Tin roof patch suggestions please.

[Bazoo]

I have a building with a tin room. Well there are some nail holes that leak. What can I buy to slather over the hole that will stop the leak? I've tried silicone caulk in a few spot but it seems to let go after a while and leaks again.

Thanks,
Bazoo

[cwtebay]

Gotta say - the ad seen on TV Flex Seal and Flex Tape is amazing!!

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[Rcmaveric]

Two part epoxy putty. That's stuff is amazing, adheres to metal and a few of them will cure under water. I have used it to patch thumb sized holes in my aluminum boat. It's sandable, but hard as hell and point less.



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[Rcmaveric]

I used flex tape to patch a 2 inch hole in my aquaponics system. Stuff is stupid expensive but affective.

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[Bazoo]

I seen the flex seal add on tv and got me to thinkin but I ain't much for gimmicks. I hadn't thought of epoxy.

[metricmonkeywrench]

RV Lap Joint seal is also an option.

[Mk42gunner]

Soldering or welding the hole closed would work, but for ease of application epoxy would probably be just as good.

Robert

[Cast_outlaw]

If there is wood under it or you can get a piece of 1x4 under the hole just put some cladding screws in it

[Eddie17]

Any sealer rated for outdoor exposure should work!
You just need to really clean an prep the area for application!

[Misery-Whip]

Its leaking because the rubber washer is weathered. Pull the nail, get some screws with the same kinda washer drive it in.

My shop roof is the same way. Every summer I replace the screws in a section. I change colors so when Im on the roof I can easily tell where ive been, when chasing the same leak or a new one.

[ascast]

black roofing tar - better than anything else - get the "trowel" consistency, a putty knife, cheap gloves, do it once and done

[Bazoo]

There are nails on the ridges. Some do leak but there is also a few holes from screws that missed the perling. Also there is at least one crack from being stepped on. Just a few odd leaks here and there. Il

I've made a chart showing the area that's leaking so I should be able to work on it a little at a time.

[Alstep]

What ever patching product you use, it's got to be flexible to expand & contract with the metal as it heats & cools with the weather.

[GhostHawk]

ascast nailed it, post # 11, black asphalt, comes in caulking guns often as black jack roofing cement.

A really good thick asphalt tar, lay it on a quarter inch thick and smooth towards the edges.

The first year it will catch fuzz, dust, and dirt and make a solid layer that water won't penetrate.

The top should dry out enough that after a year you can walk on it without tracking.

[NyFirefighter357]

I seen the flex seal add on tv and got me to thinkin but I ain't much for gimmicks. I hadn't thought of epoxy.

These aren't gimmicks, they are well know products sold as new inventions under new names to homeowners that wouldn't normally see them in the trades. Flex seal is a rubberized undercoating, flex tape is rubberized waterproof tape which has been around for years, magic putty is a standard 2 part putty epoxy where they cut the length in half and will sell you 2 smaller ones for more money then the regular ones in the plumbing supply. The big box stores sell a clear roofing flashing caulk that is oil based it's also know by another brand name Lexel it will seal anyting and hold for ever. Silicone caulk is junk

[country gent]

The old way was to solder and it does work well also matches in pretty good. If epoxy is used I think a piece of fiberglass mat glued down to roof then coat with epoxy and smoothed then paint to match. On a roof in the sun you will need to work fast with epoxy it will start to set fast. In hoes that "missed" run a short nail in them for the head and solder or epoxy over it, saves trying to plug a hole. The mat will help hold the epoxy together better.

[Mohawk Daddy]

black roofing tar - better than anything else - get the "trowel" consistency, a putty knife, cheap gloves, do it once and done

Amen. It's nasty, it's ugly and it stinks. But it's cheap and it works.

[Winger Ed.]

If there is only a few, I'd get the tar/roof patch stuff. Either in a gallon can, or even the calk tubes of it.

I had a Ted Kazinsky looking hunting shack years ago that seemed like all the screws leaked.

I got mad at it and used a 5 gallon bucket of the goo they make to mop down a mobile home roof with.
Not the neatest job I ever did, but it worked, and the stuff dries silver.

[Mal Paso]

Epoxy is photosensitive, needs to be protected from light.

Blackjack in the calking gun tube is cheap and works. Henery's is the brand around here.

[firefly1957]

I went though this with a old shed tar and trailer sealer it still leaked we ended up pulling the metal completely up and replacing it before it stopped leaking. On the plus side when we did tear it up we found the culprit the roof was up to a vertical wall and the water ran down that and under the sheets even though we though it was sealed.

