My DIY damp repair project

[davejen]

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

Some say pig -headed!. Lost the arm 51 yrs ago in a bike accident, so have got used to it, sometimes I wonder why we need 2 arms, other times I get really frustrated and realise why!
Cheers, Dave

 

[DuxDeluxe]

That is a really top class job. Thanks for posting the progress up; it has been fascinating reading

 

[rangi]

What a job! and what a brilliant end to it! Fabulous! I've really enjoyed watching this thread.

 

[TheBig1]

For a first attempt, I suppose it will do '

Seriously though, very well done and as I said before, better than autotrails efforts. Should last the lifetime of the vehicle

 

[The_Kraken]

For a first attempt, I suppose it will do '

Seriously though, very well done and as I said before, better than autotrails efforts. Should last the lifetime of the vehicle

Thank you TheBig1 - I really appreciate all of your advice!

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[TheBig1]

Thank you TheBig1 - I really appreciate all of your advice!

Youre very welcome, any time

 

[fullfat]

Fantastic job, you must be proud of the finish
Cheers Ian

 

[Carolyn and Kev]

seriously........Bloody marvellous! If only the work force of the day would take a piece of your work ethic and committed it to todays way of life...we would be a truly Great Country!

Bloody Brilliant! Well done!

Kev

 

[Riverbankannie]

I would echo all the above comments. I know it’s a massive help having large inside workshop space but even so, you’ve done an amazing job and should be proud of the result.
It’s disgusting that such a relatively new vehicle should be in this state in the first place. I’m glad I have a PVC!!
Thanks for posting and giving the forum such a great resource.

 

[John.]

Fantastic job

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[Rob and Val]

Great job!

 

[rosalan]

You are worthy of a 'FUN' hero's award, not only for your tenacity but also for the quality of work demonstrated over the several weeks of work.
You are an encouragement to others who once they see the scale of damage, fight shy of dealing with it. Like you have shown, once the whole extent of the problem is clear to see and the dross cleared away, most problems can be dealt with. Congratulations on a most informative thread.

 

[The_Kraken]

You are worthy of a 'FUN' hero's award, not only for your tenacity but also for the quality of work demonstrated over the several weeks of work.
You are an encouragement to others who once they see the scale of damage, fight shy of dealing with it. Like you have shown, once the whole extent of the problem is clear to see and the dross cleared away, most problems can be dealt with. Congratulations on a most informative thread.

Thank you so much! and to everyone’s kind words, thank you, it really means a lot.

I have to be honest and say that the initial discovery was heart breaking. However, knowing what I know now and what I have documented as thoroughly as I could, should help make it a lot less painful for lots of others.

 

[Caggsie1]

Fascinating stuff, wish I,/we, were diy’ers. The first piccies were frightening, the last were brill. Thoroughly enjoyed this thread. Thanks for sharing

 

[Anthea M]

I’ve just spent the last hour reading the thread-and I want to reiterate what others have said what a fantastic job and well done!!!

The photos brought back the damp we had in two Italian vans a few years ago but were repaired under warranty.( bet they won’t last as long as your repair I’m sure.)

After all your hard work now enjoy your adventures in your lovely MH!

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[The_Kraken]

I’ve just spent the last hour reading the thread-and I want to reiterate what others have said what a fantastic job and well done!!!

The photos brought back the damp we had in two Italian vans a few years ago but were repaired under warranty.( bet they won’t last as long as your repair I’m sure.)

After all your hard work now enjoy your adventures in your lovely MH!

Thanks Anthea!

Yes, cannot wait to get out and about!

 

[The_Kraken]

Here's the updated materials list:

Sikaflex 512 to bond the battens - I also used this to bond the locker doors and habitation door in. I do realise that it would make it difficult to get them back out again but, I'd rather that than have the bond fail and let in more water!

