My DIY damp repair project

hilldweller, I like the use of your pun "I reckon he's Krakin on with it a treat". Made me grin:) at a sense of humour;).
 
I needed Mahogany for a job , couldn't source it anywhere . Went to an Auction House and bid on an old wardrobe, got it for $NZ 10. Got it home then took it to pieces, had more than enough then(y)
 
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Had a look in B&Q today. I generally prefer not to buy stuff out of there as quality isn’t always great. I was primarily looking for some clamps (couldn’t find any) but was also looking at the timber. The batten used in the area of my repair is 33 x 22mm. The nearest I could get was some treated timber at 38 x 22mm. I got a couple of lengths - I will keep looking for the right size but at least I can plane this down if I need to.

There is a bit of soft wood running along the repair area from the locker to the door frame. You can see the end of it in the photos. It’s fairly solid mostly but, it has a small soft area near the locker. It’s difficult to get at as it is the same level as the floor. So, I decided to take the skirting off to see if I could get to it from that side.

I slid the retaining trim off (had to dig out some sealant first then using a pair of long nosed pliars, the trim slid off fairly easily). This revealed the channel which the trim slides onto and the screws which held the skirt in place. There was also a lot of old grey / buff sealant which I scraped off. With the screws out the slirt was held in place with a couple of tacks. I managed to pry them out but I will find some suitable stainless steel fixings to replace them as the tacks were very rusty. It was all a bit of a waste of time though. I peeled the skirt back to see if I could see the floor but alas, the aluminium sides run down the side of the floor. At least I found out how easy it is to take the skirts off. I’d really like to get them repaired and resprayed at some point as there’s a couple of old war wounds at the back. So, they’ll get tidied up at some point.
 
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So back to the soft bit of wood. I decided that I could get at it. I dug out the soft bit (not all of it was bad) and will fill that area with wood filler? I then decided to remove a channel of insulation to allow me to add a batten to help the soft one.

This now brings this area to a halt until I order adhesives / sealants, wallboard, wallpaper, trim and organise the right size batten.

I took the opportunity to rip out the vinyl floor in the locker area (which would be underneath the bench). During the off season last winter, I replaced the vinyl flooring in the habitation area with some vinyl flooring ‘planks’. As most of you will know, Autotrail cover the floor with vinyl then fit the furniture on top. So I had to cut around the furniture to get the old floor up. For those that don’t know, bare plywood is underneath the vinyl flooring.

I bought spare vinyl planks so I will cover the area with those when I statt putting everything back together.

I did clean up all the debris!

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Top man Sir - braver than I. Not sure I would have the courage to delve quite so deeply into the structure of a motorhome.
:)(y)
 
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Whilst I get my list of things ordered for the hab door area repair, I thought I would make a start on tackling the 2nd issue which is the garage area.

The previous owner had covered the sides and roof of the garage. It looks crusty and I’ve wanted to get stuck into it for a while. I’ve been very daunted by it because I knew there is some damage in there when I replaced the large garage door early last year.
 
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I started by ripping out all of the carpet knowing it would probably not be pretty undermeath. Boy, I wasn’t wrong. Lots of mouldy bits. I’m really annoyed that the previous owner covered this lot up. I’m even more annoyed at myself for not checking it out more. It’s ourfirst MH and we got carried away.
 
Congrats on doing a sterling job, hats off to you...
Cheers, Dave(y)
 
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At this stage, it would be easy to be overawed by this. It looks bad. But I expected it. My initial thoughts are that it looks low down mostly. Lots around the lockers as expected. My plan is to rip it all out. It’s just batten and polystyrene after all.

I’m not planning on putting wallboard back in there. Instead, i’m going to use aluminium composite panels to clad the insulation. I’d also like to do a rubber floor with a skirting board of the same rubber flooring to help keep any spilages localised.

I’d really appreciate any encouraging comments from anyone that has been in a similar position right now!

It really doesn’t look great but, I am sure once all the rotten stuff is gone and I replace it with good stuff, it’ll start looking good again!

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MikeD said:
Top man Sir - braver than I. Not sure I would have the courage to delve quite so deeply into the structure of a motorhome.
:)(y)
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Thanks Mike.

I think that once you get your head around things looking worse than they actually are, it’s really not too bad. I’s not particular;y hard work. Just have to take your time and crucially, not disturb the aluminium outer skin.
 
