Whats the best way to fix a leak in a tin shed roof?
Question:My wife, who grew up a farmer's daughter in the Philippines tells me they used to use canvas/fabric and black tar. One of the locals here in Kansas thinks there is some sort of fiberglass product that I could use. I grew up in the city but we now have a place in the country with two huge sheds, one of which has a corrugated tin roof with a few small leaks. None of the leaks are very bad, but they are starting to cause damage to the wood frame that supports the roof. I want to get working on a repair soon. There is a mezzanine level that the former owner built that I want to tear down to make room to park a car, but it does make accessing the bottom of roof easier to complete repairs.
Answers:
Yhere are several companies that make special chaulking just for this, but your problem won't be fixing the leak. It will be finding it, but sense you hav a way to get just below it, just maybe you can get luckey on this one.
DAP makes a Premium polyurethane roof & flashing sealent just for this, but I have fixed a lot of holes over the years and Clear, 100 % pure Silicane chauling is what I use. It is about 6 bucks a tube and it is gauranteed for twenty five years and it last that long. Trust me.
If you can get out there when it is raining and leaking and spot the place the warter is coming in, mark it from the bottom.
Then on a good clear day, (Silicone nor Polyurathane will stick if there is the least bit of mosture on the metal) Take a measurement from the bottom side from where you marked it and then transfer it on the top side and you should be able to find the leak.
Use a wire brush and brush it good before chalking it so it will adhere well, then just a little squirt around the hole and take your finger and smooth it out and you have it whipped.
Buy a tube that has a good cap on it and keep the extra in a cool dark place and it will last for a few months after opening the tube.
One more thing. What some one else said about tighting up nails or screws, if the wood is rotted where it is leaking, I would repair that first and then secure the tin back down before the chaulking.
There is a chance you may be able to just scab a 2 x on to the existing one and put some 4" to 6" screws into the old wood until you get it secured and that will take care of it after you chaulk it.
try some liquid steel or metal tape if the leaks are not to large
take the tin off and replace it with plywood, black tar paper, and shingles.
I live in the country too and this is the fix that lasts the longest with the least maintenance.
You COULD replace the tin but you'd have to keep doing that. Go with plywood and shingles...we did.
Depends on the cause of the leak. Sorry, but you are going to need to repair it from the top of the roof, not from the bottom inside the structure.
If it is leaking around a nail or screw, check the rubber washer around the nail or screw head, replace the nail or screw if the washer is missing or damaged (They come with washers attached). If the washer is not damaged or missing, tighten the nail or screw, if that doesn't stop the leak, there is roofing compound sold in tubes that can be applied with a caulk gun. apply the roofing compound around the head of the nail / screw.
If the leak is caused by missing, damaged, bent, or loose sheeting, replace the sheeting, or straighten the damage area and reattach it to the frame work, making sure you over lap the sheeting, refasten the sheet with screws on the top of the ridges, not in the valleys.
tripolar is on, to add you can use an elastomeric sealer reinforced with fiberglas mesh or metal screen wire
,no way ever can shingles hold up to metal in any shape form or fashion
keep the tin if it is old that is even better,,just keep the frame in good shape
If you're inexperienced at this sort of thing, it may be best to replace the shed altogether. You don't really know the condition of the skeletal structure of the thing and it could collapse with you on top - with rather painful results! If you're not a skilled carpenter, you may not be able to properly repair the wooden skeleton of the building and it'd only be a matter of a couple years before it collapsed. Do you really want to risk the building AND the car or whatever else might be inside at the time? Yeah, there's insurance, but not only would it be expensive, a claims agent would be likely to say the building was not properly maintained and deny your claim. That's happened to a cousin of mine and a couple of my long-term friends...
If you do choose to attempt repairs, yes, there is fibreglass fabric you can buy at a farm supply store. Tell the clerk what you want it for and he or she will point you to the right product plus the adhesive needed to retain it in place. And for heaven's sake, don't work on it alone - even if the only other person present is your spouse, sitting and watching you with a glass of iced tea in one hand and a cell phone to call 9-1-1 with in the other.
fibered roof coating. I don't now what is causing the roof leak but a fibered coating will seal small holes. Lowe's sells it in the roofing aisle, comes in silver or black. Put it on with a brush that screws onto a broom handle. About $50 for a 5 gallon bucket but I think they sell it 1 gallon cans too.
i used a tube of caulking one for outdoors like a window/door or dab a bit of tar over holes
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