Flex Seal?

So someone added a porch to the back of my house which includes a couple skylights in the roof. Worse yet, the skylights can be opened so of course they leak.

I'll replace them someday when I redo the roof but for the moment I just want to stop the leaks and I don't care if they can open afterward as I never open them.

I haven't climbed up on the roof yet to look at them but I'm betting that I won't be able to find the leaks and fix them specifically so I'm wondering if spraying all around with something like Flex Seal would potentially keep the water out for a while or if anyone has a better idea without any real recon yet.

 

You really need to get up on the roof to inspect it. Have you been able to determine if it's the frame or where it opens that leaks? Not sure I'd trust just spraying flex seal around the area to be more than a short term fix.

 

Yeah, I just hate going up on roofs (my old man fell off the roof at his house about 12 years ago...) and keep putting off going up there.

I see the leak from below inside the frame so I think it's more likely getting in a gap where it opens but I really don't know.

 

I wonder if it's possible to open the skylight and assess it better from below?
How steep is your roof?

 

I can certainly open it from below, just never did so because it never occurred to me that might reveal any information.

I'm being a wuss when it comes to the roof - first floor and maybe 4/12 pitch so it's not really a scary roof at all.

 

I find that climbing the roof each season is intimidating. But the more you do it he easier it becomes. My fear level decreases each climb.

 

As long as you don't wear slick sole shoes a 4/12 roof shouldn't be a problem although I understand how your mind can make it one.

 

4/12 roof, I would do cartwheels on all day. Here is a product specifically designed for roofing applications. Don't know squat about flex-seal other than it is hyped on informercials, which should be a red flag. I was recommended this and bought it through my lumber supplier. Used it on my skylights to solve the same issues you are having. I bought the small quart size in clear and you spread it on with a foam brush.

Through the Roof!® by Sashco - Roofing Sealant & Caulk

 

Don't know that brand but it sounds good. There are several other brands that claim the same thing. I don't see why czizzi would caution about Flexseal, especially since he has no experience with it. The feed back I'm getting is all good. But maybe I just don't hear the bad.

 

Roofing cement had been my second thought, didn't know you could buy it in cans and brush it on until now

 

Do not bother with the flexseal, it breaks down amazingly fast under heat, as in DAYS. Czizzi's recommendation of "through the roof" is a good one, that stuff is awesome, and should last (if you find the problem and get it coated) until you can either replace the skylights, or better yet eliminate them altogether.

 

My leaking skylights were hit with roofing tar almost yearly. It would dry out by the next year and the leak would show up again. I go up on the roof and it is cracked and splintered beyond belief. Through the roof took care of that issue and we are milking it until we can afford a new roof.

Norm - Name me your top 10 recommended "as seen on TV items" and why you recommend them. Personally, there is only one item seen on infomercial that I would recommend and that is the "Showtime Rotisserie Oven". Works exactly as stated and the food is wonderful - Set it and forget it works. We are on our 2nd one as the wife broke the glass on the first. Bought the first used at a thrift store for $10.00. Money well spent as when the first broke, I had no problems dishing out the money for a new one. It is that good.

Most other infomercial stuff is garbage.

 

Czizzi,

I don't disagree with you, only the way you state certain things. You stated you had no experience with Flex Seal, yet you deem it as no good. And that may be true, On the other hand I have feed back from many customers (and sales) that the stuff does what it says it can do. (BTW... the brand we sell is the Rustolium brand equivalent). So by your logic all the feedback from customers are lies.

In the vast majority of things you state I agree with and take as gospel because of your long standing experience. But when you admit no experience and still make a recommendation for or against a product (without reason), I can't help but doubt. However Wick012's comment makes more sense and I would tend to believed his opinion in this case because he offered a reason why.

So in this case I agree FlexSeal is not a good choice, especially since the Through the Roof seems to be the proper product for the application. However, lets not dismiss Flex stuff as not being useless. It has it's place.

How an item is marketed or advertised does not reflect its ability to perform. As advertised on TV is just another advertising gimic, not a testimonial of a products usefulness. As you found out with the rotisserie.

Remember years back there was a "TV" ad for the DUAL SAW? It showed a car being cut in half. Well my daughter bought it for me as a gift. It performs flawlessly! I can cut nearly anything with that tool. Even porcelain tile with an accuracy that matches any other tool. I fit corner that match perfectly. The only problem I have, I'm not sure I can still get blades for it.

 

Norm, LOL the lack of recommendation of FlexSeal was that it was a roof application question. The temperatures involved in any roofing project are incredible. I did several roof repairs that seemed simple, replace a couple of shingles or replace a roof fan. In the heat of the day, I literally could not be up there, by the time 11 am rolled around I was spent. I have the utmost respect for anyone that does roofing for a business - it is sheer madness. Given that...

I have use traditional roofing tar to try to stop the leak in my skylights. Something that is designed for the task and it still failed yearly. Shrunk and cracked. Tell me why I would recommend something that sprays out of a can for a roofing repair? While I agree if my recommendation seemed flippant, it really wasn't. Unless FlexSeal specifically calls out that it is good for roofing applications then correct me. But the environment is so harsh that I would not rely on something out of a spray can to handle the repair.

