Mobile Home Roof Repair
People search for mobile home roof repair in Northport more than most roofers would guess, and almost nobody in town advertises it. The big outfits do not want the job. We do.
Manufactured homes in Tuscaloosa County, in the parks off Highway 82 west, along 43 north of town, and scattered on private land out toward Coker, Fosters, and Samantha, have roofs that fail in ways a stick-built house never does. Fixing them right takes knowing what you are standing on.
Mobile home roof repair in Northport costs $250 to $700 for a seam or rust patch, $1,200 to $4,000 for a full coating depending on single or double-wide, and $6,000 to $12,000 for a pitched roof-over when the original metal is gone.
Why mobile home roofs fail
Older single-wides from the 1970s through the 1990s mostly have a low-slope or nearly flat galvanized metal roof, rolled and seamed at the factory. The seams are sealed with a mastic that lasts about 15 years in our heat, then opens. Water sits on a nearly flat roof, finds the open seam, and comes in at the ceiling panels.
The metal itself rusts at seams, at the edge trim, and anywhere a satellite dish or antenna was bolted through.
Newer double-wides have a pitched roof with shingles over OSB decking, built lighter than a house roof. The shingles fail the same way house shingles do, but the decking under them is thinner, and a long-ignored leak turns into a soft spot you can feel underfoot.
The trusses in both types are light. Walking on a mobile home roof carelessly causes more damage than the weather does, which is why we lay walk boards and keep weight over the walls.
Skylights and vent stacks on manufactured homes are notorious. Factory-installed and sealed with caulk, they are the first thing we check.
Wind matters more on a mobile home. The April 2011 storm destroyed mobile homes along Holt Lock and Dam Road, and smaller spring fronts peel edge trim and lift roof panels on homes that are not tied down well. If the roof edge is flapping after a storm, call before the next rain.
Three ways to fix it
Patch and seal. For a metal roof with a few open seams or a rusted spot, we clean the metal, apply seam tape and a compatible sealant, and patch the rust with a fabric and coating system. $250 to $700 for a typical repair.
Full coating. For an older metal roof that is leaking in several places but is still structurally sound, we seal every seam, every edge, and every penetration, then coat the entire roof with an elastomeric or silicone roof coating. White coatings also drop the inside temperature noticeably in July. A full coating on a single-wide runs about $1,200 to $2,500; a double-wide about $2,000 to $4,000.
Roof-over. When the original metal is rusted through, or the ceiling has sagged from years of water, a roof-over puts a new pitched roof on top: a framework of trusses, new decking, and shingles or new metal panels. This is the permanent answer and it changes the look of the home completely. $6,000 to $12,000 depending on size and material, which is still less than most people assume.
For shingled double-wides, the repairs are the same as a house: replace damaged shingles, fix the flashing, and replace soft decking. Prices track our shingle repair page.
Insurance usually covers storm damage on a manufactured home the same way it does a house, with the same 1 to 5 percent wind and hail deductible on most Alabama policies. It does not cover a roof that failed from age and open seams. We tell you which one you have before you call your carrier, because a denied claim still goes on the record.
What we check before we quote
- Before we quote, we go inside and press on the ceiling around the stains. Soft ceiling panels mean the leak has been going longer than you think and the insulation above is wet. That changes the repair.
- We check every seam and every penetration on the roof, not just the one over the stain. On a flat metal roof, water travels.
- Then you get a written number for a patch, a coating, or a roof-over, with our recommendation and the reason for it. We will not coat a roof that needs a roof-over, because the coating fails within a year and you have paid twice.
- If the home is an older single-wide with a flat metal roof that has been coated before, we check whether the old coating is bonded or peeling. A new coating over a peeling one fails fast. Sometimes the right move is to strip and recoat, and sometimes it is time for a roof-over. Either way you get the reason, not just the number.
Parks and areas we cover
Northport and Tuscaloosa city limits, the parks along Highway 82 and Highway 43, and the county around Coker, Fosters, Buhl, Samantha, Holt, Cottondale, and Brookwood. If the home is on private land with a long driveway, tell us when you call so we bring the right trailer.
Park managers are welcome to call about several homes at once. A coating on four or five single-wides in the same park over two days costs less per roof than doing them one at a time across a season.
Call about the roof, not the whole home
Call (205) 555-0199 and tell us whether it is a metal roof or shingles and where the ceiling is staining. Mobile home roof repairs in Northport are typically scheduled within a few days, and coatings are a one- or two-day job.
Mon–Sat 7am–7pm, 24/7 emergency tarping