My DIY damp repair project (2 Viewers)

[The_Kraken]

I would stay away from the gloss finish it will look a bit tacky when new and the just scruffy as it gets marked with use, Matt/textured finish would be more subtle and durable.

Martin

A good point. The main reason I was leaning towards gloss and not matt was that having used it for years in my day job as a sign maker and knowing how grubby the garage can be, it would be easier to wipe clean. The matt pvc does get stained pretty easily.

 

[The_Kraken]

Aha! Magnums do a hard glaze wallboard:
https://magnummotorhomes.co.uk/shop/wallboards/wallboards-wallboards/white-hard-glaze-pack-of-4/

Solution found!.

 

[CazPaul]

Wow, what a great job you are doing, it helps that you have a lovely big garage to do the work in.

This thread just emphasises that wood and motorhomes are not a good mix.

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[The_Kraken]

Wow, what a great job you are doing, it helps that you have a lovely big garage to do the work in.

This thread just emphasises that wood and motorhomes are not a good mix.

Thank you and yes, lucky that we can keep our MH inside our workshop.

This thread also emphasises that these types of repairs are fairly straight forward. I am by no means an expert but, I am getting a real sense of achievement from doing the repairs myself and hoping that someone else can benefit from any of this.

 

[The_Kraken]

Finally, an update!

After lots of debate (with myself) and with reassurance from TheBig1 (thank you!) I decided to save the floor rather than cutting it out and replacing it.

The main reasoning being that it actually wasn’t in bad nick. There were some soft spots but on the whole, pretty solid.

So, I spent a few hours going over the whole floor with a sharp chisel to remove the old glue that held the checker plate down. I also scraped up any loose bits of ply. There were a few low spots where the ply had delaminated when I pried up the checker plate which would need filling. For the soft spots I used the chisel and a wire brush to really get rid of the crumbly bits of ply until there weren’t any loose or soft bits left. All of the craters and low spots were going to be filled with wood filler to level them.

My plan was to make the floor good and then bond a new floor panel on top. I am going to use 9mm phenolic ply (or buffalo board).

 

[The_Kraken]

You may remember that I had cut a chunk out of the floor (by the large garage door side)? I now needed to repair that as well as the melted foam in the same area (the melted foam was from a previous attempt to repair the floor when - I think - some kind of resin or floor delimitation chemical was poured in but only succeeded in melting the foam core of the sandwich floor)

Using my multitool, I cut back the top layer of ply to a shape that I could easily splice a new piece in. Here’s a photo of it:

I also cut out the melted foam. My plan was to fit a piece of aluminium composite panel underneath the hole (I used Sikaflex to bond it) and then cut a piece of ply to fit top. I would then fill the void with some expanding urethane foam.

Here is the new piece of ply bonded in place (with Sikaflex 512) I drilled some holes in the ply to allow the expanding foam to escape. It would be an easy job to just level the over flowing foam.

I used some 2 part urethane foam that I bought from a boat chandler on line. It was great stuff. I didn’t need much of it and within 20 seconds of pouring it in through the holes, the foam began growing. Here’s a photo of it coming up through the escape holes

and finally, here’s shot of it with the foam levelled off and set hard. Job done and sandwich floor restored.

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[The_Kraken]

A the other side of the floor (the small locker door side) I decided to replace some of the soft ply by cutting it out and bonding a new piece in. In this photo taken looking in from the side locker, looking down, you can see the section I have cut away.

I am so glad I did this because it revealed a rotten pie e of timber below. I had already chiselled and scraped it away in the photo above and I bonded in a new piece of timber and ply.

I had made a trip to a good timber yard that had stocks of Ash in various sizes and off cuts. This is what I am using in this repair along with 4mm marine ply and 9mm buffalo board all from Chiltern Timber in Hemel Hempstead.

Here’s the new ply bonded in along with a new piece placed vertically which replaces a rotten piece in the same place so it’s like for like.

Heres a better photo which also shows where I have started to chisel out / scrape out and replace the timber around the locker door aperture. A lot of water got in here so I am going to make sure this does not leak again.

 

[The_Kraken]

After completing the timber replacement and filling the low spots in the floor I gave the whole area two coats of a water proofing agent that I also bought from a boat chandlery. I will update the supplies list with the details of what i’ve used and where I got it from.

