I am completely new to this and DIY in general, so I will do my best to use the right words to explain my problem as clearly as possible.
I moved into a duplex apartment a few years ago, which has a balcony. The walls separating my balcony from the neighbours' have a metal sheet covering the top.
The previous owners seemed to have added some extra lighting to the balcony by running the wiring along the edge of this metal cover and screwing the sconces to it as well. I am not sure how but it looks like they messed something up during this process, and the metal cover on one end is not fixed down to the balcony wall. So when the weather is very windy, that end of the cover rises every time there is a gust.
I took a look at it a few days ago and one of the screws holding down that end was missing. The other screw was loose - it kept spinning and not tightening. So, I took it out to inspect.
I couldn't get a look under the cover because that would require opening up the other end as well and lifting the cover, which I didn't want to do for fear of making things worse. But I put my hand underneath the cover and felt a soft cushiony layer stuck to the top of the wall under the cover. This layer seems to be the one that the screws are supposed to be tightened into. Now, near the problem end, this layer seemed to have torn up where the screws need to go in, which is why the screw just kept spinning.
I have no idea what this soft layer is, therefore I don't even have the right word for it. Does anyone know what it could be? Or any suggestions on how I might go about fixing the problem?
