How is damp reduced in walls?

Sam Vimes

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Sep 7, 2020
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I'm still waiting to get our Elddis Xplore 304 into the dealers for them to rectify the damp problem and replace the front window - still waiting for parts after 6 months.

I'm just curious as to how they will reduce the dampness back to the acceptable levels. I will ask the dealer but I'd like to be armed with the information ahead of time.

Thxs
 
Nov 11, 2009
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I'm still waiting to get our Elddis Xplore 304 into the dealers for them to rectify the damp problem and replace the front window - still waiting for parts after 6 months.

I'm just curious as to how they will reduce the dampness back to the acceptable levels. I will ask the dealer but I'd like to be armed with the information ahead of time.

Thxs
When I had cracked rear panel at the top the dealer removed it and sited the caravan in a corner of the workshop. They had warm air blowers on it and a dehumidifier inside. The rear wall backed onto the bathroom so the moisture was unlikely to dry out inwards given the impermeable bathroom walls but the dehumidifier was there anyway. They then just kept doing moisture checks until satisfied that it was dry enough to install the new rear panel. After that never had any issues with moisture when it had its twice yearly check.

PS Edit mine was a warranty repair.
 
Nov 6, 2005
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I'm still waiting to get our Elddis Xplore 304 into the dealers for them to rectify the damp problem and replace the front window - still waiting for parts after 6 months.

I'm just curious as to how they will reduce the dampness back to the acceptable levels. I will ask the dealer but I'd like to be armed with the information ahead of time.

Thxs
When my Lunar had damp dealt with under warranty, the repairer had the van just before Christmas, stripped the affected areas and then used an industrial heater over the Christmas & New Year period to dry it out and then fit new parts. The cost of running the heater for a couple of weeks was born by Lunar as part of their warranty costs.

Recently it needed a damp repair in a difference place, but now out of warranty, so the repairer made the drying out optional to reduce cost - we didn't take the option so it'll take usage this spring to dry out completely.
 
May 7, 2012
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Not sure how old it, is but legally you are entitled to a repair within a reasonable time and that is not six months. I would be writing to the dealer pointing out your legal rights and asking for your money back unless they can give you a firm and reasonable date for the work within the next 28 days.
You also have rights against any credit card provider or HP company if you paid for any part of the purchase through them. I would be writing to them to let them know the position.
 
Jul 19, 2021
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when my Bailey Pageant had damp around the front windows (manufacturing fault not discovered until after the warrantee expired, the company that did the repair used a big dehumidifier to dry everything out before starting the work.
They managed to save most of the original frame but the wall board had to be replaced.
Shame they have closed up shop and become site wardens, absolute pleasure to do business with and you knew the job would be done right first time
 
Jul 18, 2017
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I'm still waiting to get our Elddis Xplore 304 into the dealers for them to rectify the damp problem and replace the front window - still waiting for parts after 6 months.

I'm just curious as to how they will reduce the dampness back to the acceptable levels. I will ask the dealer but I'd like to be armed with the information ahead of time.

Thxs

I am not that familiar with the 304, but why does the front window need to be replaced? Is it accident damage?
Our caravan is down at the dealer for a small area of damp around the front offside where the boiler is located. We suspect water leaked in past the mastic Sealant. To dry it the battery box will need to be resealed. We will be asking them to reseal all the lockers and also the trim above the front windows. More prevention than anything else.
Except for a small patch of damp about one square foot with reading of 40% the rest of the caravan is dry. It was rechecked this morning for damp issues.
 
Jun 16, 2020
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Due to a botched repair my Lunar had a water leak behind the toilet. The dealer used an industrial dehumidifier for a couple of days. But that damp had not had many days to get into the structure. I can’t see what benefit heating as well might add.

A training centre I was once involved with would keep re rendering training rooms In the plastering department. The structure would quickly get too wet to work on. Dehumidifiers were used all night, every night. They could drag loads of moisture out.

John
 
Mar 14, 2005
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I'm still waiting to get our Elddis Xplore 304 into the dealers for them to rectify the damp problem and replace the front window - still waiting for parts after 6 months.

I'm just curious as to how they will reduce the dampness back to the acceptable levels. I will ask the dealer but I'd like to be armed with the information ahead of time.

Thxs
The first thing is to prevent the caravan from getting any wetter, either by sealing the source of the leak or covering the caravan before the repair.

Second is to reduce the humidity in the caravan either by raising the temperature and or using a dehumidifier.

When the caravan is dry enough, complete the structural repairs, and ensure the caravan is properly sealed from moisture ingress.

When dry enough complete any decorative elements.
 