I had also used some fibreglass resin on an area of crumbly timber at the bottom of the back wall that I just couldn’t get to. It was a small area and the resin really solidified it.

You can also see the timber replacement around the locker door is also finished. You can also see some blue foam along the bottom of the back wall. This is spray in expanding foam to fill a void in the polystyrene.

Although it doesn't look pretty, the floor is solid and ready for the buffalo board......

 

[The_Kraken]

.....and here is the buffalo board bonded in place (using Sikaflex 512) complete with new lashing rings.

I’ve managed to template both ends and the back wall for the new wallboards. I need to do the same for the ceiling and then bond them all in.

The wallboard adhesive (from Magnum motorhomes) is sold in quantities of 1 wallboard’s worth or 3 wallboard’s worth. I have one of each (because I’d bought 4 sheets of white faced wallboard - again from Magnum’s) so I need to get all of the wallboards cut to size and ready to bond in so that I don’t waste any of the adhesive (because you have to mix the whole lot, you can’t just do half of it because the formulation won’t work).

So I’ll have them in on the next update because I need another pair of hands to help me with the wallboards to ensure I don’t get adhesive everywhere!

My mission is to be out and about in Cornwall for Easter! Time is ticking.

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[fullfat]

Looking fantastic, great work

 

[DuxDeluxe]

.....and here is the buffalo board bonded in place (using Sikaflex 512) complete with new lashing rings.

View attachment 293832

I’ve managed to template both ends and the back wall for the new wallboards. I need to do the same for the ceiling and then bond them all in.

The wallboard adhesive (from Magnum motorhomes) is sold in quantities of 1 wallboard’s worth or 3 wallboard’s worth. I have one of each (because I’d bought 4 sheets of white faced wallboard - again from Magnum’s) so I need to get all of the wallboards cut to size and ready to bond in so that I don’t waste any of the adhesive (because you have to mix the whole lot, you can’t just do half of it because the formulation won’t work).

So I’ll have them in on the next update because I need another pair of hands to help me with the wallboards to ensure I don’t get adhesive everywhere!

My mission is to be out and about in Cornwall for Easter! Time is ticking.

Totally impressed with this.... fantastic job

 

[The_Kraken]

Totally impressed with this.... fantastic job

Thanks Dux!

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[The_Kraken]

Looking fantastic, great work

Thank you fullfat!

 

[Rob and Val]

I think that most people (me included) would have taken the van to a repairer and paid a small fortune for a job that would be nothing like as thorough as the one that you are doing. Respect!

 

[Enword]

Your sense of achievement is going to be so so high & rightly so when this is finished, great to see it coming on

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[The_Kraken]

I think that most people (me included) would have taken the van to a repairer and paid a small fortune for a job that would be nothing like as thorough as the one that you are doing. Respect!

Thank you Rob and Val. I think you’re right - certainly about people having someone else doing their repairs rather than having a go themselves. This is the main reason why I wanted to document the repair to help give inspiration to others. There’s nothing difficult about the repair. Well, certainly to those with a bit of diy skills about them or anyone wanting to give it a go.

I have found the hardest part is not knowing how to go about it. If I had to do it all again, I think I could do it in half the time because I now know what to do.

I do agree about thoroughness. I really am taking my time and doing as good and thorough job that I can. Theres a ton of issues that can easily be hidden behind a panel or bit of silicone. That is the problem with the industry - too many companies cutting corners and covering poor workmanship up and leaving owners with a ticking time bomb that is a case of when it’s going to pear shaped not if.

I really appreciate your very kind comments. Everyone here has given me such inspiration. Thank you.

 

[The_Kraken]

Your sense of achievement is going to be so so high & rightly so when this is finished, great to see it coming on

Thank you Enword. You’re absolutely right. Whilst I am wearing my knees out crawling in and out of the garage I keep reminding myself how good it’s going to look ha ha. But I have to say, I had a very big smile on my face when the buffalo board went down and it started to look more like a garage again.

 

[The_Kraken]

Almost there now.

This week, I’ve done a bit in the evenings in an effort to make sure we’re ready for easter. With some help, I got all of the wallboards and ceiling board installed.

