Series 3 Leaky roof

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Rubins4

Rubins4

Well-Known Member
Posts
813
On the one day it's rained in the last 2 months I found out how much my roof leaks. Oddly, it's not the rubber seals between the panels but the guttering round the top roof panel. The water fills up the channels on the inside.

Looking down the external gutters someone has put some sort of sealant in there already so it's not a new leak. I'd like to clear out what's there and start afresh but no idea what to use. I think it would be a brush on type jipper rather than a squeezy gun affair, any ideas? :)
 
Start by checking all the rivets and replacing or tightening any that are loose. This will help to reduce any gaps before you go down the sealant route.
 
That's a good plan. How do you tighten pop rivets, other than replacing them? Wish I had a proper rivet gun.
 
They are solid rivets, you can use a rivet closer (if you can get your hands on one) or you can drill them out and replace with M3 button head cap screws and nuts as a stop gap. I had a lot of rivets missing acros the front and I've replced those with screws for now. The replacement solid rivets are available but the rivet closers are expensive unless you can borrow one.
 
rob1miles said:
They are solid rivets, you can use a rivet closer (if you can get your hands on one) or you can drill them out and replace with M3 button head cap screws and nuts as a stop gap. I had a lot of rivets missing acros the front and I've replced those with screws for now. The replacement solid rivets are available but the rivet closers are expensive unless you can borrow one.
Click to expand...
Although not ideal you can pick up rivet snap sets fairly cheaply. I used an old sledge hammer head underneath, held by a willing volunteer, to prevent the gutter from distorting when hammering the snap. My roof was off a the time but it did the job, cant report how long this fix lasted though as i swapped to canvas.
 
You can get sealed pop rivets but mine had gone over the doors and windscreen and there wasn't enough room to get the riveter in. The heads are on the bottom. The M3 button head cap screws look like rivets and the nuts are hidden in the gutter.
 
Hi,
I've done a couple of leaky roofs using Sikaflex EBT , basically clear out all the old sealant which tends by now to be absolutely solid , cracked , or missing , then if you need to or can tighten any rivets , but never actually needed to do that . then reskim the gutter , apply pressure to force sealant into any gaps , leave the drain holes clear . and that's it . you don't need too much, it doesn't need to be thick , say just a couple of mm. Both times I've done it , it sorted the problem .
Steve
 
Brilliant, thanks Steve. My plan to remove the roof &sides, drill out all the rivets and dismantle the roof panel, rebuild the roof using new button head cap screws and sealant before resealing the gutter channels is a bit overboard then?
:oops:

IMG_20180812_154520.jpg
 
Looks very similar to mine. I racked all the old sealant out, drilled out the rivets that were beyond repair, put gutter sealant in anf bolted it up. I use mine a lot and it was clear once the rivets get loose at the front the roof vibrates and the rest loosen very quickly. As its vibrates the rivet heads wear and they pull through.
 
Looks just like the challenges I faced Looking at the state of the old sealant , not surprised it leaks , get it all out , and you'll be fine . I've never really had issues with the rivets , so can't comment , but makes sense to get any rattlely ones out & replaced , Make sure you get the sealant right into the join , and I made sure to skim cover the rivet heads - I know you lose the original rivet look, but it will go towards keeping the water out if any rivets are marginal.
Good luck
 
Oh yeah forgot to say ... fully dismantling for me is a bit much, but then depends on what you want to end up with & how much time and energy you have . I'd personally go for the repair which you can do effectively in an afternoon , especially if like you have the roof on the ground , much easier than doing it on a step ladder.
Then see what happens , if it still leaks, then you can always go back to the dismantle route
Steve
 
I've just had a poke about for an hour or so. The old sealant is pretty hard to get out so racking out the lil (which I appreciate is the preferred option) is going to take quite a while. There are only a handful of places where it's clearly shot, so I'm thinking dig them out, do a proper reseal of those areas, replace any rivets that need be, then give it a test for any leaks. All being well then a quick skim over the whole seam. I've got windowed sides to go in at some point in the distant future so I don't want to weld them on with sealer.

Any recommendations for a good sealant, a builder friend suggested stikaflex but it looks like a sturdy adhesive?
 
Sikaflex is good, or black bitunous gutter mastic. I like the bitunous mastice because it glues but stays flexible and so you can get the joints apart again.
 
stag888 said:
Hi,
I've done a couple of leaky roofs using Sikaflex EBT , basically clear out all the old sealant which tends by now to be absolutely solid , cracked , or missing , then if you need to or can tighten any rivets , but never actually needed to do that . then reskim the gutter , apply pressure to force sealant into any gaps , leave the drain holes clear . and that's it . you don't need too much, it doesn't need to be thick , say just a couple of mm. Both times I've done it , it sorted the problem .
Steve
Click to expand...
I have the same issue, what is the difference between sikaflex EBT and 291? it seems that EBT is available in beige which is good... what else?
 
Rubins4 said:
On the one day it's rained in the last 2 months I found out how much my roof leaks. Oddly, it's not the rubber seals between the panels but the guttering round the top roof panel. The water fills up the channels on the inside.

Looking down the external gutters someone has put some sort of sealant in there already so it's not a new leak. I'd like to clear out what's there and start afresh but no idea what to use. I think it would be a brush on type jipper rather than a squeezy gun affair, any ideas? :)
Click to expand...
hello, I know it's been a while but did you get it fixed? I have the same issue...
 
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