another question regarding damp repair

[griff71]

hi again,
Sorry if this is a stupid question but would it be do-able to replace rotten timber framework with aluminim box section?
The reason i ask is that after only owning my damp motorhome for a couple of weeks, (didn't do my research before the missus found "THE PERFECT MOTORHOME"), i've noticed how badly they are designed when it comes to water ingress weak points.
So the reason i ask is because I'm going to be spending many hours of the near future fixing up the old girl and its a job i want to do once and be confident that it will outlive me.
I'm a brickie by trade but have done lots of damp repairs on houses, leadwork around chimneys, etc so i know how to minimise water ingress but i also know that if you accept the fact that water may get in you :-
A, give it a way to get out
B, use materials around the most likely entry points that are corrosion or non permeable
hence my thoughts on aluminium box section with maybe some drainage points as a back up for the worst case scenario.
any advice/opinions would be welcomed as i'm know for overthinking and overengineering things.
cheers

 

[68c]

Interesting idea. My initial thoughts are you would be compromising the thermal insulation, alloy being a very good conductor of heat. Then I wonder how you would structurally bond the alloy to the existing structure. Finally the worry that the alloy would corrode, it certainly can as an ex aircraft engineer I have had to do major repairs to the aluminium alloy skin and structure of aging aircraft. Modern vans have no wood in the structure but are built in a different way. I would suggest your van has already used up a large part of it's life, a repair using good wood would last until the rest of the van becomes obsolete.

 

[griff71]

cheers for that insight, you're right of course, the van is old so no point me going overboard, think i'll just settle for some good quality tanalised timber, some marine ply and do some more research on sealants, epoxy, etc.
thanks for your words of wisdom.

 

[68c]

Good luck.

 

[mitzimad]

just put damp in the search box top right and youl find lots of info

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