Damp in the bathroom

[crazyguider]

A while ago I posted that we had a small dampish strip in our bathroom below the vanity unit and window. The shower has never been used. Now that damp measures 36% and Sir Fixalot is currently out there removing the unit and window trim to see if we are taking on water. It seems dry under the van, but we can't yet work out where it is coming from. Sense says the window is leaking, but why would it only be damp along the bottom of the wall and not further up? Luckily we have no further trips planned as this may take some time. Any advice will os course be gratefully received

 

[Sproket]

Have you got a rear joint strip that goes across the back of the van between the roof and the back panel? It's quite possible that the screws have corroded and it getting in and trickling down the inside and collecting in the bottom. If you take the filler strip out you will see the screw heads, when I resealed mine some of the screw heads had corroded so bad that I had to use a dremel with a cutting disc to cut a slot for a normal flat blade screwdriver to fit into.
My damp was originating from the centre rear brake light..... the sealant looked ok but when I removed the light you could see that it had been leaking for some time. Good luck.

Edit ::
I am presuming that you are on about the rear of the van ?
Do you have a filler for the flush water ? I would remove it & reseal it to be on the safe side.

 

[crazyguider]

Hi Sprocket, thanks for the reply, but the bathroom is on the side of the van about 1/4 of the way down on the drivers side. We did consider the fille for the loo but it's too far to the side. We also removed the bottom trim seal and the only rusty screws were below the loo locker.

 

[Sproket]

You will be surprised how far water will track when you have even a tiny leak..
Have you checked that the waste water pipes are not cracked ? a friend who I was speaking to today at work has just got his van back from having a damp repair done & it turned out to be the waste pipe in the bathroom had got a clamp put over it to hold it in place, but it was too tight & with the flexing of the van when being towed it took 5 years for it to rub through, so it maybe worth a look ?

 

[crazyguider]

Just suggested this to Sir, Sprocket but apparently the pipe goes under the wardrobe, which is dry. Now thinking of taking out the loo and floor tray (especially as he put his heel thru the plug hole last week!) so he's looking at the thetford installation guide. Watch this space...

 

[crazyguider]

Thankfully the toilet is still in situ! Current theory is that water has got behind the bottom awning rail, thru the seal and into the body. You can clearly see in the bathroom where the water has tracked up from the base and spread along the batons now that the wall'paper' has been removed. As the wall is bonded to polystyrene, how do we get in to dry the inner wood frame? At the moment we are leaving it to air and already the outer (but inside) ply is 15% drywr than when we tested it yesterdy. Will this work for the inner batons or does OH need to cut into the wall, remove the filler and leave it to dry?

 

[Gagakev]

Thankfully the toilet is still in situ! Current theory is that water has got behind the bottom awning rail, thru the seal and into the body. You can clearly see in the bathroom where the water has tracked up from the base and spread along the batons now that the wall'paper' has been removed. As the wall is bonded to polystyrene, how do we get in to dry the inner wood frame? At the moment we are leaving it to air and already the outer (but inside) ply is 15% drywr than when we tested it yesterdy. Will this work for the inner batons or does OH need to cut into the wall, remove the filler and leave it to dry?

Crazyguider if you are pretty certain you have found the leak I would fix this first if Sir Fixalot has not already done so, and as you are now down from 36% to 21% this suggest that the "wallpaper" held quite a bit of moisture. I would tend to leave it for a week or so and then do another reading and take it from there.
Two years ago my awning light was leaking and the area surrounding it read 46% and after resealing and a year later it was down to 15%, so dont be in a hurry to start dismantling the van. It will take time to dry out, keep an eye on it and see how it goes for a couple of months. Good luck.

 

[crazyguider]

Thanks Kev. I think that will be the way forward...

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

At the moment we are leaving it to air and already the outer (but inside) ply is 15% drywr than when we tested it yesterdy. Will this work for the inner batons or does OH need to cut into the wall, remove the filler and leave it to dry?

Remember that we haven't had much rain in the last few weeks, so the wall will dry out naturally. You need to check again after there has been some heavy rain.