Good conversation though, if others don't mind that is.

 

Funny you should say this. Yesterday a guy came in asking for Leakseal (The Restolium Brand) to repair his camper roof. I told him to reconsider. I told him the heat and environment conditions won't hold up. But he insisted that he does it every year! ???? Duh!

 

Just for laughs and giggles.

Czizzi, you asked me to name a As Seen On TV product that I like. Well, I just bought one of those Comfort Click belts. I like it! Will it hold up? That remains to be seen. But at $20 bucks I sure hope I didn't waste my money.

I can't seem to get a quality belt. Over the years I've tried those cheapies and they last about six months. I've bought better quality and I can't seem to get one that fits properly. This thing has 1/4" adjustments and seems to fit very comfortably.

 

Never hear of it, must be a Western New York sort of thing. I have bought 2 belts from of all places Walmart that were rugged and designed for people like me who abuse them with tape measures and such. Old ones used to fray within months of purchase, these Walmart ones have stood the test of time. Unfortunately they seem to no longer carry these. I was looking for a new one as recent weight loss has rendered my current on unusable. I have cut 2 additional holes in it to account for the weight loss, but now I have all this flap that gets in the way. Drives the wife crazy.

My only recommended as seen on TV item is still the "Showtime Rotisserie Oven". Chicken, turkey and kabobs to die for. You all need one in your pantry.

 

Norm...I have one of those and you could have it. I'm not exactly fat (5'10" 185), but this thing won't hold for me. Bend over...zzzzzrp. Squat down....zzzzrp.

Z...that's were I got my last ones also. Not WM brand though...Dickies and Wrangler I think? They hold up real well, not only my pants and a tape, but often a holster and Colt Commander as well. Actually, now that it's summer...a Colt Pocketlite .380.

Nu Wave oven (the hot air thing with a dome lid)...overpriced junk. Johnsonville brat cooker...fantastic. I hear the G Foreman grill works great...and it started out on TV moons ago.

New rule...I won't buy anything advertised on TV by anyone who screams at me, has a stupid little soul patch goatee thing, has a foreign accent or is just so exited about his product I think he might pee his pants. Oh, or anyone who comes across as some sort of Green Beret Delta Force Navy SEAL Pararescue RECON wannabe.

 

Sounds like one of my work belts. I've considered cutting off the excess but murphy's laws says if I do I'll gain the weight back

I don't pay a lot of attention to my work belts and they are usually of the cheaper variety. I just toss them when they no longer do the job. I have a belt buckle I've had for 35 [?] yrs. I change out the belt every 5-10 yrs but then it's not one I wear every day.

 

Gonna chime in here and eat some crow. Was at HDepot today and went to pick up a tube of caulking for a job tomorrow. There next to the paint counter is a display of FlexSeal. They had spray cans and also what looked like quart paint cans of the stuff. I picked it up and read the installation instructions on the can. There in bold print as a recommended use was the phrase - "Great for Roofing Applications". So the plot thickens. Will Stickshift be willing to sacrifice the safety of his skylight to test out the validity of the claim? Curious now.... Is it an over hyped roofing tar that can be spread on or if thinned down sprayed through a can? There is a catch there somewhere, just need to figure it out.

 

Many of the complaints I saw said...yes it worked, and it does stay flexible in the cold...but sunlight and heat ate it up. I guess I could buy a can (it's on clearance at my local WM...$9 though!) and give ya'll a real world test in REAL sun and heat. After the rain passes of course. Should be back in the 100's next week.

 

I would think flex seal in a quart can would do better than the aerosol version. Assuming it's like paint, the product would have to be drastically thinned in order to atomize out of a spray can. That means it would be easier to get a good thick coat brushing it on. I have no idea how well it would hold up to the elements, just that a thicker coat ought to provide more and longer lasting protection than a thinner coat.

 

I would suggest the Rustolium brand "LeakSeal". If the product has merit and company such as Rustolium has made a competitive product, then I think I'd rather go with that.

 

I bought Flexseal after seeing TV ads to try on leaking joint between mobile home and add-on porch and backroom. Live in GA, temps reach 100's easily every summer, usually just about this time. We have a front-load washer and when it hits spin cycle, everything vibrates, so thought the "rubber" seal would hold better than silicone and roofing had done.
Well.....it didn't, so for this particular type of roof application, I wouldn't recommend Flexseal.
By the by, we're about to start re-roofing on both porch and backroom, porch is leaking like a sift and if we don't get the backroom fixed immediately, we be having our own mini version of Niagara Falls. My home office is back there, so it gets fixed first. I may start another thread to gain some advice for both roofs. My two cents....

 

FWIW, while I have not yet done anything, I intend to use the Through the Roof product Z recommended, as I can buy it a few miles from home. I was never keen on Flex Seal since it's marketed as liquid rubber and I know rubber doesn't stand up well to UV. What I wanted to know was whether someone thought they knew a better product and that was provided. If not, then I would have slathered the Flex Seal and hoped but that was never my first choice.