Class C roof membrane replaced after a branch tore the front termination

The owner arrived asking for a patch, which was a reasonable request and the wrong one. A thirty inch tear at a front termination is a straightforward sectional repair on a membrane with life left in it. This membrane was eleven years old, chalked hard, and shrinking at both terminations to the point where it split further simply from lifting the torn section for inspection. Patching it would have bought a season and left the same coach back at OCRV Center with a bigger interior bill.

Establishing that in a way a carrier would accept meant photographs rather than adjectives. The shrunk terminations, the brittle edge that cracked under handling and the moisture map across the front of the deck all went into the first supplement together. Full replacement was approved on that evidence. Written as a request for a better repair without the supporting condition record, the same supplement is the sort that comes back declined and costs three weeks arguing.

Everything came off: membrane, both trim rails, air conditioner, vents and antenna. That is the part owners underestimate about a roof job, because the membrane itself is the cheap component and the labour lives in dismounting and resetting every penetration correctly. With the deck fully exposed, wet sections at the front and around the forward air conditioner opening were obvious, and they went straight into a second supplement while the coach was already open.

Drying was logged, not assumed. OCRV Center held the coach for three days with readings taken morning and afternoon until the structure returned a stable figure, rather than closing the deck the moment one check came back acceptable. Bonding new membrane over a deck that is still carrying moisture traps it permanently, and the failure that follows looks exactly like a bad membrane rather than a rushed process. The readings went into the file alongside the photographs.

The new membrane was bonded across the full deck and the terminations were rebuilt properly, with the trim bars bedded on fresh sealant rather than skimmed over the old bead. Skimming is the shortcut that produces a roof looking correct from the ground and leaking at the same seam within two years. Every penetration was reset with sealant chemistry matched to the new membrane, since the wrong product will attack the very seam it was applied to protect.

Inside, the cab over ceiling panel and the affected upper cabinet face were replaced once the structure was dry, and the air conditioner was tested for both function and condensate drainage before the coach was signed off. Betterment came up against an eleven year old membrane, as it always does, and was negotiated down against documented condition rather than accepted as first written. The owner walked the roof water test and the quality control sheet at OCRV Center before settling the balance.