Floor Delamination

Goldenoldies

Goldenoldies

Joined
May 10, 2012
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Portugal
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20,969
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Don’t own one.
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Since 2006(1986 VW T25)
The floor of our roadstar (2007) has delaminated over most of it. It has a twin floor and I am being told that the work has to be done from underneath, therefore removing the under floor. They need the motorhome for a minimum of two weeks and the cost is a minimum of £2000.00.
I am considering laying new 8mm ply over the top of the delaminated ply floor. I have plenty of space under doors etc and I am wary of the extra weight (I had the 34kg air con unit removed last year so have a bit of weight to spare).Question is, is this a viable option. We are working this season so need the motorhome to live in.
 
Thanks for the videos Jim, but I have spoken to Webbs at Warminster and they say it must be done from underneath with weights on top to prevent the floor bowing. Also how long do we need to keep out of the van because of the fumes? got some conflicting answers ranging from 3 to 24 hours.

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Watch the video again ;) 24/48 hrs for it to cure then you are OK ---let me think about this £25/50 against £2000 mmmmm :) or your suggestion of 8 mm ply prob cost ? 200/300
terry
 
I know of two people that have used the delaminating repair kits with complete success..
 
I got quoted £3500 to fix some de-lamination once. I sold the RV with the job needing doing. I forget how much it cost the @thehutchies to fix it DIY but I think the price was nearer to £35 than it was to £3500
 
I would go for the DIY kit, it will be two part epoxy and cures quicker the warmer it is, obviously you need holes in the floor to introduce the resin and these would be visible which is why the dealer wants to do it from underneath, if the ply has separated much you could pull it together with some wood screws through one of the injection holes. If you want the screws to come out at the end of the job give them a good coat of bees wax.

The resin will run sideways in the ply so just watch you don't leave any floor hatches in place as they might never come out.

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Goldenoldies said:
Thanks for the videos Jim, but I have spoken to Webbs at Warminster and they say it must be done from underneath with weights on top to prevent the floor bowing. Also how long do we need to keep out of the van because of the fumes? got some conflicting answers ranging from 3 to 24 hours.
Click to expand...

If you do it in the morning it should be cured in a few hours but 24 hours would be Fully cured, fumes won't be much at all we used to work with epoxy resin all day long, if you need to be in just put some planks over after the initial cure and they will spread any load on the new bond.
 
funflair said:
If you do it in the morning it should be cured in a few hours but 24 hours would be Fully cured, fumes won't be much at all we used to work with epoxy resin all day long, if you need to be in just put some planks over after the initial cure and they will spread any load on the new bond.
Click to expand...
I did a caravan years ago. Easy once the floor is uncovered & you realise just how many holes you need. Bowing is a problem if the floor has been delaminated for a long time because continuous walking on it stretches the upper plywood. I used a few planks of wood with housebricks on them to make sure it was as flat as possible. The free-running epoxy used doesn't expand on curing so any bowing will be evident before you start work meaning you can see how many planks / bricks you need & where they need to go before injecting the epoxy.
 
Please do it yourself! It is easy! I did my caravan 2 years ago! I bought 2 tubs of repair resin and the hardener. I used a trolley jack with a flat board on it to hold the bottom floor up level. You then drill your matrix of holes through the top floor and then inject the mixed resin until it starts to come out of the adjoining holes and then plug the holes with dowel rod cut to the right length. You can add some weight to hold the top layer down but be careful or it will stick to the floor where the resin has come out. Once set and gone hard in 24 hours use a belt sander to trim the dowel roads and remove any surplus set resin. Then fit some nice wood effect vinolay flooring and the jobs a good one.
 
I didn't even know a floor could delaminate. Horrors.
 
There seems to be a bit of confusion here- Although the resin is injected/poured into the hole it simply runs in-between the laminates of the ply and sets hard -does not expand or anything so if the floor has bowed up or down that's how it will stay unless you put weight or pack it to where you want it -The resin oozes and sets re gluing the ply -Hope that clears any thinking up (y):)
terry

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The floor is made up of a sandwich of plywood on the bottom, then a layer of polystyrene for insulation followed by the top layer of plywood. When first made these three layers were all bonded together to form a rigid sandwich which is what gives the floor its strength. Over time the three layers can separate which is known as delamination and the top layer of plywood is not man enough on its own to support an adult's weight without flexing, hence the spongy feel to the floor. Obviously the polystyrene layer can also get squashed if this floor is left unrepaired. If the top layer is bowed down then you could use some hooks to lift the top layer back to level which you could check with a spirit level. Supporting the bottom layer from underneath to make sure it is also level will also help. The injected resin then fills the gap and re-solidifies the sandwich layers together. Hope this helps.
 
The story I heard (which is probably true) is that the adhesive that used to be used (in the days before delamination became a problem) is no longer available because it is toxic or not eco-friendly. The adhesives now used don't survive getting damp or being used on already damp wood. Hence the problems. Delamination was unheard of with early bonded floors.
 
I believe that the Roadstar has a double floor so that means that the inside floor will just be plywood, the delamination is in the Plywood itself and has been an issue on caravans for at least 30 years so not a new thing.
 
SWIFT BOLERO 680 SOFT FLOOR JUST THE BATHROOM 3 GRAND TO REPAIR I WOULD CERTAINLY DIY NOW
 
Could I revive this old thread to ask for advice, please? I am about to tackle a moderate area of floor delamination in the classic kitchen into washroom area. I have the one shot green gunk and am all ready to go. Just hyperventilating about the possibility of underfloor pipe and cables! The instructions I have are identical to the ones you can read on all the Amazon and Ebay adverts for the kits, i.e. drill a matrix of holes and run the stuff in then plug with the dowels. There is one more instruction which is to countersink the holes before filling. Does anyone have an opinion on this? If I drill 8mm holes the dowels should slip in no problem, so why go to the trouble of countersinking? It's not clear from the You Tube video whether the guy has done it and I don't think he mentions it.
Any ideas? :unsure::unsure::unsure:

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sIMPLY DRILL 8 MM HOLES FILL WITH GUNK AND REFILL THEN KNOCK IN THE 8 MM DOWELS --ooops caps,let it dry and sand level then refit flooring/carpet etc
 
It was only 3 months ago i did some of my floor, very straight forward to do. I used the resin two pack cost £25.
Steve
 

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