Nothing overly tricky about it aside from making sure the wallboards were cut to shape and fit where they are supposed to. Again, I had opted to use Magnum Motorhomes’ wallboard adhesive. It is available in two sizes: 1 wallboard’s worth and 3 wallboard’s worth. I bought one of each size.

I installed the back wallboard first which used up the ‘1 wallboard’s worth’. I used some cardboard tubes (we have lots of them here at work) to brace the wallboard to make sure it was good and tight up to the polystyrene. I left it overnight to set up. It was solid next morning.

Next we installed the rest of the wallboards including the ceiling in the same go as I had to use all of the wallboard adhesive (it has to be mixed all in - you cannot mix half of it as the 2 part formulation wont work). This took a bit of team work to ensure we got all of the wallboards installed before the adhesive started going off!

It took a bit of coordination to ensure we got it all done without covering ourselves with adhesive! Again, we left it overnight to set.

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[The_Kraken]

Next job was to add a plinth made from the buffalo board along the small locker side and the back wall. Mainly for cosmetic purposes but, I wanted a bit more protection for the wallboards along the bottom.

The small locker door was installed next. Sadly, the plastic inner frame had had it. I did try and glue the four bits of it back together but, it was shot. The Thetford 6 locker door cleaned up nicely and when installed there was a gap around the inside of it where the inner frame once was. I used some neoprene rubber to take up the gap. It was very snug but, i will keep an eye on it. I also fitted a drip rail above the locker to really help keep the water at bay.

I added conduit to the wiring in the corner (the reversing camera feed) and the small LED light in the corner by the large door (not seen in the photos)

I cut some more buffalo board and fitted it to the front and top of the step to finish that off.

I fitted the main garage door this morning along with a new rubber. Having spent so much time doing all this, the last thing I’d want is to have to do it all again! I’m 100% certain I’ve found and cured all of the water ingress faults.

So that’s about it now aside from fitting some lashing rails and bits n bobs. I really wanted to find a more pleasant looking shelving solution than the one we use (a plastic drawer unit, 3 drawers high). The Fiamma garage system looks the business but, I cannot justify the cost fir a couple of plastic boxes and a bit of aluminium! If anyone has a decent alternative, please let me know?

 

[The_Kraken]

I’m really happy with the result. Very content that I did it myself and saved myself a good few bob in doing so. I really hope my little thread will inspire others to have a go themselves.

If anyone has any questions, I’d be more than happy to help.

 

[Lenny HB]

Looking really good, well done.

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[funflair]

Cracking job well done.

Martin

 

[davejen]

Excellent job, well done. I have similar problems around a couple of lockers but not sure if I can tackle them myself, but then again I might! Trouble is the van is stored outside might have to wait for some guaranteed good weather for a week or two, or three.........
Cheers, Dave

 

[The_Kraken]

Excellent job, well done. I have similar problems around a couple of lockers but not sure if I can tackle them myself, but then again I might! Trouble is the van is stored outside might have to wait for some guaranteed good weather for a week or two, or three.........
Cheers, Dave

Hi Dave,

Give it a go! It’s not difficult at all......just a bit time consuming.

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[davejen]

Hi Dave,

Give it a go! It’s not difficult at all......just a bit time consuming.

I do most things but being a bit disabled (only 1 arm) I feel it may be a bit too much.
Ta for the encouragement though.
Dave

 

[Ivory55]

Have you seen the size of those empty toilet rolls. Haha. You’re doing a great job.

 

[Enword]

You ever get to our neck of the woods (Devon) I'd like to shake your hand & buy you beer or what ever's your poison

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[The_Kraken]

I do most things but being a bit disabled (only 1 arm) I feel it may be a bit too much.
Ta for the encouragement though.
Dave

Sorry to hear that Dave. I have a feeling you’re a determined fella though!

 

[The_Kraken]

Have you seen the size of those empty toilet rolls. Haha. You’re doing a great job.

Ha! Yeah, needed those for when I first saw this:

 

[The_Kraken]

You ever get to our neck of the woods (Devon) I'd like to shake your hand & buy you beer or what ever's your poison

Really? Thanks Enword! I really appreciate that

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