What is the best way to dry out a Damp Caravan. I have replaced part of a window frame, renewed the leaking window seal, resealed the awning rail and window hinge rails and (I Think) i have fixed the cause of the problem but obviously damp is in the walls.
I have taken off some areas of wall board and I can feel the moisture (water) in and behind the polystyrene. Do I need to scrape all this out or can I apply some heat and a dehumidifier ???????
On one wall I have taken off quite a big section of wall board say 8 square feet . On the other wall just enough so it will be covered after by a 9 X 3 Vent
If you can block of all the air vents and seal the skylights from the inside..i used cling film..heat the van up and use a dehumidifier.I did this when i had damp in one of my vans in the vanity room.
Infra-red heater will do the job better than most as it will heat up the object in front of it rather than the whole caravan. Then all you need is plenty of ventilation to let the moisture out of the 'van. I think you will find this is the method most commercial workshops use.
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If the damp problem has been arrested, heat will dry it out naturally.over time. If some of the wall boards are detached, I nguess ya might as well leave them whilst it`s drying. There`s probably some damp in any caravan, but it`s not apparant when the boards are in place until it gets real bad. If it`s an old van then if you only want/expect say 5 or 6 years o/o it, then I wouldn`t go beyond the necessary!
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Quote: Originally posted by peterws on 13/10/2012
If it`s an old van then if you only want/expect say 5 or 6 years o/o it, then I wouldn`t go beyond the necessary!
this is the most sensible statement i have seen on here for a long time .at the end of the day its our choice to either get rid of the van or make do and mend
I agree with you. With me its make do and mend. I have a 21 year old van that i am putting on a seasonal pitch. I have resealed it and replaced the rotten wood and boards. I used cheaper materials because its not worth spending fortunes on it. I have had it serviced so gas and electric are fine and my non matching wallboard is hidden by the curtains so its dry and functional. Thats all i want.
When i did a repair to my old van, I removed the damp polystyrene till I reached an area where it was dry, its easy to remove, so why leave in dampnes? I used an electric fan heater over a few days (because thats all I had) with the windows open, and it worked a treat. replaced some timbers and bonded new polystyrene and wallboard with Sticks like SH*T which it did!
Plenty people on this site have done it, so there is no shortage of good advice
If you take the polystyrene off all you have left is half a millimetre of aluminium skin, which is not at all stiff and very prone to dents and scraper marks. This may also take on a concave or convex shape and make life difficult when you put it back together. I'd rather dry the insulation out in situ unless it has really had it.
You are spot on, just depends on how much needs removed, and yes you do need to be carefull or your through the skin.
I wedged a pluwood board against the outside of my caravan to keep it flat, Placed in the new insulation which was polystyrene boards, placed the internal wallboard and wedged it in place braced off the opposite inside wall of the caravan, So it formed a sandwhich construction,
Hope you follow, i am better at doing things than explaining how to do it.
You'll never get the moisture from between the foam and aluminium skin unless you remove the foam.
I tried and ran an excellent dehumidifier in my van for several weeks along with heat and it was still dripping wet between the two. All the frame work dried fine but the water really is trapped and I doubt it would ever dry out especially if repaneled.
Replacing the foam isn't that much more work. Depends on how far you want to take the repair.
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Topic: DRYING OUT A DAMP CARAVAN
