On open ground, a manufactured home needs a roof that stays put.
Metal roof-overs, porch and carport tie-ins and the county paperwork that goes with them, from a Bushnell crew that treats manufactured homes as a specialty instead of a favor.
Roof-over
What goes over the old roof, from the bottom layer up.
On a lot of manufactured homes the right new roof is built directly over the existing one, provided the framing below is solid and the code permits it. This is the assembly, bottom to top.
- The old roof, checked first. Soft spots, rot and rusted edges get found and dealt with before anything is fastened over them.
- Wood purlins. Rows of furring fastened across the existing roof, giving the new panels a flat, solid run with a pocket of air underneath.
- An insulation layer. Reflective radiant barrier laid between the purlins, so heat that gets past the metal meets one more layer before it reaches your ceiling.
- Ultra-rib panels. Light, wind-strong metal that suits a manufactured structure, screwed down along the purlin lines.
- Trim and edge metal. Drip edge, rake trim and ridge cap closing off every edge the wind could get a grip on.
- The porch and carport tie-in. Flashed into the new roof rather than left to a strip of tape. More on that below.
Manufactured home roofing across our whole area · How a metal install runs in Coleman · Finished roofs in the gallery
The seam where the aluminum porch roof meets the home.
Plenty of manufactured homes carry something bolted on: a screened porch, a carport, an aluminum awning over the side door. Those roofs are low and thin, and they hang off the side of the home along a single strip. That strip is where these roofs usually let water in.
The home and the porch move differently in wind and heat, so the joint between them flexes all year. Old sealant cracks, screws loosen, and a shallow aluminum pan that holds a little standing water sends it right back toward the wall. When we roof over the home, the porch tie-in gets new flashing that tucks up under the new panels, so water off the main roof steps down onto the porch roof and keeps going.
The aerial beside this shows a finished one from straight above: new silver panels on the home, white aluminum porch roofs attached on both sides. If the porch roofs underneath are sound but tired, a white coating is often the sensible next step, and that work has its own page on roof coatings in Coleman.
Nobody has to do every roof on the property at once. The home in the photo at the top of this page kept its older weathered metal carport roof at the right while the house got new panels. One structure now, the other when it needs it, is a perfectly reasonable plan.
Open pasture gives the wind a long run at the home.
Coleman is farm country, and a manufactured home on an open lot often has nothing standing between it and the next fence line. Summer storms here are no gentler than anywhere else in Central Florida, and open ground lets the gusts gather speed before they reach you.
Wind rarely tears a roof off in one pull. It works an edge loose, then gets underneath. So the edges and the fastener pattern get more of our attention than the panel color does. Ultra-rib is light, which a manufactured frame appreciates, and its hold comes from how carefully it is fastened down through the purlins.
The porch and carport roofs are the soft spot in a blow. A loose aluminum panel can peel back and slam into the home, so we check how they are attached while we are up there and tell you what we find, whether or not you asked us to look.
Pipes and vents get the same care. Every plumbing stack and roof vent that comes through the new metal gets its own flashing boot fitted to the panel, so the roof-over does not trade one old leak for a new one at each pipe.
Keep the old roof under the new one, or tear it off?
Often it stays. A roof-over skips the tear-off, keeps the home dry while we work, and leaves one more layer between you and the sun. On a home that was never engineered to have a heavy roof ripped off it, that counts for a lot.
It goes when it has to. If the deck under the old roof is soft, if water has been getting in long enough to rot the framing, or if the code will not allow another layer over what is there, the old roof comes off first. We learn that during the roof check by walking it, looking underneath where we can, and photographing the bad spots so you can see them too.
What is up there today matters as well. A home already wearing an older metal roof is often a straightforward roof-over, because the old panels give the purlins a firm base. One carrying years of patched membrane and coating takes more checking before anything goes on top.
Either way you hear the reason before you see a number, and the written quote spells out which way we are going and why. If what you really have is one stubborn drip, and the rest of the roof has life in it, start with leak repair in Coleman instead.
Paperwork that stays with the home after we leave.
The permit
A roof-over on a manufactured home gets permitted when the work qualifies, no shortcuts. It goes to the Sumter County Building Division under your name, we handle the inspection scheduling, and the permit gets closed out when the work passes. That puts the new roof on record with the county, which is where a buyer, an appraiser or an insurer will look.
The warranty and the file
Once the inspector signs off, you keep the closed permit, photos running from the old roof to the finished panels, and our 10-year workmanship warranty registered in writing. If something we installed fails because of how we installed it, that is ours to fix. The owner stays involved from the roof check to that last signature.
Coleman is a short run from our Bushnell shop.
Roughly ten minutes separates our shop from Coleman. A manufactured home there gets a real roof check, a quick return trip on inspection day, and a crew that is not burning half its morning on the highway. Send a couple of photos of the porch seam or the old roof before we come out, and we will show up with better questions.
Everything we do around Coleman · Shingle roofs in Coleman · Contact the owner
What Coleman manufactured home owners want to know first.
Why does water come in where the porch meets the home?
Because two structures that move separately are joined along one strip. Heat and wind flex that joint, sealant cracks, and a low porch pan can hold water against the wall. New flashing that runs up under the main roof changes the direction the water travels, which a fresh bead of sealant never does.
Is a metal roof loud on a manufactured home?
Less than people expect. On a roof-over, the panels sit on purlins above the old roof, with an insulation layer in between and a ceiling below that. Each layer softens the sound of rain. You will hear a hard downpour, the same as with any roof, without the drumming of an open barn.
Does a roof-over need a permit in Sumter County?
When the work qualifies, yes. We file it with the Sumter County Building Division in your name, book the inspections and close the permit out when the work passes. You do not have to visit the county office or chase an inspector, and you keep the closed permit with the rest of the roof paperwork.
Can you look at the carport roof while you are doing the home?
Usually, yes. Aluminum carport and porch roofs can often be resealed or coated, depending on the shape they are in. We look at them during the roof check and list them on the quote separately from the home, so you can do everything at once or leave the carport for later.
Will a new roof help me keep insurance on an older manufactured home?
It can help. Florida carriers have grown wary of older manufactured homes, and roof age is one of the first things they ask about. A permitted new roof with photos and a registered warranty gives your agent something concrete to work with. We do not promise what any carrier will decide.
Send us a photo of the porch seam.
A picture of the joint, the carport or the old roof gives the owner a head start, and the free roof check takes it from there. Rather talk it through? Use the contact page or see recent roofs in the gallery.
(352) 457-4472A few details about the home
Singlewide, doublewide, porch or carport: tell us what is there and the owner will call you back.