I searched on "Luan Plywood" at Home Depot, it gives me "Sande Plywood" (Sande, not Sanded, which is apparently their version of triple sanded)  at $20, $32, & $40 for 1/4, 1/2 and 19/32 respectively.  Seems like the 1/2" would be the way to go since it's going to get laid down flat.  Is that right?

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I like 19/32 better if things will fit Like AC etc. it would really depend on what kind of support is under that plywood

Edit : sande may not have had spell check ?

Jim Spence

2000 Dodge 3500 1 ton QC 4x4 dually 5.9 diesel LB

BD exhaust brake, 6 spd manual trans

34CKTS Cedar Creek 5er, Trail-Air hitch

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I recently replaced the roof on our fifth wheel 3X7 slide. This was due the TPO roofing edge being exposed under the gutter which should have been caulked. The TPO cloth backing allowed wind driven rain to wick itself across the roof and rot the plywood. It appears the manufacture used 1/4" plywood, I chose to use 11/32 plywood from Home Depot that had 1 finished side. I also replaced the batten insulation with foam board and taped any seams. I used metal self tapping screws and liquid nails to fasten the plywood to the aluminum rafters and pieces of thick tape over each screw head. For the rubber roofing, I used a can of spray glue and Eternabond for seams and edges. It seems intimidating at first, but the job isn't that hard to do. My cost was about $100 for all materials and about 4 hours as a first timer.

Greg

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On 10/11/2017 at 8:15 PM, Kirk Wood said:

I was recently made aware of an alternative to luan plywood. It is called Reveloution ply and this will give some information about it. 

Unfortunately the link doesn't supply any details that a person can make a determination as to why it is better.  Just because they said so?

Kind of like some of the RV products we see, were the mfg says the product is wonderful and a lot of us question just why it is better. 

Al & Sharon
2006 Winnebago Journey 36G 
2020 Chevy Colorado Toad
San Antonio, TX

http://downtheroadaroundthebend.blogspot.com/

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1 hour ago, Al F said:

Unfortunately the link doesn't supply any details that a person can make a determination as to why it is better.  Just because they said so?

Kind of like some of the RV products we see, were the mfg says the product is wonderful and a lot of us question just why it is better. 

Revouton ply is the Luan made with farmed trees.

2011 Cameo 34SB3

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15 hours ago, J-T said:

Revouton ply is the Luan made with farmed trees.

Oh!  I was thinking the Revolution ply was stronger, more resistant to rot, or something. 

Using farmed trees is much better than cutting down natural forests. 

Al & Sharon
2006 Winnebago Journey 36G 
2020 Chevy Colorado Toad
San Antonio, TX

http://downtheroadaroundthebend.blogspot.com/

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29 minutes ago, Al F said:

Oh!  I was thinking the Revolution ply was stronger, more resistant to rot, or something. 

Using farmed trees is much better than cutting down natural forests. 

Them farmed trees may be getting lots of pesticides in the irrigation water it might keep the termites out !:unsure:

Jim Spence

2000 Dodge 3500 1 ton QC 4x4 dually 5.9 diesel LB

BD exhaust brake, 6 spd manual trans

34CKTS Cedar Creek 5er, Trail-Air hitch

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On 10/14/2017 at 10:03 AM, Devilishjim said:

Them farmed trees may be getting lots of pesticides in the irrigation water it might keep the termites out !:unsure:

........and the "organic farm" next door that uses the same ground water can certify that no pesticides are usedefault_unsure.png:unsure:

 

6 hours ago, RBH said:

Whatever thickness of plywood I used it would have to be "moisture resistant" or Marine grade plywood.  If I were building RVs ALL the plywood used would be moisture resistant.

back in the day Marine plywood had waterproof glue ....these days all plywood is made with waterproof glue so all plywood is Marine grade.

If you want a better grade of plywood then use form ply.  It is used to make the forms when pouring concrete. It has more layer which makes it stronger. 

2011 Cameo 34SB3

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In my roof repair, I considered marine grade or water resistant plywood but decided it would not add any benefit. If the roof is compromised again and water gets under the rubber, the water will just accumulate and seep to the plywood edges until the roof insulation is soaked and starts showing up through the inside ceiling. At that point you will need to remove the plywood to replace/dry the soggy insulation and I probably would not reuse the old plywood.

Greg

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15 hours ago, J-T said:


back in the day Marine plywood had waterproof glue ....these days all plywood is made with waterproof glue so all plywood is Marine grade.

If you want a better grade of plywood then use form ply.  It is used to make the forms when pouring concrete. It has more layer which makes it stronger. 

Hmmm...... that's not been my experience.  I purchased some "moisture resistant" plywood from Menards a while back.  If all plywood is marine grade why was this labeled as such? I have also had recent plywood that came completely apart when wet. 

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1 hour ago, RBH said:

Hmmm...... that's not been my experience.  I purchased some "moisture resistant" plywood from Menards a while back.  If all plywood is marine grade why was this labeled as such? I have also had recent plywood that came completely apart when wet. 

Must be different grades of marine glue . ;)

Goes around , comes around .

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So a wide range of responses.  Everything from the most basic 1/4 wood, to pressure treated super thick marine plywood.

I have two sheets of treated plywood that I recently bought for a different project.  I bench press 200lbs in my weekly workout so I don't think of myself as fragile, but those PT sheets were so heavy that they were  close to unmanageable.  I would hate to have to get them up on that RV roof and then have to manage getting them in position.  That 1/4 untreated sheet sounds very attractive.  

 

I guess I need to call Fleetwood and find out what they put up there originally.  That and watch someone's YouTube video for replacing an RV roof.

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Moontimber,

When RV repair people replace a rubber or vinyl roof, they have to tear the old rubber/vinyl off.  With that also comes up thin layers of the original plywood since it was glued together.  Then, before putting on the new rubber/vinyl, they put down a layer of 1/4" luan plywood over the old plywood to give a smooth surface for the new roofing material.  They also use tape on the plywood seams to further smooth the surface.

There's no way that you should replace the original plywood with 1/4" decking.  The original plywood was probably 1/2" or thicker, either plywood or osb.  You probably won't know what they used originally until you tear out the damaged stuff, so probably should wait to buy the replacement material.  JMO

 

Everybody wanna hear the truth, but everybody tell a lie.  Everybody wanna go to Heaven, but nobody want to die.  Albert King

 

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On 10/16/2017 at 7:02 AM, RBH said:

Hmmm...... that's not been my experience.  I purchased some "moisture resistant" plywood from Menards a while back.  If all plywood is marine grade why was this labeled as such?

 

Because of certification requirement. 

Plywood marked "Marine Plywood" which has no have recognized certification would not pass a building inspection.   

 

On 10/16/2017 at 7:02 AM, RBH said:

 I have also had recent plywood that came completely apart when wet. 

So have I......like RVs there is a wide range of quality. ...these days I only buy a Select Structural grade of wood because the the grading is so poorly done.

2011 Cameo 34SB3

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