Damp? (1 Viewer)

[apm101]

Hi all,

We picked up our new (to us) Swift Kon-tiki on Sunday. We love it, and although it is in very good nick, there are some issues. I have already fixed indicators and treated a tad of rust on the wiper arms. Inside is remarkably well-preserved, but I am concerned- next to the rear window, there's an area that feels a bit 'crunchy'. Not a big area, maybe 3-4 square inches. This is the inside, the outside is all totally solid. I know the seller said it had some damp repairs, and I'm wondering if this is left over? Should I be worried, get it checked out? The van seems to be extremely dry inside.

Cheers!

Alex.

 

[maison]

Hi all,

We picked up our new (to us) Swift Kon-tiki on Sunday. We love it, and although it is in very good nick, there are some issues. I have already fixed indicators and treated a tad of rust on the wiper arms. Inside is remarkably well-preserved, but I am concerned- next to the rear window, there's an area that feels a bit 'crunchy'. Not a big area, maybe 3-4 square inches. This is the inside, the outside is all totally solid. I know the seller said it had some damp repairs, and I'm wondering if this is left over? Should I be worried, get it checked out? The van seems to be extremely dry inside.

Cheers!

Alex.

Definitely get it checked out.

If it is damp get it repaired as soon as possible. It is easier, and cheaper, to repair before the area gets too big.

 

[chaser]

Hi all,

We picked up our new (to us) Swift Kon-tiki on Sunday. We love it, and although it is in very good nick, there are some issues. I have already fixed indicators and treated a tad of rust on the wiper arms. Inside is remarkably well-preserved, but I am concerned- next to the rear window, there's an area that feels a bit 'crunchy'. Not a big area, maybe 3-4 square inches. This is the inside, the outside is all totally solid. I know the seller said it had some damp repairs, and I'm wondering if this is left over? Should I be worried, get it checked out? The van seems to be extremely dry inside.

Cheers!

Alex.

Crunchy sounds better than spongy, maybe that was the damp and now it's dry

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[hilldweller]

Should I be worried, get it checked out? The van seems to be extremely dry inside.
Alex.

Buy a damp meter then you will know for sure.

Do a search on here, the better ones do NOT have stick in spikes.

 

[apm101]

I've ordered a non-prong damp detector, so will give it a good sniff around when that arrives. that it's dry and there are no signs of anything amiss outside gives me hope it's not too serious. It's also been through a not nice winter sat outside by the South Coast, so hoping anything horrible will have showed up.

 

[apm101]

So it was a prong-type damp detector, although in the pics it didn't show the prongs at all!

I've been in and had a bit of a prod around, and the crunchy area is slightly higher, at about 11% v 6-9% for the other areas, but still not high enough to worry me. The only area with high damp was right under the rear window (ie prongs right up to the rubber) which was at 50%, but that was the same for ALL the windows, so down to the time of day!
I'm reassured that we're ok until the hab check- will get that done at the end of the summer.

Cheers all!

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[busby]

I read somewhere that you will get a high reading touching the rubbers,,,BUSBY,,

 

[jonandshell]

I read somewhere that you will get a high reading touching the rubbers,,,BUSBY,,

Or shorting across the aluminium frame if it is an older model.

 

[apm101]

So there's another area I've found which is spongy. Not big, about 8" square or so, in the corner, next to the crunchy bit. Should get it checked, I guess. If it is damp, any ideas on cost to fix?

Cheers!

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[TheBig1]

a photo will make it easier to answer. dry and crunchy is a sign of old damp dried out.

 

[apm101]

Thanks. I will grab a pic tomorrow, but you can't really see anything it just looks like wall. The crunchy area has some small gaps and black dust. I think it probably is old dried damp, and not too bothered about it. The spongy bit is more of a concern, as I think that it's still damp?

Cheers all!

 

[TheBig1]

try and take a photo of the general area for context and another close up to the damp

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[138go]

The black dust is probably black mould that has dried out. You need to get it cleaned up as it can be hazardous to your health especially if you are sleeping near it. Be careful with it as it's tiny little spours that travel in the air. So don't just sweep it up as all you do is spread it around. You will probably find that it's in the timber in the wall. This is one of the reasons Swift changed to the all new plastic wood so that repairs are far easier as they don't have to replace timbers. If you start doing any work in the area you should wear a face mask.

