Not sure how bright I am?

[DKRITTER]

We had a large hailstorm a little while back. It took out the roof of the house and did a bunch of other damage to most of the neighborhood.

The DS lost 2 FanTastic covers, both little vents and worst was the skylight above the shower.
I contacted my guy who works on the DS and had him quote me the repair and the labor was about $700.00. (This the where the how bright am I question comes in.) I decided to do the work myself, you know scrape off some dicor, unscrew the old and screw down the new and reapply dicor. No big deal right……

I went up and put Gorilla Duct tape over the skylight to seal it. This is the stickiest duct tape I have ever used.

I discovered IconDirect for the skylight as I was told theirs was a better unit, so I ordered one from them along with the recommended SB140 sealant. I waited a week and no update so I inquired and discovered they were in Canada and they were going to ship it in a few days. That turned into another week. When it finally came in it in fact was a much better unit.

Since it took so long to get the skylight in I went ahead an did this in stages. Thank God

The FanTastic fan covers were the simplest scrape, unscrew and replace. Not a fan of heights and my knees are not what they used to be. Both vents were next, lots of dicor, scrape, scrape, scrape. New vent has a different base, making adjustments more new dicor. Back is sore, knees are sore, vents right next to the edge. Dicor now getting everywhere.

Skylight finally comes in, up the ladder. Scrape old sealant off over 8 feet of it, cussing myself for not writing a check. Finally got everything cleaned up. Holes don’t match up no big deal I’m now a pro at this. Did I mention the skylight was right next to the edge? Marked the corners with a sharpie put down a healthy bead of SB140 and placed the skylight (sharpie was a good idea) and screwed it down from the middle out like you would an engine. More SB140 (3rd tube)

Well it’s done but I question my sanity, should I have just written a check?

 

[sanda]

I would ask myself what my time is worth. If the labor on the job was $400.00 and it took 10 hours to do that means I made /saved 40.00 an hour. I dont think that is a bad deal when I'm retired and looking for something to do. I use this method in much of what I do to decide if it is worth the effort.

 

[FL-JOE]

I wouldn't have written a check. Now you know 100% for sure it was done correctly. These RV techs aren't what they used to be, especially the last couple of years.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

I'm with @sanda and @FL-JOE You will recover no worse for the ware, however a bad job may have meant a new skylight in the future.

 

[Neal]

Haha, I got the hail joy when at Hilton Head Motorcoach back in 2018. TOAD has over $4K in damage, they made it look like new, impressive. Coach and solar panels faired well and the skylight also got taken out. I replaced it myself, yeah, not fun but done. I got one from Newmar, didn't know of others, don't care for the one from Newmar as it's crazed already and poor quality.

You may want to consider MaxxAir vent covers. Not only would it protect from this situation but it really is a great thing to add so you can use your vents while driving (even though Fantastic Fans can but I don't want to) and while it's raining as it shields from water, even when driving.

Covers and Vents - Maxxair

Protect your RV ventilation system with durable rooftop covers, universal vent lids, and replacement AC shrouds from Maxxair.

www.airxcel.com

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Haha, I got the hail joy when at Hilton Head Motorcoach back in 2018. TOAD has over $4K in damage, they made it look like new, impressive. Coach and solar panels faired well and the skylight also got taken out. I replaced it myself, yeah, not fun but done. I got one from Newmar, didn't know of others, don't care for the one from Newmar as it's crazed already and poor quality.

You may want to consider MaxxAir vent covers. Not only would it protect from this situation but it really is a great thing to add so you can use your vents while driving (even though Fantastic Fans can but I don't want to) and while it's raining as it shields from water, even when driving.

Covers and Vents - Maxxair

Protect your RV ventilation system with durable rooftop covers, universal vent lids, and replacement AC shrouds from Maxxair.

www.airxcel.com

I've used them. even when parked if the wind comes up you can save the rattle of the vent lid with these things. Just a note. the fantastic fans are covered with a lifetime warranty and the lids are covered as well.

 

[Webz]

Dkritter
"Well it’s done but I question my sanity, should I have just written a check?"

You know the job was done correctly, which gives you peace of mind.
You saved money and chances are you learned something.
I believe you did the right thing.

 

[AbdRahim]

Since you were able to do it, you did the right thing. I would have had to write the check. At that price, I think I am shorter on patience.

 

[FL-JOE]

Haha, I got the hail joy when at Hilton Head Motorcoach back in 2018. TOAD has over $4K in damage, they made it look like new, impressive. Coach and solar panels faired well and the skylight also got taken out. I replaced it myself, yeah, not fun but done. I got one from Newmar, didn't know of others, don't care for the one from Newmar as it's crazed already and poor quality.

You may want to consider MaxxAir vent covers. Not only would it protect from this situation but it really is a great thing to add so you can use your vents while driving (even though Fantastic Fans can but I don't want to) and while it's raining as it shields from water, even when driving.

Covers and Vents - Maxxair

Protect your RV ventilation system with durable rooftop covers, universal vent lids, and replacement AC shrouds from Maxxair.

www.airxcel.com

I put a MaxAir vent cover on my Newmar and just picked up a couple for the new rig, probably get them on early next week. Funny it should come up about hail protection from these but that was what got me thinking about them again. With the recent severe hail damage down by Orange Beach I decided not to hold off and go ahead and get them on. I guess big enough hail could still get through the vent covers but maybe they would help enough to keep the OEM cover from breaking apart.

 

[DHudson]

"The FanTastic fan covers were the simplest scrape, unscrew and replace. Not a fan of heights and my knees are not what they used to be. Both vents were next, lots of dicor, scrape, scrape, scrape. New vent has a different base, making adjustments more new dicor. Back is sore, knees are sore, vents right next to the edge. Dicor now getting everywhere.

I don't know if I have ever mentioned it, but I HATE Lap Sealant! LOL