i,ve been reading previous threads on delam. and am not sure at what stage a floor needs treating!
our 'van floor does feel slightly springy (it is not solid) but dont know if this is just the feel of walking in a van ...are the floors normally totally rigid ? having said that it has got the removable loose type carpet with cushioned vinyl underneath...im not sure if the give i feel is down to that!!!!
is there a way of checking without drilling holes????
------------- Jult 4th...Hollins Farm
August 24th....Warren Farm
October 23rd....mmmm who knows ???
hello Sue and John, try getting someone to walk in the van whilst the other checks for movement underneath, if you see the floor move you have delamination, i am going to do my floor this month hopefully all goes well, i'll let you know.
i know its a bit of a drag but they say the best way to do it is by taking up the carpet and injecting from inside, thats how i am going to do it, ok so i have to cut the carpet out, but its not that expensive to replace either with new carpet or i may go for cushion floor, I asked at Barrons about them doing it the price depends on how much resin they use, which they tell me its about £40 a time plus over £100 labour, they take the van in on a friday put it up on a ramp and inject it from underneath and it stays on the ramp till monday afternoon when u can collect it, so thats why im doing it myself worth a go i think.. good luck
Well worth doing yourself.....its not a major job.
Although the caravan floor repair kits are bloody expensive for a resin. I have seen ppl using expanding foam as an alternative repair kit, not tried it myself.
I used a resin made for the motor industry, a lot cheaper and sets in exactly the same way.
Like others have said, get someone else in your caravan and watch them walk over the area, if you see it sink when they walk over it its probably worth doing. The main areas to go are infront off the kitchen area and main doorway.
how much resin would be required to do an area of approx 12 sq ft to a depth of an inch ? Ours needs doing from door to front end of kitchen on half the width of the floor , Barrons have quoted £25 for the kit , dont know if there would be enough in one kit to do it , they never gave quantities.
hi,delamination...frightening no if you set out your stall and take your time.this is not a two hour job as stated,when you have finished you will know why they charge so much at the caravan repair shop.i have just done ours a few months ago.i will go through the steps best i can.ours had gone in two places,next to the door entrance and next to the sink four feet away.you will find that delamination is where the floor is used most.ie next to the sink and the door entrance.first decide how much delamination you have,ie.2 feet (old school) or 6 feet,this information is required when you go to order your epoxi resin mix.one mix will cover about 3 feet by 3 feet.got mine from barrons £25 for both tins.you also need a large syringe to inject the mixed epoxi resin.this will also sell.also the chemicals (glue) are called apollo 1 and apollo 2.i think the code is A8136.the small tin is the hardener and must be used in the time on the tin.the first thing is to remove all carpets or lino.second(must) tape up all joints and the cowls under the caravan .use a good tape.ie brown packing tape,3 in wide.if you dont the glue will run out on to the ground outside through all the seams.you will not know until you see a pool on the path..third ,support the floor under the van in some way so it cannnot bend when pressure is placed on top,do not push up the floor.you can damage the fittings inside.use wood blocks stacked up just touching the floor on the underside in the same place as the delamination.fourth find a sharp 10mm drill .you need to buy 10 mm round wood to cut and plug the holes,sold in 6 foot lengths.this needs cutting into plugs,half inch long and sanded down at one end to make it go in easy.the next step is to do a test hole,find a place that has no gas pipes on the underside.slowly drill one hole until it only just touches the plywood at the bottom.DO NOT DRILL THROUGH.tape up the drill at this depth,use plenty of tape to stop the drill going deeper than it should.mark out the area of delamination,black marker,in a square grid pattern of 4 inch each way .when finished you will have a large square full of holes to the size of the delamination.ie.3 x 3 feet.clean away all and any dust or shavings.have a large polythene bag ready to put over the square,the glue does not stick to polythene.you need a tin or old pan to mix into of the correct size for size of mix.a clean strong stick to stir the mix.only mix what you need within the time allowed.start at the rear end injecting the holes one by one until it flows out then plug with the wood plug.when finished ,place poly bag over all holes.put a heavy weight on top ie.wheels and tyres or gas bottles.leave for 24 hours to dry.sand down all plugs until smooth.you must wear a mask for the fumes and open the windows when you are doing the job.rubber gloves are handy too.CHECK UNDERSIDE FOR GAS PIPES BEFORE STARTING.wish i could type.
Post last edited on 17/02/2005 23:06:21
------------- the only silly question is the one you do not ask.
hi sue and john,i read a few weeks ago,a guy had took his van for the first service only to be told the the floor was delaminated and had to go back to the supplier.bit of worry i think.
------------- the only silly question is the one you do not ask.
yep ...taking the carpet up is o.k 'cos its the loose removable type but i don't fancy having to cut up the cushion flooring...by the time i've done that i may as well pay the cost to have it done at a repair shop ...plus it'll probably get half done and then left to finish tomorrow!!!! and we all know that tomorrow never comes ! LOL
------------- Jult 4th...Hollins Farm
August 24th....Warren Farm
October 23rd....mmmm who knows ???
im gonna get a quote off barrons first for them to do it before i go diving in & hacking the floor myself. If they do it it will be right .... wont it ????
Quote: Originally posted by bev+jon on 18/02/2005
im gonna get a quote off barrons first for them to do it before i go diving in & hacking the floor myself. If they do it it will be right .... wont it ????
Jon....get it done man......its not a big job. I eneded up injecting from the door right thro to the front lockers......it used about 6 litres off resin. The secret is drill a test hole and as it just breaks thro the plywood stop the drill and then just plundge it down and maesure how deap it is with the drill bit............ide be suprised if the drill bit falls more than about 6 or 8mm thro.......thats the void you have to fill.
You will also find as you are drilling thro that in some areas it will only have delaminated a couple off mm. If you use the stuff they sell in the caravan shops i would think that size off area may take 3 kits...possibly 4 depending on how bad it is.
Try a test area with expanding foam m8.........its a lot cheaper. Drill a 2ft square grid with holes about every 6" apart....start injectinmg at one hole, wait for it to come out the next and repate all over the pre drilled area........leave it 48 hours and i think you will find its solid as a rock.
cheers pal , where can i get expanding foam from ?
I dont want to do the whole lot with foam cos not sure how permanent the repair would be , but agreed, good idea to do a test piece with foam see what results i get , dont want to blow a shed load of money on a repair kit & stuff the job up especially if i need a few kits....
What size holes did you drill m8 and did you plug the holes after as stated elsewhere in this thread or just tidy them up after it had all set ?
Think the problem with our van is due to previous owners kids jumping from top bunk , (its a side dinette layout ) this is where the main damage is.
It could be worth looking at caravanfaultfinder.co.uk Click on Basics. It would seem that there are two reasons for 'spongy floors'. I used this site for diagnosis & cured our van floor by extra supports underneeth the floor made from 2" aluminium angle. A relatively simple job to do. If this would solve your problems I would be pleased to send photos' if this would help.
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Topic: delamination...
