Found some rot, now what?!

[Maluisarot]

Giving the garage a good hoover out I noticed the very corner of the floor is ever so slightly spongy for across a 4" radius from the corner. The corner itself is very soft and I can push my finger into the board with very little effort across an area the size of a 10p and it's definitely damp to the feel.

Disappointing discovery to say the last but what do I do to rectify now?

Step one is going to be to monitor the area each time it rains and find where the water is coming from.

I did have a leak from a window above the spot, not sure how long it had been an issue but none of the wallboard was affected. It's definitely not still leaking as it's been about 6 months and I've been checking the mattress for signs of it getting wet again.

Would anyone expect the water that had been leaking in six months precious to have dried out by now and therefore the source of the damp is water getting in elsewhere?

I think it's probably just the sealant between the wall panels and floor panel must be worn and spray from the road has been creeping its way in?

It seems like a huge effort to remove the affected area and I would imagine the joint patching in a new peice would be a vulnerability going forward. Would it be more hassle than its worth?

My first thought was wood hardener. My second though was would this melt the insulation. After a bit of reading, it would seem that would be the case. However, after a bit more searching I've found a "solvent free" wood hardener - has anyone used this and what do people think about giving it a go?

I think as long as I can dry it and fix the affected area I can then seal the entire underside where the wall panels meets the floor and that would stop any future issues.

If anyone has any first hand experience or advice it would be hugely welcome.

Peace and love

 

[Swifter]

sounds like a very small area is effected and you have found the problem early .
There are several of us in here that have undertaken some fairly large damp repair projects . You are correct that you need to find the source of the water ingress and then complete the project . Any chance of some photos of the damaged areas ?

 

[Maluisarot]

I may have even slightly exaggerated how bad it is

It's only the area in red, you can get a sense of scale from the levelling T.

Ive had a hair dryer on it for an hour and peeled back the vinyl floor covering and was very surprised to find the plyboard underneath was probably only 3mm thick at the very most! It feels so spongy just because it's pretty much just the polystyrene left with a paper thin layer of wood.

The underside is spongy in the same area too. There were a couple of mushroom type growths I peeled off just before taking this photo Inthe areas that look more 'woody' than black.

I'm guessing the water has tracked down the outside of the rear wall panel, behind the gap between the wall and the bumper plastics

And then tracked along the thickness of the wall panel into the gap between that and the floor, seeping in from the under side (shown in blue). Would that make sense or would that be illogical?

I poured water from a watering can along the back wall and you can see from the darker part and the droplet (circled yellow) the path the water took). If I seal all along the gap (purple) might this cure the problem?

How would I go about repairing the soft section on the underside? Fibre mesh and a layer of epoxy?

I was also thinking about using something like an epoxy based filler to make a lip at the bottom of the rear wall board to encourage future water to drip off the bottom rather than tracking forward. Would this be worth it?

Cheers

 

[TheBig1]

far more likely water getting in the garage door and pooling in the corner causing rot

 

[Maluisarot]

far more likely water getting in the garage door and pooling in the corner causing rot

I thought this and have thoroughly checked the seals and sprayed water at the closed door and can't see anything getting in. The vans been parked up with the back slightly higher than the front too so would expect water to run down away from the corner

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[Swifter]

In my opinion it’s the gap in that trim that’s caused the problem . Get fitted correctly and sealed up.

 

[MisterB]

Dont panic yourself into major stripping out, take your time to find out where the water is getting in from - as you are already doing - slowly, slowly. catchy dampy ...

 

[Diabalo]

It's difficult to tell by just looking a few photo's and your narrative but I very much doubt its the trim that is the problem. It does look like it's tracking where you indicate with blue arrows. As said once you have found the source and rectified that you will need to wait for the affected area to completely dry out and that could take awhile this time of year. Personally I wouldn't start ripping everything up if the problem is local, I would be looking at some kind of wood hardener as you have already suggested, if that doesn't do the trick then look at cutting out and replacing the offending bits. At first sight it doesn't look as bad as some I have seen on here but (always one) you never know until you start the work. I think your friend in this situation would be a decent damp meter to see how far it has travelled and to monitor the drying out process. Best of luck and please keep us updated.

 

[M-J]

Surprised you hadn’t noticed the screws going rusty.

 

[Maluisarot]

In my opinion it’s the gap in that trim that’s caused the problem . Get fitted correctly and sealed up.

I didn't think there should be a gap between the bumper and the body but there's no evidence it was ever sealed up - factory fault or poor design?

It's a decent size gap and I don't think there's a sealant out there that would fill it without falling through.

I've tried looking at other chaussin flash for sale but hard to find a picture of the rear bumper for comparison - is there anyone else on here with one and can let me see what there's is like please?

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[Maluisarot]

Surprised you hadn’t noticed the screws going rusty.

They were rusty when we bought it nearly a year ago and the damp in the floor doesn't affect around those so I think they've just rusted over time from the door being opened in the rain, sand and salt from buckets and spades on beachy days out etc

 

[Swifter]

I am sure there shouldn’t be a big gap like that . I think it’s come away from the back wall slightly.

 

[lunarman]

In your second photo (with the finger) there appears to be discolouration on both walls starting a few inches up the corner is that just the photo or a sign of damp?

On the external corner is that a cap that seals the outside? if so you need to check that it is properly sealed below the bumper trim

 

[Swifter]

It should fit flush like the photo I’ve attached .
Any gap in the trim should be dealt with quickly as the water will just run down the walls and the untreated timber will wick the water into the floor . Luckily you have found this early .

 

[Just smiffy]

First thing is to stop water getting there, let it dry out and it already sounds like you know what the problem is and how to sort it and fix it… some ideas will come on this thread and you just need the confidence to do it and as said it looks like you have the skills to do it.. good luck..

