Floor Delamination successfully fixed from below :-)

[Glenn_5132962]

Thanks to all who replied to my recent post about fixing my delaminated floor.

I wanted to do it from below so as not to disturb the carpet which in my van actually goes under the bed boxes etc. I bought a kit off ebay which contained the resin, a large syringe & lots of dowels. It cost about £30 delivered.

From inside the van I marked out the effected area using masking tape. I then carefully transferred the measurements to the underside of the floor, again using masking tape to mark out the area to be treated.

I then drilled 8mm holes through the lower wood, through the foam but stopped when the bit hit the upper wood. I then injected the resin in & quickly plugged the hole with the dowel. It was messy because some glue leaked back out even with the dowel in place. I tried to apply duct tape over the hole but the glue even seeped past that before it cured.

When all this was done I supported the floor from underneith with a jack and placed weights on the inside over a board. Left it overnight to set & hey presto it's all fixed!!

Solid as a rock again for £30 compared to the dealer quote of £250.

 

[Scott_374302539]

Seems a good post to fix problem. However can anyone tell me what floor delamination is exactly?

Cheers

 

[ThePlotter]

I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong.On old vans it hardly ever happened as the floor was a single piece of wood albeit often plywood this occasionally had a problem if the individual layers seperated due usually to water ingress.

On more recent vans the floor is like a sandwich with a layer of high density foam sandwiched between to layers of wood the three layers are bonded together using an adhesive and the whole lot cured under pressure.Delamination is where the bond breaks down usually in places of high wear often by the door or in front of the cooker,this leaves the three layers no longer bonded together with the result that the strength is compromised and a spongy feel is felt.The process our friend clearly seems to have carried out succesfully 'glues' the layers back together restoring its rigidity and strength.

The moral is do not use the cooker and jump out the door to avoid wear )

 

[Scott_374302539]

Thanks for the explaination Plotter, much appreciated.

 

[ThePlotter]

My pleasure.

 

[Glenn_5132962]

You described it perfectly. The affected area in my 1998 van was between the side bathroom & the cooker. It's also the area that the kids land on when they jump of the back bed!! In other words the most heavily traffic'd bit of floor.

 

[ThePlotter]

Glenn in that case apart from not using the cooker and jumping out of the door best you leave the kids at home )

 

[jennifer_374227268]

Hi all, just wondering if the floor was left not fixed what would happen. I have noticed abit of a soft patch around the cooker area in my 1999 Trekker, the dealer where we bought it from told us not to worry you could have a party on it, it wouldn't get any worse, is this true.

Many regards Keith

 

[ThePlotter]

Thats a good question not sure I know the answer,obviously over time the foam would disintegrate further and more and more stress placed on the wood which ultimately could give way a factor would also be I guess what support(chassis etc)is directly below the affected area.

 

[Glenn_5132962]

My advice would be to get it fixed asap. I left mine for about 12months from first noticing it and in that time the effected area grew considerably. The "get it fixed quick" advice was also given to me by the dealer.