The_Kraken said:
Thanks Dave.

I don’t really knowwhat I’m doing but I think it’ll turn out ok!

I really do appreciate the encouragement though!
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You're more than welcome!
Cheers, Dave(y)
 
The_Kraken said:
I dug out the soft bit (not all of it was bad) and will fill that area with wood filler?
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Get the timber fully dried out and the coat it liberally with two pack resin the same as used for GRP, to aid it soaking in drill a load of holes in the top and pour the resin in, you will end up with a structure stronger than the original timber.

The_Kraken said:
I’m not planning on putting wallboard back in there. Instead, i’m going to use aluminium composite panels to clad the insulation. I’d also like to do a rubber floor with a skirting board of the same rubber flooring to help keep any spilages localised.
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Make sure you bond the new insulation to the outer wall and the new panel to the insulation as its the sandwich construction that gives the body it's integrity.
 
Lenny HB said:
Get the timber fully dried out and the coat it liberally with two pack resin the same as used for GRP, to aid it soaking in drill a load of holes in the top and pour the resin in, you will end up with a structure stronger than the original timber.


Make sure you bond the new insulation to the outer wall and the new panel to the insulation as its the sandwich construction that gives the body it's integrity.
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Hi Lenny,

I’m always worried about using the wrong thing. I don’t suppose you have a link to this resin stuff please?

Excellent advice too, thank you.

What’sbest to bond the insulation to the outer skin? Sikaflex?

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The_Kraken said:
Hi Lenny,

I’m always worried about using the wrong thing. I don’t suppose you have a link to this resin stuff please?

Excellent advice too, thank you.

What’sbest to bond the insulation to the outer skin? Sikaflex?
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Any resin will do the job Davids FastGlass on this link is cheap for small quantities or a general purpose resin
For bonding to the outer skin if you use a PU foam insulation you can use the resin but it will dissolve polystyrene, have a look at the Sika range they shoud have something.
 
Brilliant, thanks Lenny.
 
I go with what @Lenny HB says about impregnating some of the dry timbers with resin and yes an ordinary GRP polyester resin will do serious damage to polystyrene, I would suggest a two pack epoxy as an alternative as it doesn't attack polystyrene. This is an epoxy kit for delaminated floors https://ctaltd.co.uk/product/caravan-floor-delamination-repair-kit/

Be aware though that the cure time is very much dependant on temperature.

Martin
 
Flook said:
Hilldweller, I have never ever thought about using my multitool to remove wallpaper, what type of blade did you use?

Sorry to semi highjack an extremely interesting thread. What part of Hertfordshire do you live Kraken, PM me. Some times two heads are better than one, there again:cool:.

Flook
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So sorry Flook, just reading back through the thread and realised I totally missed this one. We run out of Stevenage. Two heads are nearly always better than one!
 
Flook said:
Hilldweller, I have never ever thought about using my multitool to remove wallpaper, what type of blade did you use?
Flook
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It was a totally smooth chisel like one. Just laid it flat on the plaster and WOOSH of shot the paper. I'd struggled for hours scratching and soaking the paper, getting nowhere.

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The_Kraken said:
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I started by ripping out all of the carpet knowing it would probably not be pretty undermeath. Boy, I wasn’t wrong. Lots of mouldy bits. I’m really annoyed that the previous owner covered this lot up. I’m even more annoyed at myself for not checking it out more. It’s ourfirst MH and we got carried away.
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Hi there, I too have an Autotrail 696G motorhome like yours - a 2005 model which I have owned since 2007. Noticing some softness in the front nearside corner of the garage floor, I removed the checker-plate aluminium covering the floor and side walls and found wider-spread rot underneath (see the attached drawing). It's a challenging DIY repair because - as previous contributors noted - the ply and rigid foam sandwich floor goes in first during construction. I found two points of water ingress: through a failed garage door seal and from the brakelight strip at the very top of the exterior rear wall. The mastic bed for that brakelight had failed and caused an insidious, slow drip down the back wall. I am quite competent with DIY but I just didn't fancy this job so I had Autotrail do it. It cost £2900 and a return trip to Grimsby but they did a great job.
I live quite near you in Hoddesdon if you wanted to chat about it? All the best, Richard.
 

