I am about to embark upon the delamination repair quest. I have read numerous, some contradictory, posts, but I have 3 main questions. Firstly, the 2 soft patches are inside the door and by the sink. The gap that separates these areas is about 2 feet. Should I repair the area between the soft patches, bridging the whole area to make sure I get all damaged areas? Will it hurt to treat an area not yet soft?
Also, I have purchased the one shot resin from eBay. All posts I have read refer to the 2 part variant. Is this type of resin okay to use?
And finally, there are mixed opinions with regards to bracing the underside of the caravan floor...?
As well is two words!
How does a sage know everything about everything? or does he? or does he just think he does?
Remember, if you buy something you bought it, not brought it.
The bits on the floor that you have desribed are the main path way.The floor at the sink takes the most wear.I would start at the sink and drill up to the good part of the floor.Any delamination in the good part of the floor should be filled.Thats my theory any way..From the wizards site.
I have just done my caravan a few months ago. The floor had gone in two places, next to the door entrance and next to the sink four feet away.
You will find that de-lamination is where the floor is used most .i.e. next to the sink and the door entrance.
First decide how much de-lamination you have, ie.2 feet (old school) or 6 feet, and check underside for gas pipes before starting..
This size of the de-lamination is required when you order your epoxy resin mix.
One mix will cover about 3 feet by 3 feet. I bought mine from Barrons - £25 for both tins.
You will also need a large syringe to inject the mixed epoxy resin. Barrons sell this also.
The glues 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 stated on the tin.
I will go through the steps best I can.
You will need:
A sharp 10mm drill
Some 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 insertion easier
You need to:
Remove all carpets or lino.
Tape up all joints and the cowls under the caravan. Use a good tapeline brown 3” wide packing tape.
If you don’t the glue will run through the seams. (You will not know until you see a pool of glue on the path. So this is a must),
Support the floor under the van in some way so it cannot 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
de-lamination.
.
Drill 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 de-lamination using a black marker, in a square grid pattern of 4 inch.
Drill to the grid pattern. When finished you will have a large square full of holes to the size of the
de-lamination. I.e.: 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 will need:
A tin or old pan large enough to hold the mix of glue.
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 the glue flows out, then plug with the wood plug.
When finished, place the polythene bag over all the holes.
Put a heavy weight on top i.e. wheels and tyres or gas bottles. Leave for 24 hours to dry.
Open all windows to ventilate the caravan before starting the final tasks.
Protective clothing (masks and gloves) must be worn at this stage.
Sand down all plugs until smooth. Replace flooring.
I have successfully used the one-shot resin, it's moisture activated so I wet my dowels first. The foaming action is not quite as vigorous as the two part one and I didn't need any bracing underneath, I did use some weights on the top.
Its a messy process and it pays to be organised and clean up as you go. I used the roll-on carpet protector on the plywood after I had marked it out, spills ooze-outs are easier to clean, just peel it off when it's set hard.
Dave.
------------- Never argue with an idiot, they will drag you down to their level and beat you on experience.
Mark Twain.
I used the one shot resin and worked fine. However, you need to put some cellophane or clear plastic over the area treated so it doesn't stick to the glue when lifting the heavy weight on top plus it is important to support the underneath as well to assist with the compression. If you don't then when you lift off the weight the floor will spring back slightly which enough to crack the bonding which will require a rework in a short period.
I poured a test dollop of the resin yesterday. It didn't set as expected. I have used fibreglass resin in the past on other things and it sets like a blob of glass. The polyurethane was comparatively spongey in nature. Is this meant to be that different from polyester resin? Don't want to put a bad batch between the floor boards...
Tested polyurethane again yesterday and see it has an expanding, foaming quality, and does not dry solid. Is this to avoid a brittle finish between the floor boards?
I can't understand why you are doing laboratory tests to see what the results are because many people will not know what the chemical composition of the products is anyway, only the fact that it does exactly what it says on the instructions.
If you have floor delamination it means that the compound between the top and bottom sections of plywood has collapsed over time leaving a gap and this specific adhesive replaces the missing foam to create a sold floor once again.
You can either use the one shot glue or the two part epoxy based resin but which ever one you use the results will be identical. The question is whether the 2 part resin will outlast the one shot adhesive but only time will tell.
I have to agree with Tango55 on this one, it's a tried and tested method whichever one you choose. The pity is that it was ever needed in the first place though, the original expanded polystyrene foam in all to many cases proves to be inadequate.
Also worth bearing in mind is the role that the dowels play in giving the repaired floor extra strength, plus, the one-shot stuff is moisture activated so wet your dowels first. Good luck.
Dave
------------- Never argue with an idiot, they will drag you down to their level and beat you on experience.
Mark Twain.
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Topic: Delamination repair