[samari46]

Had a trailer in the Poconos in Pennsylvania Everyyear would coat the entire roof and overhangs with tar asphalt stuff that came in a 5 gallon bucket. The roof was exposed to 100 plus degrees and minus 19 degrees summer and winter. No leaks. Since there was always a little left did all the window trimming especially the big window at the back of the trailer. Again no leaks and yes it went on black then would turn silver so it would reflect the heat in the summer. And a leak can travel. Leak in one spot then migrate somewhere else can drive a strong man to drink. In doing the windows used a 2" paint brush to put down a thick layer after it was cleaned. As far as missing screws either replace them with screws that have the polymer washers then if you want a good coating of some tar based substance. And just donegive it a quick pass over. Use a brush to work it in and around the screw.I've actually seen roofing crews use a tar like substance in and around when doing the flashings on vent stacks and especially the flashings around the chimney. Frank

[Petrol & Powder]

How big is the roof and how old is it?

While you're walking around on it, trying to fix the problems, you may just create new problems.

Sometimes it is just better to give up and start over.

You can get the metal panels that screw down and snap together. No exposed fasteners and they are stronger than the simple corrugated panels. Because you order them cut to length, there are no seems from the eves to the ridge.
I used that system on the last shed I built and I'll never go back to exposed fasteners again.

Check out Advantage-Lok II

[15meter]

Epoxy is photosensitive, needs to be protected from light.

Blackjack in the calking gun tube is cheap and works. Henery's is the brand around here.

Epoxy MUST be protected from ultra violent light. It is so sensitive, if you edge glue two boards with epoxy, the glue joint deteriorates from the UV light penetrating down that couple of thousands wide glue joint.

I buy epoxy by the gallon, look at the avatar, those beasts are held together with West System epoxy.

In the immortal words of Elwood Blues as he's spraying the gas pedal, "good stuff".

[Tripplebeards]

Tar or flex seal. I used tar on an old tin roof back in the early 90’s. I held off off all the leaks till I had the roof replaced with wood and shingles.

[Dapaki]

You can certainly use Blackjack, hot roofing tar, Flex Seal etc to seal the holes but these are all temporary Band-Aids as far as I am concerned.

Up here in Minnesota, we have a lot of pole barns and RVs, they both suffer the same issues with stretch and shrink, -30 F to 100+ F weather with heavy snow loads give us a lot of worries and it seems everybody has their favorite way to deal with leaks and drips.

There is a universal sealant in the RV market that will flex, seal and can even be painted or top coated and is widely used by pole barn builders to seal the washers against the steel to lock out rust and micro-heaving caused by freeze/thaw cycles opening a gap between the washer and the screw shank, allowing water into the space causing leaks and rusting the steel.

I use a product by Geocel ProFlex RV, it is a tripolymer sealant. Lowes has the APOC® 5070 EverClear™ Tri-Polymer Sealant, I have not used this but looks like it would work.

It is your decision, there are a lot of old wives tales, jerry-rigged ideas that sound legit upfront but will fail or worse yet, you cover the screw heads so that they can never be removed. That would be horrible! Please, dont cover the screw heads and if they are nails, please pull them out (1 at a time) and use screws properly set with a dab of sealant on the shank under the washer, against the roofing material.

Go easy, a pea sized amount is more than enough to seal and push out from under the washer and seal the shank against moisture intrusion.

Its your choice though, I just want you to have all the information before you attempt a repair.

Good luck on your project.

[bedbugbilly]

As already suggested, the good old method of the trowel on roofing tar in the can can easily be applied ver the nail with a putty knife. I see you are in Kentucky so you experience the same as we do in Michigan - seasonal changes with changes in humidity, etc. - you are nailing into wood so naturally over time, the wood shrinks and expands and thus nails can get popped. I'm sure there are a lot of good products out there that would work. I had a very short slanted roof on a facade on the front of one of my buildings - always age problems about every couple of years. I think it was at Lowes that I found a liquid rubberized coating - i had to buy a 5 gal can but maybe they sell it in gallon cans as well. It is like thick soup and it's made to brush on - several coats will last a number of years - the last time it was in 2012 and is still fine. A coating like that could be easily applied with a small paint brush to the area where the nail is once it was cleaned with a wire brush. Several coats and it sold seal them for a long time. How long has the roof been on? Did you use the nails with the rubber washers under the heads?

[drizler]

RV Lap Joint seal is also an option.

My father used to call that dum dum or mastic in the auto body trade. Butyl tape Great stuff you buy by the roll . It has a lot of uses and keeps forever. RV places and others sell it.


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[jsizemore]

If the screw or nail isn't stationary then you'll keep on leaking no matter how much patch you use. Any seal will break if it isn't anchored. If I can't get it to hold tight then I try a slightly larger screw with washer. If that won't hold then I abandon the hole and anchor with a screw/washer in a new spot and use that LEXEL to plug the hole. I'll also use LEXEL around any suspect nails.

