The metal siding on a mobile home is actually made of a thin aluminum siding material. The aluminum siding is installed onto the mobile home in sheet form. Multiple sheets of the aluminum siding are overlapped and screwed together to make up the entire siding of the mobile home. Over time, excessive wind, rain and other accidental damages can occur to the aluminum siding sheets. One of the best methods for repairing a damaged piece of aluminum siding is to patch the damaged area. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Assess the damaged area of the aluminum siding that needs to be patched. Cut off any excess siding that is sticking out with tin snips. Gently tap the edges of the damaged siding with a rubber mallet until the siding is straight, compared to the adjoining siding panels.
2. Measure the entire area of the damaged siding with a measuring tape. You will be creating a square patch so make one right-side measurement, one left-side measurement, a top measurement and a bottom measurement.
3. Add six inches to all four measurements. The extra six inches added to each measurement of the patch will act as a overlap for the rivets to secure the patch to the non-damaged area of the siding. Use a pen and a notepad to write down the four measurements with the extra six inches added to all four sides of the square patch.
4. Measure the patch out of the piece of aluminum siding that will be used to make the patch. Mark the measurements with the six inches added to each measurement. Use a pencil and a carpenters square to draw out the square patch, once the measurements have been marked. Once the square patch has been marked on the piece of aluminum siding, you should have a square that is six inches longer at the top, bottom and both sides of the patch.
5. Cut the square aluminum siding patch with the tin snips. Once the patch has been cut, trim away aluminum burrs from the sides of the square patch. Hold the square patch over the damaged area of the siding. Be sure to overlap the damaged area with the patch six inches on all sides. Using the pencil, draw a outline around the square patch. Remove the patch and you should see a perfect pencil-drawn square over the damaged area.
6. Place the patch into a vise and clamp the vise down around the patch. Drill pilot holes across the top, bottom and sides of the patch with a drill and a drill bit that is the same size as the pop rivets. Position each pilot hole about one inch away from each other. Loosen the vise and rotate the patch as needed to drill all of the pilot holes.
7. Remove the patch out of the vise and press it against the square pencil marking around the damaged area of the siding. Finish drilling out each pilot hole into the siding of the mobile home. Slide a pop rivet into each corner of the patch to hold the patch in place. Use the pop rivet gun to pop the corner rivets into the patch and into the siding. Finish installing the pop rivets to the remaining pilot holes. The pop rivets will pull the patch tight against the siding of the mobile home.
8. Wipe down the four edges of the patch and the front of the pop rivets with a clean rag. Load a tube of clear silicone into the caulking gun. Apply a generous bead of silicone completely around the entire patch. Use your fingers if necessary to spread the silicone evenly around the edges of the patch. The key here is to ensure that the edges of the entire patch have been siliconed so that no water can get behind the patch. Also silicone the head of each pop rivet thoroughly to prevent water from getting into the hole on the front of the pop rivet.
Tags: aluminum siding, square patch, damaged area, mobile home, siding mobile home, area siding, inches added