• Respiratory Distress and/or Breathing Difficulties
• Unrestrained Coughing and/or Sneezing (sometimes coughing up blood)
• Irritation to the Mucous Membranes
• Kidney or Bladder Discomfort(s)
• Impaired Concentration Levels (sometimes memory loss)
• Excessive Fatigue, Headaches or Tiredness
• Nausea, Vomiting and/or Diarrhea
• Immune System Suppression
• Redness and Itching to Eyes, Mouth and Nose

I would have thought that if it had been repaired then they would have replaced / repaired any of the damaged panels. Whats the point otherwise.

 

[apm101]

So I've had a good look, prod etc now, and it doesn't look great.

The rear nearside corner to the side is spongy, and this continues under the nearside window, and up the far side and over the top. Damp meter readings at 50%.

On the offside, there is some sponginess under the hab window, but far less. Damp meter readings 30% to 50%.

At the rear, everything is dry, but it's crunchy with the black dust. Damp meter readings low.

Outside the rear, there is evidence of previous repair.

Any thoughts about size of the job, what I can do and costs if I get it done v do it myself?



We're off today anyway to enjoy her. I've duct taped over the areas where the black dust is coming through.

 

[138go]

First thing is to find out how far it goes which involves removing the interior panels and having a look at the wood behind. If it's damp above the window it has to be coming in from the roof somewhere and running down behind the wall covering. This can be from roof openings and bad sealing round the openings or if it has corner rails like you get on a caravan it could be that joint. I would have thought the cost of repairs would be expensive when you think they charge something like £60 an hour.

First thing they will want to do is remove the inner panels and see how far the water has travelled and what damage has been done to the timber in the walls. This may also give them a clue as to where it is coming in.

I wonder if the damage to the rear panel is anything to do with repairing the timber within the rear wall. It could also be the cause of the repair over the window.

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[apm101]

So I think the culprit is the windows. I think I'd like to reaseal them to prevent any more ingress, or isolate any other sources. I was thinking of starting with some Captain Tolley's, then some IDL non-drying sealant. I hope that the damp areas would dry out then, and we can take our time in replacing them? Thoughts welcome.

Thanks for the advice, guys.

 

[138go]

This will give you an idea of what you are up against.



Right near the end 8:00 you can see them putting the windows in using the rubber seal. Mostly held in by tacks and then they have a plastic trim round the inside. By the look of it they have a special hand tool for fitting that trim. Don't see how you are going to get any sealant in as it will just be squeezed out as soon as you let the rubber go. The whole idea of this type of window is it's very easy to fit. Only part that needs sealing is the bit where the top of the opening window fastens to the body work. All the rest of the rubber is then protected by the overlapping window. The rubber part is just a finish round the wood. The shape of the rubber also has a part which presses upto the window.

Img-2337 looks like some one has been there before you and tried sealing the window where it fits to the bodywork. This is above the window opening which would suggest the water is coming in higher up.

 

[Robert Clark]

If you know the seller I'd take it back and ask for a refund

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[apm101]

Sadly it was an eBay purchase, so chance of a refund. It was pretty cheap and the rest is pretty good, so I'm happy to fix it.

Shall I put on some Captain Tolley, is that stuff any good? Can I seal the outside of the overlapping window direct to the body?

 

[funflair]

All the outside joints including the windows should be sealed with non setting mastic, never used captain tolley's but don't think it's what you need, if you want to stabilise some dodgy woodwork without removing it all you could soak it with an epoxy resin, I did a rotten window cill on the hose years ago and it was still good when we moved years later.

The important bit is getting the outside properly watertight.

Martin

 

[apm101]

Thanks Martin. I've done some more research into Captain Tolley's, and it looks like it's really good for hairline cracks, not what I've got!

Qfour- that's really helpful, thanks. Annoying that they focus on cheap build, rather than ease of maintenance. They must know they are going to leak at some point!

I'll get some non-setting mastic/ sealant strips, and see how we get on. I'm not too worried about the inside at the moment, but do need to get her watertight! I like the idea of using epoxy on the wood, that would save alot of grief.

What a great forum!

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