[RU shooter]

If it's just a few leaky screws the silver gutter mastic / caulking will work well .dont know about the new stuff but the old stuff would stick too and seal anything .

[Cast_outlaw]

Ok I’m going to chime in one more time here and start with I’m a roofer, have been for 15 years now work on most systems from flat to walls and everything in between 260273260274
A roof I did for myself last summer
If you post pictures of the problem spots I could advise you better on how to effect more permanent repairs

[Win94ae]

Am I in an alternate reality? I built my out buildings with roof tin from older buildings I dismantled. I use tar to fill the holes. Lasts for decades.
Don't try to fill the hole, put a good bit of tar on and around the hole, working it around so the tar adheres to the tin; keep a good 1/4-3/8" layer of tar above and around the hole.

If it still leaks, it isn't the holes that are leaking.

[Plate plinker]

Butyl caulk always worked well for me when I worked on buildings.

Another trick is to run a roofing screw in the hole with a chunk or 2x4 underneath the metal to hold it.

[MaLar]

black roofing tar - better than anything else - get the "trowel" consistency, a putty knife, cheap gloves, do it once and done

Go to the building center and ask for Plastic cement. It's tar based don't know why they call it Plastic cement? You might have problems getting anything to stick where you had Silicon caulk.

[samari46]

Down here in Louisiana I never had to worry about getting rid of the old corrugated galvanized sheet metal. Just haul it out by the road. Someone will stop and take it. Once had a pile of stuff from an old shed. Called public works they came down and most of it was already gone. Old chlorine buckets, what have you. They still have many homes with the old galvanized corrugated roofing and siding here. So someone will take it and re use it. Frank

[David2011]

Roof tar or butyl caulk. Butyl is what’s used on RV roofs. It really sticks and remains flexible. The cautions about epoxy are absolutely correct.

[Bazoo]

I appreciate the suggestions. I'm pondering it all thoroughly.

[mozeppa]

I appreciate the suggestions. I'm pondering it all thoroughly.

how big is the roof?

[Bazoo]

Bout 22x24 flat roof

[iomskp]

I did the easy fix on a shed at a block of flats I own, I didn't find any of them much good so yesterday I put new tin on the roof that should keep it good and dry way past my use by date.

[gwpercle]

black roofing tar - better than anything else - get the "trowel" consistency, a putty knife, cheap gloves, do it once and done

That's the ticket ...My can says " Professional Fibered Roof Patching Cement " Sentry Seal 100
It's thick , black with fibers and is applied with a small trowel ...wear gloves and old clothers ...the stuff doesn't was out ...covers holes and stops leaks and dries to a firm flexible patch .
It will stick to anything , metal , shingles or clay tile roofing .
Gary

[samari46]

Check your roof for flat spots where you can have standing water.
With a flat roof water basically has no place to go hence peaked roofs with gutters and downspouts. If you could lift one side and seal all the others with walls think your problems would go away.
A good roofer can tell you how its done, course all the grunt work goes on under the roof,if you have the room. House I have now had no gutters nor downspouts. Walk out the door instant shower.
That lasted until I saved up enough money and a neighbor who did such work set things up. Back then it cost a couple grand.Which I thought was crazy, but my buddy who does good work high ladders humping up drainpipe and all the other stuff adds up. Frank

[Ramson222]

I have used about every kind of roofing caulk that can be bought. By far the best is called geo cell, it sticks to anything and seems to not be affected by weather at all. I used it 3 years ago to patch a hole I poked in the cement siding on the house, it still looks like I put on yesterday.

By the way knocking a hole in the siding with a excavator didn't amuse her.

[Bazoo]

It's a flat roof with a pitch of I'd say 16" over 22'.

Thanks for the suggestions.

[curdog]

Through the roof is a great one and it comes in a tube or a can. Its pricey but it works...………………..curdog

[15meter]

That's the ticket ...My can says " Professional Fibered Roof Patching Cement " Sentry Seal 100
It's thick , black with fibers and is applied with a small trowel ...wear gloves and old clothers ...the stuff doesn't was out ...covers holes and stops leaks and dries to a firm flexible patch .
It will stick to anything , metal , shingles or clay tile roofing .
Gary


Get the old stock good stuff, fibered roofing compound, the one marked with "asbestos"----can't be any worse than playing with lead----:kidding:

Used that fibered roofing compound 50+ years ago and I'm still here.

Can't be any worse that the vintage advertisement I saw for an asphalt road materiel using asbestos fibers to re-enforce the road!

[mozeppa]

Bout 22x24 flat roof

then do it right ....18 sheets of plywood and 4-1/2 square of 30 year roofing. ....now it's done for the rest of your life.

[Bird]

Get some butyl tape. Windshield installers should have it. Ball a piece up, and push it over the hole.