New roof vent

I can honestly say that I really was not looking forward to today! Today was the day set aside to change the roof vent. In fact I'd allowed two days because I knew it was going to be a massive fight! So with great trepidation I started. I knew with the way that the vent leaked, the roof underneath would likely be a rusted mess. 

The two vents can be seen side-by side. I started by clearing the caulk and paint from the installed vent and was surprised to note that it was held on by three screws each side and two on each end. It was fearsome to remove - not least because one screw refused to turn and had to be cut in two with an angle grinder and the stump removed with pliers. Possibly the hardest part was removing the old brushable seam sealer. That took quite a while using my power drill with a wire brush attachment. That was slower than the wire brush in my angle grinder but I didn't get showered in shrapnel either. Slower in this case might be better!

With the vent removed there was no rust at all. Surprisingly the vent was held on by the 10 screws mentioned. Underneath the vent was what appeared to be plumbers putty. That was surprising but not unachievable.

The new vent had 4 threaded screw holes. They were too big for my 8-32 screws and my 10-24 didn't fit. Clearly I needed some 10-32 screws. Cue a bit of frantic 5PM Saturday night hunting online for screws locally and O Riley's came up trumps. It seemed the screws went into the trough where water collects before exiting from the vents. I needed screws to fill those holes and caulk to put on the threads to make the holes watertight! 

So, off I went to O Riley's and got my screws. While I was at it I also went to Lowes (hiss. spit) and picked up a pot of plumber's putty and some more 8-32 short screws. I did think about popping into Advance to see about the pair of red marker lights I'd ordered yesterday but didn't because when I ordered the guy told me clearly Saturday. He didn't say "Tomorrow". That leads me to believe it won't be in til next week. That's fine. I have plenty to keep me busy today and tomorrow.

Returning from shopping I put some Dynotron caulk in the screw holes and screwed in the new 10-32 screws which fitted perfectly. Next I put the new vent on the roof and use some #8 self-drilling screws to fasten the vent down. Once four were in place it was time to put the plumber's caulk around the outside of the circular hole in the vent. Pushing the vent into place and securing it but not tightening it down I went around the outside with Dynotron caulk.

Once the caulk was in place, the vent was tightened down a little and the excess caulk scraped away. 

As it takes a few hours for the caulk to cure, the vent was covered with a plastic bag and duct-taped. That should protect it all from rain. Once it's cured and tightened down I shall spray the area again with primer and paint. I shall also caulk over the screw heads just to make sure no water can possibly get in via anything bar the vanes - from which it can escape via the corner weep holes. I made very sure not to block those with caulk!

Included with the vent was a closing device. That was quite intreaguing! It was supposed to screw straight to the underside of the vent and I suppose 10-32 screws were originally supplied but that had gone missing. I can see an advantage in closing that vent in hot weather when the cooling fans are on. It should stop hot air from the roof being sucked down into the cabin.

The existing ceiling vent by Carpenter is just a mesh with no door. I have to say I like the mesh. If I can't fit the new part over that then I might cut a piece of mosquito mesh to sandwich between the vent and the ceiling. That should stop any mosquitoes from entering!

Tomorrow's plan is to tighten the vent down a little more. caulk over the screws and spray areas that need it with white paint. With the time remaining having had so few problems I shall install the three front marker lights, redo the middle side roof level marker and so the bottom front amber marker that has not yet been done. So... 5 marker lights and I hope I have enough caulk left. I don't want to have to make a caulk run!