Magnum Motorhome wallboard adhesive - this has a putty like consistency (incase like me, you wondered how I was going to get an adhesive to not run down the wall!) I haven't used this yet. Update: The wallboard adhesive was very good. Spread it on like tile adhesive and it forms a very solid bond. Recommended!

Wallboard - From Magnum Motorhomes, ours is 'Kenkle'. I also used their white faced Ply for the wallboard in the garage.

Wallpaper - From Caravan Warehouse: https://www.thecaravanwarehouse.co.uk/Products/wall-papers/WP061

Batten - Treated timber from B&Q 38 x 23mm which I have had to cut down to fit our Motorhome which has 33 x 23mm batten

For the garage repair, I used some Ash hardwood which I got from Chiltern Timber in Hemel Hempstead. They had some offcuts of it which I then cut down to size. Lovely wood to work with.

Buffalo Board / Phenolic Plywood - I used this for the garage floor and step as well as the perimeter plinth along the bottom of the wallboard in the garage. 9mm thick, sourced from Chiltern Timber in Hemel Hempstead.

Lashing rings - I got these from eBay

Fiamma Drip stop and lashing strips - www.motorcaravanning.co.uk good prices and very helpful

Fiamma lashing rails - Magnum motorhomes

Hyrdrosol Woodsealer - From Amazon - very good wood waterproofing agent. Brush on - two coats.

Polycraft LD40 Expanding Polyurethane foam - Amazon. Amazing stuff. I used this to fill the voids in the floor where the existing urethane foam coare had melted away by a previous attempted repair (not by me!)

Cox Solo Hilton heavy duty sealant gun - Wow! the best sealant gun I've ever used. Does not make your hands ache and very easy to use. The cartridge carrier rotates too which makes applying sealant and adhesive at funny angles much easier. £18 from Amazon! well worth it.

Fibreglass Resin - I had some in my garage from a fibreglass repair kit I bought years go. Any fibreglass 2 pack resign will do. I used this to treat a bit of soft timber

Stainless steel screws - I don't want them to go rusty!

Habitation door seal - Magnums now stock the white rubber Autotrail door seals.

 

[Happy Jim]

I’m really happy with the result. Very content that I did it myself and saved myself a good few bob in doing so.

Understatement of the year!!

Awesome job, you deserve to give yourself a massive pat on the back, and I’d hazard a guess that you’ve saved more than a few bob too

Thanks for taking us on the journey with you, fascinating to watch

Rgds

Jim

 

[The Wino]

Looks like "Kracken job"!!!!!!

 

[The_Kraken]

Understatement of the year!!

Awesome job, you deserve to give yourself a massive pat on the back, and I’d hazard a guess that you’ve saved more than a few bob too

Thanks for taking us on the journey with you, fascinating to watch

Rgds

Jim

Hi Jim - thank you!

If I totted up my hours it would run to a few bob! I can see how the repairers can charge so much for their time. The unknown bit is how thorough a job they'd be doing for the money I suppose?

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[Bill and Tracey]

Just read through the last couple of pages. Final results look incredible. Utterly horrendous beforehand tho. Suffering from soft bits in our van . Might have to print this whole thread and use it as an instruction manual. Really well done.

 

[Scout]

it would seem you have a new occupation should you ever want one, great job..well done

 

[StitchesnFluff]

Absolutely brilliant job! Very well done.

 

[The_Kraken]

If anyone needs any advice please feel free to message me. I may not have all the answers but if I can help, I will.

 

[Drifter]

Thanks for sharing this. As we are hunting for our first MH this not only gives us a bit of hope any water ingress isn’t the end of the world, but it has opened my eyes to ensure we look for damp issues in any potential buys
I hope you get the chance to enjoy her now and relax, you’ve earned it

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[The_Kraken]

Thanks for sharing this. As we are hunting for our first MH this not only gives us a bit of hope any water ingress isn’t the end of the world, but it has opened my eyes to ensure we look for damp issues in any potential buys
I hope you get the chance to enjoy her now and relax, you’ve earned it

Hi Drifter. We are sat outside our beloved MH enjoying the sun right now!

