Hi, im new to the site, and have been looking at the posts and fixed it club, still need some help to understand some things... I have a compass reflection merit which I've had for two years and been very lucky with. I pulled up the carpet last week and found a damp and rotten part as you come in the door. I believe its coming from the bottom awning rail. the door frame is also spongy and damp at the bottom.
Floor:
How would i tell if its just a case of delamination, with one of those kits? Or would I have to cut out the rot? If I do cut out the rot, do I cut out the poly insulation material too? And the underneath plywood?
Door:
I don't understand the structure of a caravan. If I had to redo the door frame, how? And how much of the door frame will i have toreplace/fix?
I have tried to contact a local caravan company, but they haven't got back to me. I know some carpenters that could probably help me, if I decide to tackle this myself...
I need to get this sorted before the bad weather really.
if i was doing the job.before cutting out,(big hole) fix two strong 3 x 3 wood lengths across the floor underneath the door position.bolt through the sound floor with large washers.when you cut out you have a place to work on and fix your new floor section.
double check the door rubbers or for distortsion in the door itself.if sink is next to the door check the sink is not leaking onto the floor.
------------- the only silly question is the one you do not ask.
Quote: Originally posted by abbyfs on 02/10/2012
Hi, im new to the site, and have been looking at the posts and fixed it club, still need some help to understand some things... I have a compass reflection merit which I've had for two years and been very lucky with. I pulled up the carpet last week and found a damp and rotten part as you come in the door. I believe its coming from the bottom awning rail. the door frame is also spongy and damp at the bottom.
Floor:
How would i tell if its just a case of delamination, with one of those kits? Or would I have to cut out the rot? If I do cut out the rot, do I cut out the poly insulation material too? And the underneath plywood?
Door:
I don't understand the structure of a caravan. If I had to redo the door frame, how? And how much of the door frame will i have toreplace/fix?
I have tried to contact a local caravan company, but they haven't got back to me. I know some carpenters that could probably help me, if I decide to tackle this myself...
I need to get this sorted before the bad weather really.
Help would be much appreciated:)
If the floor is delaminated it will feel very spongy underfoot. If the wood is sound a kit will be all you need to fix it. If the wood is rotten you will have to cut it back to sound wood and maybe make a sub-frame to connect the new bit to the old, re-using the original foam. (Floor is made in layers, 5mm ply - 32mm styrofoam - 5mm ply).
The door framework is just wooden battens inserted between the outer and inner skins of the 'van which the aluminium door frame screws on to. Once the aluminium door frame is off you will be able to see the extent of the problem.
Did mine a couple of years back (exactly same probs as yours). Found it to be the actual door sealing at the bottom. I removed the door to do the repairs, which made it much easier. Have some photos during repair, when I sus out how to post them on here I will do. It may give you an idea rather than me trying to explain....
I had the same problem myself, after resealing the door frame and a new door seal I still had not solved the problem so I removed the bottom awning rail to find it had no mastic on over half its length so this had been a fault since leaving Swift as NEW!!! and only came to light because O/H wanted a new capert witch turned out to be a good thing as I only just caught it in time so after reseaing the bottm rail problem fixed
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Topic: damp/rotten floor by door7door frame
WooooHoooo think ive cracked it this time........
