LESLIE: John in Florida has roofing on his mind. What can we help you with?
JOHN: I have a villa here with a lanai. And it was built in 2002 and it’s got four seams that are seven foot long with white tape on an aluminum roof. And now the tape has opened up in the middle of the seam and they’re starting to leak. So that’s my problem. Do I go to Home Depot and get more tape and glue and go over it or what do I do? Or maybe a paint or what?
TOM: So this is on the underside of the lanai roof, correct John?
JOHN: On the top side?
TOM: It’s on the water side?
JOHN: Yeah, up on top.
TOM: OK. And just describe the tape to me one more time.
JOHN: Well, it’s a white tape – two inches wide, I guess – and it runs down the seams. There’s four seams that are seven foot long. And they are cracked right down the middle of the tape where …
TOM: Alright. So what’s happened here is you have expansion and contraction of that seam and it’s cracked the tape. You’re going to have to try to identify a source of supply for that specific product. I don’t think that’s something that’s going to be available at a home center or a hardware store. You’re going to have to work with a lanai roof manufacturer or perhaps a roofing supplier directly to identify it. And it’s just going to be a matter of replacing that. Now, I realize that the home was built in 2002 but you know what? Five, six years in that hot Florida sun, it’s going to have that kind of effect on it.
John, thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
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