Damp Help - 2014 Pursuit

[ThokkiSam]

Hi Folks,

So we've been given a baily pursuit 2014 model - lucky right?

As new to the world of caravanning we are excited but I thought the shower area looked a little dubious so did some investigating, wish I hadn't now. I can see the silicone on the shower area is no longer holding certain parts together so water can seep behind.

I then wondered what the floor was like - given the wifes insinct to change everything in the house she advised to lift the lino as we'd be replacing it anyway, so I did.

Underneath what I can describe as a bit of a mess - moisture reading on the floor around 36.

My first question is, should the floor be fully black, is that a foam or something on top or just the makeup of the ply flooring etc?

Secondly, what's the best way to go about this - I'm currently airing the whole van at the moment, is it worth getting a dehumidifier rigged in there and sorted, give it a week or two and keep taking readings to see if it improves? To me it looks as though the previous owners have used the shower and it's then back-filled where the tray meets the floor and traversed along that way. All other moisture readings in the van are OK, just the bathroom area.

Attached is a pic of the floor - there is a reading of around 36 closest to the tray and the right hand wall.


Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[toad a caravan]

They black surface could of been applied by the manufacturer,Is there any spongy places around the area.

 

[ThokkiSam]

They black surface could of been applied by the manufacturer,Is there any spongy places around the area.

Nothing spongy that I can feel, either when pressed or under-foot. Underside of van looks fine to me. Just looked a bit suspicious when I walked in there and noticed the silicone wasn't "siliconing" so to speak.

 

[toad a caravan]

I'd let it air out naturally,open the windows a couple on mm then use the latch to keep them there,,Good luck. Gary

 

[ThokkiSam]

Cheers Gary, so no need to mess around with dehumidifier etc? I know we've got some awesome weather at the minute which should help things along I guess!

 

[toad a caravan]

If you intend putting it back together once dried make sure the components that are to assembled together are clean,,Meths may be suitable as it would remove any contaminates

 

[toad a caravan]

You'll find plenty of holes in you floor that are there by design,so you don't get poisoned from any fumes etc,also cables some times run.under the caravan and up through the floor,these vents etc should allow plenty of circulation

 

[toad a caravan]

If you can check around the waste pipe where it comes out through the floor underneath in case that could be a cause

 

[toad a caravan]

I have a 1992 Abbey,I removed the shower/toilet and what not,here are some images I took,the components are made by injection moulding and as such are super flimsy and ultra thin, yours may be GRP a much better material

 

[ThokkiSam]

Wow, that's some work!

If I can get it dry enough to be confident it was the shower area and water getting in there i'll be happy. Im going to have to take units out where I can anyway to water proof the flooring that we do put down again. I don't like the fact that the showertray just "meets" the wall as opposed to having a splash-back on it or anything, wonder if I might be able to do a retro fit on it or otherwise. Seems like shower/bathrooms on Baileys are the weak point!

 

[toad a caravan]

It may not be a fault by bailey it could be down to the age and use over the years,it would seem as a product called sikaflex is an popular product for sealing against water,I haven't used it,I would be aware of using a sealant that would prevent removal of anything in the future,perhaps trying "sikaflex"in the Search facility on this forum may help .....Gary,, also not to bad of a job,just took my time,

 

[Kevin M]

The black looks to be a bitumen type of primer usually used as a primer used before a waterpoof dpm is installed, it may however be black paint.
Fix the leak and make sure the floor is sound and the van will last for years, failing that, turn the radio up (but tongue in cheek that comment)

 

[ThokkiSam]

The black looks to be a bitumen type of primer usually used as a primer used before a waterpoof dpm is installed, it may however be black paint.
Fix the leak and make sure the floor is sound and the van will last for years, failing that, turn the radio up (but tongue in cheek that comment)

Thanks Kevin - as I said im 80% sure it's the usage of the shower, I don't think there's a leak, just more ingress from when the shower has been used and perhaps some resiliconing to do.

Will give it a week or two to dry out anyways.

Radios on...in a caravan...oooo ek!

 

[Mr Plodd]

My instant thought was that water damaged flooring doesn't have a uniform black colour, so I am inclined to agree with Kevin M and, having owned a couple of Baileys I can say that they don't paint anything on the internal flooring, so whatever it is it is certainly not original.

36% is a pretty high damp reading, so it needs to dry out, and that will take many weeks. The surface may dry quicker, but then moisture from deeper in the ply needs to wick to the surface and evaporate off, so don't think you are going to fix it in a couple of weeks.

For comparison I had an overnight leak that I discovered prior to breakfast. Water had got under the vinyl flooring so I removed it as soon as possible, as in literally 10 minutes after discovery. The floor had lots of standing water on it that was sponged up with towels. It STILL took over 2 weeks, with a dehumidifier running 24/7 to get the damp reading down to less than 15% and that was after really minimal time had elapsed for the water to soak in.