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[Maluisarot]

It's difficult to tell by just looking a few photo's and your narrative but I very much doubt its the trim that is the problem. It does look like it's tracking where you indicate with blue arrows. As said once you have found the source and rectified that you will need to wait for the affected area to completely dry out and that could take awhile this time of year. Personally I wouldn't start ripping everything up if the problem is local, I would be looking at some kind of wood hardener as you have already suggested, if that doesn't do the trick then look at cutting out and replacing the offending bits. At first sight it doesn't look as bad as some I have seen on here but (always one) you never know until you start the work. I think your friend in this situation would be a decent damp meter to see how far it has travelled and to monitor the drying out process. Best of luck and please keep us updated

Cheers Diablo. It's been chucking it down this morning so went out and got under the back to take a look and that corner where the two wall panels and the floor panel meet is rather wet to say the least! There's a constant stream running off the corner where the panels join.

Not sure how I'm going to stop water getting to this so it can dry out to begin fixing and sealing need to borrow some space in a barn for a few weeks, any offers?

I think sealing the bumper back to the rear wall panel like swifter suggested would definitely help but concerned about doing that if that's not what the manufacturer intended.

Lunarman, there's a bit of a dark stain a few mm along the side walls where the vinyl floor covering rests against it but the discolouration further up must just be an effect within the photo. Cheers for pointing it out though

 

[Swifter]

The back trim is not correctly fitted . That gap shouldn’t be there .This isn’t how it came from the factory ( I hope ! ) I presume the problem has got worse as the timber has become damper and damper over time . You need to try and get that trim pushed back flush to the back wall and seal it . Then get some fan heaters underneath and get it dried out . You can then use some wood hardening products to treat the timber .

 

[Swifter]

The photos you posted show that this problem has been going on for a while . I presume you park the motorhome under a tree ? There is a large accumulation of leaves that have traveled down the back of the trim and ended up behind the reflector .

 

[Maluisarot]

The back trim is not correctly fitted . That gap shouldn’t be there .This isn’t how it came from the factory ( I hope ! ) I presume the problem has got worse as the timber has become damper and damper over time . You need to try and get that trim pushed back flush to the back wall and seal it . Then get some fan heaters underneath and get it dried out . You can then use some wood hardening products to treat the timber .

The bumper trim has definitely never been sealed to the rear wall, there's no resedue of any product on either the rear wall or the bumper plastic. It's the same on both sides of the unit. There isn't any structural timber that's damp it's all just sip boards, it's the very very thin layers of ply that have suffered. I assume this was treated with a sealant at the time of manufacture and this has now degraded. The manufacturers relied solely on this or just messed up and didn't see all the bumper I'm unsure it's difficult to tell from the photo you posted as it doesn't give a bird's-eye view. Really do appreciate the effort though

^LHS

^RHS

^no evidence of previous seal

 

[Maluisarot]

The photos you posted show that this problem has been going on for a while . I presume you park the motorhome under a tree ? There is a large accumulation of leaves that have traveled down the back of the trim and ended up behind the reflector . View attachment 548852

Thats set a good few inches back from the wall panel and is just mud flicked up from the rear tyres

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[Swifter]

Ok forget the actual sealant used . The gap is causing the problem and needs sorting .
Have you looked under the other side to make sure the problem isn’t there as well ?

 

[Swifter]

Thats set a good few inches back from the wall panel and is just mud flicked up from the rear tyres

Is it 100% mud ? Looks like leaf mulch and one of the photos has a leaf going down the trim .

 

[Richard n Ann]

That trim looks like just decorative capping, ours is coming off too, been like it for a few years now. If the van relied on that it would be wet anyway because of road spray coming up.

 

[Diabalo]

That trim looks like just decorative capping, ours is coming off too, been like it for a few years now. If the van relied on that it would be wet anyway because of road spray coming up.

Correct, my Auto-trail is the same.

 

[Maluisarot]

That trim looks like just decorative capping, ours is coming off too, been like it for a few years now. If the van relied on that it would be wet anyway because of road spray coming up.

That actually makes an awful lot of sense

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[Swifter]

Correct, my Auto-trail is the same.

So where should the op look for the ingress then ?

 

[Maluisarot]

Correct, my Auto-trail is the same.

Good to know, cheers Diablo

 

[Badknee]

In Spring Keith Brassed Off notices damp in the bathroom of his Swift Kontiki, bad damp!
We stripped off the decorative corner and bumper panels and were shocked to find the external rear wall was sat on the floor panel and only sealed by silver tape with a thin sealant on the back of it.
The floor panel was only internal beech ply about three mm thick underneath, blue rigid polystyrene in the middle and internal ply on top. This was total mush about 10-12 ins from the back.
We replaced the floor with a solid piece of timber glued and screwed in place. The rear wall was then screwed to this timber and butyl taped added and two inch angle glued and sealed around all the joints right from the roofline.

The construction was very poor and bound to fail over time.

When we took the corner panels off Keith noticed the wood screws holding them in place we’re angled downwards inviting water to run down them.

We sealed all round the corner and bumper panels to stop any chance of more water ingress as it should have been the day it was built.

Good luck with your problem

 

[Diabalo]

It may be worth looking to see how the back valance is attached, years ago I had a brand new Bessacarr that ended up with damp on the rear edge of the floor, It turned out that at manufacture they had screwed a section of the rear valance straight into the end of the floor board and water simply wicked its way in.

 

[CazPaul]

So where should the op look for the ingress then ?

Could it just be poor design having a timber floor and timber outer edging strips of wood.
It could be just road spray over the years that’s caused it or down behind the trim as you say, or a combination of both.

Our van is fully sealed in that rear bumper trim area though with a rubber seal all the way along.