Damp Testing

[KeithJ]

My van has just had it's third year service and the dealer pointed out, among other things, that it had no damp. I was, of course, pleased to hear this, but when I got home I sat down to look through the papers they had given me in greater detail. I noticed that the damp test sheet showed a score of 14 in most areas and very little better than 12. I looked as last year's sheet and the scores were 8 and 6 by comparison.

The notes on the sheet say that any score below 15 does not require action - so all those 14s don't sound so impressive now.

Can anybody tell me - should I be starting to worry now? Will the past year's trend in these figures continue? If so I will be requiring action all over the van next year!!

Or does the cold and damp whether we have been having have an influence on the readings?

Your thoughts/advice would be appreciated.

Keith

 

[Sproket]

I think you have answered your question yourself regarding,the cold and damp wheather having a influence on the readings.....

Has it been used over winter or just standing in storage...?

If you had bought your van & got it delivered in August & had it serviced every August, & then got the huge difference in readings then i would start to worry....

If you are worried get it re checked in three months time....

 

[Guest]

I asked the same thing. 'What do the numbers actually mean?'. According to the dealer anything under 15 is fine, 15-20 needs a re-check after a while, over 20 start having a look, over 25 get panicky. Again, if the check was after a winter store then it is likely to be a bit more moist than summer, but does not mean anything is wrong. Also look at the pattern, one single high'ish number alongside a lot of low ones is possibly just an error, several in the same area and ten yes, start looking.

 

[KeithJ]

It has been in storage over winter and I had, in fact, cancelled and re-booked the service three times because it snowed on the date I was supposed to take it in. On the day I finally took it in the air inside felt distinctly damp and there was some condensation on surfaces.

I suppose the best thing would be to have it re-checked in July after our summer holiday.

Thanks Sprocket and Scotch Lad

Keith

 

[readcaravans]

the readings indicated on damp reports are a percentage of moisture content in the wallboard. the natural moisture content of timber is anything up to approx 20%. this can fluctuate dependant on weather conditions, time of year, storage and usage conditions. when testing, a trained technician will make allowances for these differences and will sign the appropriate part of the water moisture survey (damp test).

for more than 10 years now, we have only been acting on readings of 30% and above and has caused no problems what so ever. we also notify all manufacturers of this and our working practices. the reason for this is because manufacturers since 2000 have reduced the amount of fixed permanent ventilation by the introduction of large heki/remi rooflights. this means the average moisture readings in caravans have increased generally in the last 10yrs.

if there are any doubts as to the condition of the caravan, then a recheck of readings should be performed approx 10-12wks after the initial survey. this will positively determine if there is a water ingress problem or not.

for the reading first reported in the OP, i would certainly dismiss them and say there is no problem at all.

 

[KeithJ]

Thanks Read Caravans - you have put my mind at rest. Water ingress has always been my single most worry about owning a caravan, but it's hard to see what an owner can do about it.

Thanks again

Keith