I am not trying to frighten you, just pointing out it's a long process you are looking at. If the surface IS bitumen or similar try and scrape as much off as you can because it will only hold the moisture in, and you want to get it out.
Good luck and keep us posted as to how things progress.

 

[ThokkiSam]

My instant thought was that water damaged flooring doesn't have a uniform black colour, so I am inclined to agree with Kevin M and, having owned a couple of Baileys I can say that they don't paint anything on the internal flooring, so whatever it is it is certainly not original.

36% is a pretty high damp reading, so it needs to dry out, and that will take many weeks. The surface may dry quicker, but then moisture from deeper in the ply needs to wick to the surface and evaporate off, so don't think you are going to fix it in a couple of weeks.

For comparison I had an overnight leak that I discovered prior to breakfast. Water had got under the vinyl flooring so I removed it as soon as possible, as in literally 10 minutes after discovery. The floor had lots of standing water on it that was sponged up with towels. It STILL took over 2 weeks, with a dehumidifier running 24/7 to get the damp reading down to less than 15% and that was after really minimal time had elapsed for the water to soak in.

I am not trying to frighten you, just pointing out it's a long process you are looking at. If the surface IS bitumen or similar try and scrape as much off as you can because it will only hold the moisture in, and you want to get it out.
Good luck and keep us posted as to how things progress.

Thank you matey - kind of makes sense and that was what was going through my head re the black floor - starting to think the previous owner may have done this in an attempt to prevent previous damp issues perhaps :-/ unfortunately they are no longer around to ask.

I agree with the length of time this might take - definitely not an overnight job but made more painful by the fact that we can't get the van on our driveway at the moment as we are having the house re-rendered, funnily enough, damp issues there too!

Any ideas what would be best to "scrape" it off.... is it also worth getting it as dry as possible and then hitting it with a sander or not bothering?

Cheers, Sam

 

[Kevin M]

Sam

I’d leave it dry out and then, if flaky, brush it off.
Once dry with no leaks get out and enjoy the van.

 

[Mr Plodd]

Sam

I’d leave it dry out and then, if flaky, brush it off.
Once dry with no leaks get out and enjoy the van.

Only problem there is that if it IS a bitumen type sunstance it will keep the moisture within the floor. Think about what it is! It's a for waterproofing roofs etc, so it will keep moisture in an already damp medium and not allow it to escape won't it?

 

[IanB1485]

I've lifted a few vinyl coverings in caravan to reveal damp plywood underneath , but never have I seen such a uniform black floor ( there's normally a 'pathway ' where the flow of water has left different levels of staining), so I would agree with the other members , someday has painted that on , and as others say let it dry out. and you can always overpaint it with Thompsons water seal (or Cuprinol wood preserver).
The interesting thing is both are water based!
Regarding sikaflex its an adhesive and sealant and I use it a lot. there are different ones i mainly use the 522 or Soudal Fix all. If you want to replace the floor remeber its not a solid floor , but a sandwich there is a series of videos on youtube showing how its done:-

View: https://youtu.be/smgoQ_7snzY

 

[ThokkiSam]

Thanks for the insight Ian - I would agree, if it was that rotten/mouldy I'#d have expected to smell it through the van and would have expected it to be soft in places too.

A question on the flooring, is it worth/is it possible to cut a section of the top ply out - predominently where the damp patch is in front of the shower tray and relay some new ply - would the support still be there or are there cross members that I would need to be able to fit to etc? So in essence can I measure up the size ply I need, cut it out, place it over the top of the current ply, mark up and then use a multi-tool to chop out and then replace with the new i've cut to size, presumably using a waterproof sealant to fit it to the original ply?

Im by no means overly handy but I've a good collection of power tools and the knowledge of Youtube and common sense. I don't want to start ripping out full bathroom suites when I don't know the first thing about how caravans are built ideally.

 

[birdman101]

The top layer is usually bonded to the polystyrene sandwich

 

[ThokkiSam]

The top layer is usually bonded to the polystyrene sandwich

So im guessing it's a no bueno on chopping out unless bloody careful and going layer by layer on the ply then?

 

[toad a caravan]

This is an excellent wood adhesive from Toolstation

 

[toad a caravan]

I haven't tried this,but perhaps a forum member may haveIt may not be appropriate to retain the structural integrity in certain circumstances,

 

[ThokkiSam]

This is an excellent wood adhesive from Toolstation View attachment 9049

Thanks toad - but if im chopping out and in essence just placing a new piece of wood in does it impact structural integrity or - as it's bonded to the foam and eventually to the bottom ply underneath is there still some integrity there...

Last thing I'd want to do is cut a square piece out the floor (carefully) and find i've just knackered the floor completely.

 

[birdman101]

Unless that is soft and rotten I would leave well alone.