Butyl tape: What width and thickness to order?

[Raya]

Hi folks,

I'm going to be re-sealing a couple of the windows in my Boler, and I see that there are a number of different thicknesses and widths of butyl tape available. I did a search, but did not find this exact information (it may be there though), although there were many mentions of the tape in general.

If you used some that worked, could you share the thickness and width it was? Or, if you wished it had been a hair wider, narrower, thicker, etc. could you pipe in?

My Boler has the typical, two-pane squared-corner jalousie windows over the dinette sides, and then the (also typical) small horizontal, one pane jalousies over the stove and in the door.

Currently, the ones in the dinette are held in with screws (will not change that); and the kitchen/door ones are riveted (may re-rivet or may use machine screws and nuts).

Thank you!

Raya

[Darwin Maring]

What I used on the Scamp roof air conditioner was 1 inch wide (White) and 1/16 inch thick and I doubled it up to make it thicker. I used the same tape in other places also.
If it is too wide, you just cover all bases and trim the excess.

When you tighten down the stuff oozes out. It is like bubble gum, very sticky.

Once I got everything screwed down I left the overhang and a day later I used a trim knife (Razor) to trim off the excess and that worked better than trying to trim it right away. The bubblegum stickiness somewhat goes away with age.

You can get it in white or black.

[Raya]

What I used on the Scamp roof air conditioner was 1 inch wide (White) and 1/16 inch thick and I doubled it up to make it thicker. I used the same tape in other places also....

You can get it in white or black.

Darwin,

Did you use it as 1/8" (i.e. doubled up) everywhere? Or just on the roof vent?

I've only seen it in grey, but then I wasn't really shopping at that time, so I may be mistaken. Or maybe it's available in all three colors.

I agree the width is not that important, as you can always trim it later; but on the thickness I'm hoping to go with the most useful one, since that's harder to change

Raya

[Doug Mager]

...just a 'thought" but in another r/v 'life' I did some re-new work, thought I'd be 'safe' and doubled up on the tape, screwed the po-jek down, left it for a few days, expecting full well to cut off the squeezed out parts of the tape. Well, I did manage to do that but upon closer inspection of the newly secured pieces (which were screwed down) NOW showed BULDGING between the screws....! Looked AWFUL, but back then and with the project in mind I really didn't care WHAT it l ed like.

[Darwin Maring]

Doubled the thickness on the roof air conditioner only. The AC is bolted down and sets on the top with plywood on the underside and it bolted down tight. That stopped the leak.

Single on all other and screwed down in a slow fashion to allow it to compress. Tighten a little all the way around then tighten a little more all the way around and so on until it all looks OK.

[Pete Dumbleton]

Single on all other and screwed down in a slow fashion to allow it to compress. Tighten a little all the way around then tighten a little more all the way around and so on until it all looks OK.

I likewise believe it is good practice on something like this to use a 'torquing sequence' for several rounds of tightening to ensure that the mounted object and the mounting surface don't get distorted in the process and the gasket material is uniformly compressed.

[Donna D.]

Okay, made me go look! The stuff I bought is a grayish color. 1/8" thick and 1-1/2 inches wide. It came in a roll about 10" in diameter (guessing here, because there's over 6-1/2" diameter left.) I'm keeping it in a ziplock bag so the edges don't get crunchy. I bought it about two years ago, and it cost me $5.49 It's worked just fine on the door window. Because of the way the door window sits in the opening, I had to triple butyl the top and move down to single on the bottom. Cuts like chewing gum (before chewed!) on the ooze. But, I use a plastic non-serrated knife and have absolutely no damage to the gel coat and it's easy to cut off.

Hope it helps.

[Raya]

Okay, made me go look!

Thanks for the responses all. Sounds like 1/8" is the way to go, and then double up only if necessary.

Pete: I'll torque properly.

Raya

[getaway1]

Hi I just sealed all the windows in my Trillium in June with 3/4"wide x1/8' tk gray buytle tape. ( GF says it's a nude color , I think if you are that color your a dead color) If it gets too warm you will need to put it in the freezer for a couple of minutes to allow it it unroll. It sticks to the paper ! One thing I would recommend is to clean off the old sealer & flatten any areas of the flange the screws go through that are indented by the original screws. This will give a better seal upon re-installation. No uneven areas. Too thick is also better than too thin ! Don't skimp.
Good luck ! & I hope no leaks ! Duane

[David Tilston]

Um... Duane, do you know that you just responded to a thread that the last message was from February 2009?

Raya has not been back to this site since March 2011. We miss her.

Though others will likely appreciate your advice.