Wizard if your about can you help please and anyone else who can give any advice.
We have a 1991 abi marauder and a few months back noticed a small patch under the main front window,it went in for a service and they done a complete damp test and it showed up as being the only damp patch,they said it was small and as long as it was done in the next month or so all should be ok.
I asked some advice on here and got a great response but due to work and family commitments we,ve not had a chance to do anything about it as late.
We went away for a few days to stay on a site in wales and went out for the day,came back to find either someone had tried to get into the van as the window had been forced and had come out at the bottom (the side window,not the front)well i say forced thats the only thing we can come up with as it was,ent like that when we went out,also the front locker had been broke and the awning rail snapped.
We secured the window as best we could but with lots of heavy rain water was still getting in and the board around the window has now gone spongy.
We brought the van home rather than put it back in storage to have a proper look and we got a friend of ours round who was here on holiday with his caravan and he said as it was the window that was forced that cause the damage we should be covered by the insurance.
We rang the insurance co,gave them all details as above,they said get 2 estimates and send them in.We arranged for 2 caravan repairers to come and give quotes.The first one came and said about £800-£900 .We were expecting a couple of hundred at most and said why so high,he said that the wallboard was soaked and it had probarbly been damp beforehand but this had not helped the situation and that the windows both front and side needed removing,all wallboards stripped and replaced,awning rail resealed.We explained that it wouldent be worth us doing it as the van was probarbly only worth a couple of grand,he said it would be as the rest of the van was solid and in great condition etc etc.He asked to see the damp report as he said it should have been picked up on the report done when it went in for service and said it was unbelievable it could have been missed.We are awaiting his written estimate.
Next to come was the second guy whao basically said what the above said but said it would be about £1100 and would take about a week.
We said well it was damp then we couldent go on with the insurance claim as that wouldent be covered but both said well the claims in let it run as it wouldent be as bad if this had,ent happened.
Now we,re not sure what to do,we,re pretty sure it wont be covered so now have to decide what to do next,it,s not worth paying so much for the repair even if we were in a position to be able to afford it right now (end of month,loads of bills
Everyone who has looked at the van has said it,s too good to just get rid of but from our point of view it,s not worth spending the above on.
We would like to keep the van at least for another year or so then upgrade but obviously we need to sort this problem out.
Can anyone give some advice please on how difficult a job it,s going to be,whats involved,costs etc anything realy.We,re complete newbies at this caravan repair lol although hubby is pretty good at d.i.y and is willing to give it a go.
As the vans at home now i can take some photos if it helps,the other problem we have is we dont have a driveway,well we do but it has a fishpond on it so we cant put the caravan on there to do any work,at the moment it,s on the street.
Any advice would be gratefully recieved
I'm no repair expert either, but am 'having a go' with my Adria. To date I've replaced rotten battons, floor sections and a small piece of wall board. So far I think I've spent around 40 pounds on materials - mastic, sealant, timber & tape etc. I've found Wizard's website fantastic and Caradad's very helpful too.
The repairs I've done have been time consuming & the mastic messy stuff to clean off & replace but not terribly difficult.
Dad (an ex-joiner) said it's all wood & insulation so there's nothing that can't be replaced, repaired or renewed! Very encouraging and keeps my spirits up when the damp meter starts to click (again!).
It sounds to me your van is worth doing, what have you got to lose?
Hi Nikki, Like many others I have fixed my little "damp problem" and the first thing to realise, especially when you see other peoples web sites, is, it's most probably no worse than theirs and they fixed it.
The hardest part is gathering the information and working out what to do next, that's were reading the Fixed It Club web sites come in and if you then get "stuck" just post a question.
Most jobs are not difficult, it just takes time and as Mozann says, what have you got to lose?
cheers
Sounds like you have a similar problem to my repair.........check out the link below........try to get into a barn for a couple of weekends........have a couple of hundred pounds available for materials etc.......check out the "I fixed it club" members directory link.....and go for it!
Sorry for the delay in replying,i came on looking for my post and after searching for ages found it had been moved to a different section,i had been wondering did i realy post it lol.
Mozann ..That sounds encouraging,your dad seems to have given good advice,hopefully the same will apply for our van.It,s been raining realy hard here the last few days so we have,nt been able to do much as yet but have started removing things like the awning,bbq,tables chairs etc from the van so we can see a bit better and have a proper look.Thanks again for the advice.
Caradad..Thanks for the link,we,re just going to have a read now.The barn bit is the problem as we,re near blackpool and the only barns are about 10 miles away but none for rent.We asked the guy who owns the storage site and he said it,s pretty hard to find anywhere indoors and his indoor site is full,so i think that may be our first problem.Nows the time we wish we had a bigger garden lol.
Wizard..Thanks for replying,i,ll take some piccies in the morning and email them straight over as we,ve just taken most of the stuff out of the van today and we had no light when we,de finished.Do you want the exterior as well as the interior?
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Topic: Damp Caravan Advice..Wizard Help Pls
and anyone else who can give any advice.
.We were expecting a couple of hundred at most and said why so high,he said that the wallboard was soaked and it had probarbly been damp beforehand but this had not helped the situation and that the windows both front and side needed removing,all wallboards stripped and replaced,awning rail resealed.We explained that it wouldent be worth us doing it as the van was probarbly only worth a couple of grand,he said it would be as the rest of the van was solid and in great condition etc etc.He asked to see the damp report as he said it should have been picked up on the report done when it went in for service and said it was unbelievable it could have been missed.We are awaiting his written estimate.
and would take about a week.