The honest truth about water ingress is that every MH is susceptible to it. Some because they are built badly and some because they’re old and some because they spend their entire life outdoors.

Everything is fixable. Most of it can be easily diy’d in my opinion. Would I buy a MH with damp? If the price was right and work not too extensive then, yes. Some real bargains to be had in my opinion (as long as the owners are aware and are wanting rid of it quickly).

Unfortunately we inherited a great MH which had not been looked after. We were complete newbies and jumped in with both feet. We bought from ‘a friend’ who didn’t do us a great turn. That’s life I suppose. Still, with a bit of work, we’ve got a lovely MH which we really enjoy.

As I mentioned in this thread, the whole point of it was to illustrate to anyone just how straight forward repairing common damp problems can be. Even when faced with what seems like a horrendous issue like the garage area in ours, it can turn out better than the original.

 

[DuxDeluxe]

Hi Drifter. We are sat outside our beloved MH enjoying the sun right now!

The honest truth about water ingress is that every MH is susceptible to it. Some because they are built badly and some because they’re old and some because they spend their entire life outdoors.

Everything is fixable. Most of it can be easily diy’d in my opinion. Would I buy a MH with damp? If the price was right and work not too extensive then, yes. Some real bargains to be had in my opinion (as long as the owners are aware and are wanting rid of it quickly).

Unfortunately we inherited a great MH which had not been looked after. We were complete newbies and jumped in with both feet. We bought from ‘a friend’ who didn’t do us a great turn. That’s life I suppose. Still, with a bit of work, we’ve got a lovely MH which we really enjoy.

As I mentioned in this thread, the whole point of it was to illustrate to anyone just how straight forward repairing common damp problems can be. Even when faced with what seems like a horrendous issue like the garage area in ours, it can turn out better than the original.

You have been a real inspiration

 

[Trixie]

You have been a real inspiration

@Kraken

Ditto

 

[Drifter]

Hi Drifter. We are sat outside our beloved MH enjoying the sun right now!

The honest truth about water ingress is that every MH is susceptible to it. Some because they are built badly and some because they’re old and some because they spend their entire life outdoors.

Everything is fixable. Most of it can be easily diy’d in my opinion. Would I buy a MH with damp? If the price was right and work not too extensive then, yes. Some real bargains to be had in my opinion (as long as the owners are aware and are wanting rid of it quickly).

Unfortunately we inherited a great MH which had not been looked after. We were complete newbies and jumped in with both feet. We bought from ‘a friend’ who didn’t do us a great turn. That’s life I suppose. Still, with a bit of work, we’ve got a lovely MH which we really enjoy.

As I mentioned in this thread, the whole point of it was to illustrate to anyone just how straight forward repairing common damp problems can be. Even when faced with what seems like a horrendous issue like the garage area in ours, it can turn out better than the original.

Glad you are enjoying the sun, you deserve to reap the rewards after all the hard work. We are not far away of joining you, just been out for a nosey around the local dealers and paid a deposit on a MH, collect it in two weeks. Can’t wait to get involved

 

[Cush]

Hi. Hope you don't mind me reawakening this thread but I have found your post really valuable. Just today I realised that the front locker has crumbling wood between the outer and inner frames and soft board to the left and right. It was a fairly deflating discovery as we've only had the van for exactly a year today after I had had to let my bongo go for parts because of metal rot (it was so bad the body shop didn't even call it rust!

My van is also an autotrail (2003 630 LB). Judging by the delaminated state of the wood I guess it has been that way for quite a while. Those lockers must be susceptible if not properly maintained.

If you are still monitoring this post I wonder what advice you might have and if you think there is any advantage to having the locker door open upwards or down? Mine opens upwards and falls out of the little friction clasp that holds it open. I should wear a cycle helmet everytime I open it. Its like Arcwright's till!

Your pictures are also much appreciated to give an insight into what lies behind the wallboard.

Thanks again
Cush

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