Hangar roofs leak in predictable places: where metal panels end and overlap, at the ridge and eaves, around exhaust fans and skylights, and along the top of the big hangar door. In Ventura County, salt air off the coast works on fasteners and panel laps all year, and a winter atmospheric-river storm drives rain sideways into any lap that has opened up. A bead of sealant over the gap rarely holds for long. Metal panels grow in the afternoon sun and shrink overnight, so a stiff fix cracks loose. We look at why the joint opened, whether the screws still bite into sound purlins and how much movement the repair has to allow.
Camarillo Airport sits west of downtown Camarillo and is lined with hangars, and no two of those roofs are quite alike. Send us the building, the spots where you see drips or daylight and any drawings you have. We'll walk the roof areas the operator opens to us and plan lifts and material deliveries before any work starts.
Working above parked aircraft
The biggest planning question on a hangar job is what's parked underneath. A dropped screw, a strip of old sealant or a drip of primer can damage an aircraft finish, so we never open the roof over an airplane without a plan. Before work starts we sit down with the hangar operator to agree on which bays can be cleared, where debris comes down and when crews can be on the roof. Our work over occupied buildings follows the same idea: protect what's below, keep the work area tight and close the roof up at the end of each day. We don't assume aircraft can be moved or the door opened. The operator makes those calls.
If we find more damage once panels come off, we stop and talk through the larger area before going further, because it may sit over a different bay with different protection needs.
Repairing panel ends so they can still move
Panel laps and end joints on a hangar are built to let long runs of metal grow and shrink. When one separates, the cause is usually worn sealant tape, backed-out or rusted fasteners, or a panel pulling against a clip that no longer slides. Our seam failure repair starts by finding which of those happened. Gluing the joint shut with a stiff patch looks fine on day one and tears open after a few hot and cold cycles. The repair has to respect how the panels were designed to move, and if the attachment or clip spacing needs to change, an engineer or the panel manufacturer weighs in.
The repair also has to land on good metal. Rusted laps, thin panel ends and soggy insulation behind them get cut out or replaced before new sealant, fasteners or seam coating go on, and the estimate shows that prep as its own line.
Walking the metal: rust, fasteners and old coatings
On the job walk we look at how much good metal is left. Surface rust can be cleaned and coated; rust that has eaten through a lap or around screw holes means that piece comes out. On a standing seam metal roof we check the seams, clips, end laps and the trim at the eaves and ridge. On screw-down panels we walk every fastener line looking for loose, stripped or rusted screws and dried-out washers. Old coatings and patches get a close look too, because a new coating won't stick to material that's peeling or chalky. That's why one estimate can carry more prep than another for what looks like the same leak.
If the fix would change how water runs off a panel run, or means raising trim around a fan or skylight, we flag it early. Then we talk through whether a local repair or a wider recoat or re-panel makes more sense for that roof.
Related Roofing Work
Occupied Building Reroofing
Seam Failure Repair
Standing Seam Metal Roofing
Infrared Moisture Survey
Finding wet insulation under the panels
A hangar roof can look tight from above while the insulation under it has been soaking up water for years. Wet blanket insulation sags, drips onto the hangar floor and holds moisture against the purlins. An infrared moisture survey, done on a clear evening after a sunny day, can point to areas holding water, but it only tells us where to look. To know for sure, we open a small spot or lift a panel, check the insulation and framing, and close it back up on the same visit.
If the wet area turns out larger than expected, we show you where it ends and what that changes in the scope, then check with the operator before opening more roof over the aircraft bays. If a storm opens a leak at night, on a weekend or over a holiday, call us. We'll set up temporary protection through your facility contact and be clear that it stays temporary until the permanent repair is done.
What you get at the end of the job
When the work is done you get photos of each repaired seam, replaced panel and new piece of flashing, plus the spots we opened for testing and how we closed them. Anything still waiting on someone else, like an exhaust fan the mechanical contractor has to reset or a temporary patch over a bay we couldn't reach, is listed separately so nobody mistakes it for finished work. That list also gives you a clean starting point if you want to budget the next phase of the roof.
Hangars aren't the only long-span roofs we handle. We also work on commercial buildings in Downtown Ventura, where salt air shows up early on edge metal and fasteners. A military hangar or maintenance facility adds base access rules on top of the roofing work, and warehouse roofing has its own concerns with stored goods and forklift traffic below. Each roof gets scoped on what we actually find on it.
Long-span hangar roofs often carry exhaust fans, lights, fire sprinkler lines and door tracks hung from the structure, so lifts and roof access need careful placement. We'll work with your facility contact on any security or flight-line clearance before staging equipment. If part of the roof is off limits during our visit because an aircraft is being worked on, we note that area as not inspected rather than guess at its condition from the bay next door.
Common Questions
Can a leaking panel end be fixed with sealant?
Only as a short-term stopgap. Hangar panels grow and shrink with the temperature, so a stiff bead of sealant across a moving joint cracks loose. A lasting repair replaces worn sealant tape and fasteners, cuts out rusted metal and lets the joint keep moving. If the fastening pattern has to change, an engineer or the panel maker weighs in.
Do aircraft have to be moved for roof work?
Not always, but the area under an open roof has to be protected. We tell the operator where we'll be working, how debris comes down and for how long. The operator decides whether aircraft move, get covered or the work waits for another day. We close up the roof at the end of every shift.
Will an infrared scan tell us if the insulation can stay?
It narrows the search. A scan shows areas that hold heat differently, which often means wet insulation, but we confirm with a small opening before deciding what stays and what goes. We close each test spot the same day and check with the operator before opening anything over an occupied bay.
What happens to areas that only got a temporary repair?
We list them separately from finished work, with photos, and note what's holding them up, such as a fan that needs resetting or a bay we couldn't get into. That way the next phase starts from what was actually completed, not an assumption that every seam on the roof is done.
Schedule a hangar roof walk
Send us where you see drips or daylight, any roof drawings you have and who can open the hangar for us. We'll walk the roof, explain what we find and give you an estimate that covers the repair and the protection needed for the aircraft below.