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richard casselle said:
Hi there, I too have an Autotrail 696G motorhome like yours - a 2005 model which I have owned since 2007. Noticing some softness in the front nearside corner of the garage floor, I removed the checker-plate aluminium covering the floor and side walls and found wider-spread rot underneath (see the attached drawing). It's a challenging DIY repair because - as previous contributors noted - the ply and rigid foam sandwich floor goes in first during construction. I found two points of water ingress: through a failed garage door seal and from the brakelight strip at the very top of the exterior rear wall. The mastic bed for that brakelight had failed and caused an insidious, slow drip down the back wall. I am quite competent with DIY but I just didn't fancy this job so I had Autotrail do it. It cost £2900 and a return trip to Grimsby but they did a great job.
I live quite near you in Hoddesdon if you wanted to chat about it? All the best, Richard.
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Hi Richard,

Just getting back in to this thread as a combination of work, feeling rough and weekend commitments have meant I haven't had a chance to do much.

I really appreciate your input here Richard but I have to admit to being more than a little anxious about the rear end. I fear the same level of damage as yours. I certainly know that the rear light had some sealant around it and there is evidence of damp down the side of the bed along the back wall. So I suspect the exact same issue. I won't know about the floor until I take the checker plate up (which I am dreading). But I do know there is some rotten wood near the smaller garage door and a little bit in the rear corner by the larger door.

I would really like a chat if you have time? Please message me with your number and a convenient time and I'd gladly call you - thank you!
 
busbuddy said:
dont lose your sense of humour or purpose :D

loads have been in your position before
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Wow! If that's a repair you've done and you managed to get it back to looking like it should then that's an inspiration to us all!

I will try my hardest to keep my sense of humour!
 
So, back to the repair. No photos yet as there isn't much to show.

I treated a bit of soft timber (and I do mean a bit) with some fibreglass resin that I couldn't cut out because I couldn't get at it as it was between the floor and the side wall. I used a cheap paint brush to liberally apply the resin (mixed with the appropriate amount of hardener) to the soft wood which I had dried out. It took a couple of days to thoroughly harden but it was rock solid.

Next job was replacing the rotten wooden battens. I cut the wood to length, spliced them in using angles or shoulder joints rather than butt joints and screwed them in where possible and or used Sikaflex 512, and sash clamps to ensure a good, tight bond. I left them to set overnight and next morning, I could certainly feel the rigidity in the panel had returned. The batten is now all fitted and solidly bonded to the outer skin, the polystyrene (where possible) and the other battens. There are some gaps between the insulation (polystyrene) and the batten in places so I am going to buy some expanding foam insulation to squirt a bit (NOT TOO MUCH) to help fill the voids.

Next job will be cutting and fitting the new wallboard which arrived last week from Magnum Motorhomes

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Materials list so far:

Sikaflex 512 to bond the battens

Magnum Motorhome wallboard adhesive - this has a putty like consistency (incase like me, you wondered how I was going to get an adhesive to not run down the wall!) I haven't used this yet.

Wallboard - From Magnum Motorhomes, ours is 'Kenkle'

Batten - Treated timber from B&Q 38 x 23mm which I have had to cut down to fit our Motorhome which has 33 x 23mm batten

Fibreglass Resin - I had some in my garage from a fibreglass repair kit I bought years go. Any fibreglass 2 pack resign will do. I used this to treat a bit of soft timber

Stainless steel screws - I don't want them to go rusty!

I will update this list as I go.
 
Be careful with the expanding foam. It can be very messy. Make sure anything you don't want get damaged is removed or covered up.
It will expand for some time and drip onto floor etc.
Very difficult to clean off some surfaces
 
Figaro said:
Be careful with the expanding foam. It can be very messy. Make sure anything you don't want get damaged is removed or covered up.
It will expand for some time and drip onto floor etc.
Very difficult to clean off some surfaces
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The more I think about it, the more I agree with you. I think I will just cut some slivers of Polystyrene and pop those into the gaps instead!

Thanks Figaro
 
The_Kraken said:
Wow! If that's a repair you've done
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I didnt do it because i am no good whatsoever with wood (metal yes wood a big NO) a friend (a legend) did a whole reframe of the entire van plus new roof skin, inner and outer walls, new insulation, new skylights
he has done quite a few now but others in the owners club have also restored their own
they are 80s german vans so old school 'stud wall' build techniques
 
If you go down the expanding foam route buy a gun the tins with the tube attached are uncontrollable nightmares with the proper gun it's very much easier

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