Help! Theres a LEAK where the addition begins!

[hilly29]

:( I have a mobile home that we built a 28x36 addition to. The addition actually has it's own frame sitting against the mobile(not attached) The addition peak goes appoximately 5ft higher than mobile. Anyway, We have a leak where to addition joins the mobile inside the home along the wall. We have tryed flaching and tar but the outside of the trailor and the roof of the trailor is metal and when the rain/WIND starts the metal rumbles and breaks the seal. OVER AND OVER AGAIN. Can anyone help us. How do we stop this leak before real damage is done?

[doyle]

So, the metal roof of the home is actually what is leaking? If I understand you correctly, the wall of the home wasn't disturbed by the addition? Metal-roofed mobile homes are the hardest possible things to try to add on to. I've added on to a mobile home with a shingle roof before and no problems whatsover. Seems like where the wall of the addition meets the trailer would leak eventually. How was that tie-in handled? What kind of roof is on the addition? I assume it would be a shingled wood roof since it is 5 feet higher than the mobile roof. Ideally, a shingled wood roof-over should have been done to the trailer before the addition was done, or at least at the same time. I imagine that there are some nail holes on the roof of the trailer where the new roof was attached. Unless you want to tear everything off and start all over to do it right, you can just keep adding buckets of tar and other goop on there, but if there's any hole at all, water will find it.

Grumpy, any ideas on this one?

[Tom R]

Not sure if I understand, is it an A-roof 'butted' up against a 'flat' roof and the 'wall-heights' are the same? If so, sounds like you need to add an oversized 'Cricket'. Can you post a 'picture'? Be glad to try and help, just need more information.

[doyle]

uhhh, what the heck is a cricket?

[hilly29]

I will try to explain this as best as i can. I WILL try to get a picture soon though.
If your looking at the mobile in full length the addition is paralell for 36ft next to to mobile with a 5 12 pitch in it. The mobile roof is metal with SOME pitch to it but the addittons pitch goes the oppisite direction.
The addition is actually NOT attached to the mobile it was just built next to it. With approximately an inch of space between the two. The flashing was placed along the side where the two meet and on the roof to create a valley for the rain to run off. The leak is coming through between the home and the addition where that space is. (the flashing isn't working) The mobile sits east to west and gets alot of wind because of, and rumbles the metal which breaks the seal.

[doyle]

What type of siding is on the mobile home? Is it the vertical ribbed sheets with screws? If so, perhaps you can take the sheet loose closest to the addition, then add a piece of flashing of some sort to tuck behind the siding. The other end would then have to be attached to whatever siding is on the addition. That 1" crack has to get sealed up somehow.

[mjpliv]

A cricket refers to a small pitched roof section that diverts water to either side of a vertical surface located on a down slope. Normally you would see one on the high side of a chimney that penetrates a pitched roof.

[mjpliv]

here is a picture of one

[doyle]

hmph...always wondered what those things were called besides "chimney water diverter thingys" lol

Thanks!

[hilly29]

You all are very helpful! I will pass on the ideas. Please, if you have more, keep them coming. I'll try anything if it keeps us from a BIG BUNCH of $ and problems. It's taken 2 yrs to get this far.

[Tom R]

mj,

Thanks for savin' me with that 'condensed' answer to the 'cricket' question. By the time I tried to answer it with about 6 paragraphs, I wouldn't have even known what it was anymore.

[Tom R]

I'm still not quite 'getting' the whole picture, but I'll take a 'stab' at this. I take it the adjacent upper side wall of your addition is higher than your existing roof, and this is where you have your flashing. Your flashing needs to be 'cut in' to the wall sheathing to work properly. If it is just an L-shaped piece nailed to the wall, the water running down the wall is still getting behind it. If this is the case a quick fix would be to remove the existing L-shaped flashing, cut a groove along the wall at a slight downward angle (down towards the outside, about 3/8 or1/2" deep), fill the groove with construction adhesive or caulk and the press in a new straight piece of flashing (which because of your angled cut, should automatically follow the angle). For the best result, make it so the outside edge of the flashing 'hugs' the existing roof, but don't 'attach' it.

A better and more permanent job yet can be done with a custom Z-flashing, but that would entail removing and re-installing some of your new sheathing/siding.