Sam Vimes

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I am not that familiar with the 304, but why does the front window need to be replaced? Is it accident damage?
Our caravan is down at the dealer for a small area of damp around the front offside where the boiler is located. We suspect water leaked in past the mastic Sealant. To dry it the battery box will need to be resealed. We will be asking them to reseal all the lockers and also the trim above the front windows. More prevention than anything else.
Except for a small patch of damp about one square foot with reading of 40% the rest of the caravan is dry. It was rechecked this morning for damp issues.

The front window replacement is a different although related problem. It was originally scheduled for replacement under warranty for scuff marks between the panes probably due to them touching under certain conditions.

Later when the service was done damp was found around the same window and one other location. I was told the window would need replacing amongst other tasks but I didn't ask if it was due to the original problem or to do with the damp. Either way the window would have to be taken out so I guess they want to do the two jobs at the same time.

Seems a certain amount of paintwork would also need re-spraying although I can't see where myself.
 
Jul 18, 2017
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The front window replacement is a different although related problem. It was originally scheduled for replacement under warranty for scuff marks between the panes probably due to them touching under certain conditions.

Later when the service was done damp was found around the same window and one other location. I was told the window would need replacing amongst other tasks but I didn't ask if it was due to the original problem or to do with the damp. Either way the window would have to be taken out so I guess they want to do the two jobs at the same time.
The window issue is common on many Elddis caravans. On our previous 2016 Buccaneer we had the same issue with the middle window. The outside window pane bends inwards to touch the other one when travelling as you can see from the pictures below.

Marks on window.jpg

1641568440289.jpeg
 

Sam Vimes

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Not sure how old it, is but legally you are entitled to a repair within a reasonable time and that is not six months. I would be writing to the dealer pointing out your legal rights and asking for your money back unless they can give you a firm and reasonable date for the work within the next 28 days.
You also have rights against any credit card provider or HP company if you paid for any part of the purchase through them. I would be writing to them to let them know the position.

The caravan is only 16 months old and covered by its warranty. If the problem was severe enough that I couldn't use it then I would probably make more of a fuss, but its not.

Taking action to put pressure on the dealer would need accurate knowledge of my rights and when terms like 'reasonable' get used then a lot of time can be spent on interpretation. I see no point at this stage in getting into a debate about rights with the dealer whom I've had a good relationship with so far.

Getting my money back, if at all possible, would leave me without the caravan at a time when new ones are hard to come by and there seems to be no guarantee that another one would not have the same or other problems.

Not bought on Credit Card or HP.

So, I just call them every so often just to let them know that I haven't forgotten about it.
 

Sam Vimes

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The window issue is common on many Elddis caravans. On our previous 2016 Buccaneer we had the same issue with the middle window. The outside window pane bends inwards to touch the other one when travelling as you can see from the pictures below.

Thanks Buckman. I remember you sending me those pictures when I first quiered this.
 
Nov 16, 2015
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I understand your question relates to your caravan, but as an aside Our house busrt a pipe and the kitchen walls got flooded. We had a dehumidifier running for 24/7 for two weeks. . Only two walls. But surprissingly only about £70 to dry out.

Good luck with the caravan.
 
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My worry would be the amount of time it remains damp and the fact that the damp could still be building up. I understand that the dealer wants to wait for the new window. But at what price to your caravan. Is a temporary damp repair, or indoor storage not a possible short term solution?

John
 
Nov 11, 2009
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My worry would be the amount of time it remains damp and the fact that the damp could still be building up. I understand that the dealer wants to wait for the new window. But at what price to your caravan. Is a temporary damp repair, or indoor storage not a possible short term solution?

John
I waited six months for a replacement rear panel pre pandemic and the dealer sealed the area with a weatherproof tape. But since it was November to May the van wouldn’t have dried out much as the area affected was between the rear panel and the wall boarding in the bathroom. But the boarding wasn’t damaged and when the rear panel was removed the survey showed the wood and other surfaces were fine. It was caught early via my twice a year damp checks.
 
Jul 18, 2017
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I understand your question relates to your caravan, but as an aside Our house busrt a pipe and the kitchen walls got flooded. We had a dehumidifier running for 24/7 for two weeks. . Only two walls. But surprissingly only about £70 to dry out.

Good luck with the caravan.
You were lucky as it took our home two months for ti to dy out due to a burst pipe. We were away at the time so for 2 days we had water flooding the property. Over £5k damage.

However back to OP in Oct 2021 we had 40% damp in the front offside of the caravan. I then took preventive measures to stop any more damp and a reading yesterday showed that it stayed at 40%. The technician said he did not expect it to dry out during the winter period, but no increase was good news.
 

Sam Vimes

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Sep 7, 2020
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My worry would be the amount of time it remains damp and the fact that the damp could still be building up. I understand that the dealer wants to wait for the new window. But at what price to your caravan. Is a temporary damp repair, or indoor storage not a possible short term solution?

John

I've had the same thoughts as you but I would hope that they'll re-test before starting and address any increase in the dampness. The main damp area is around the window that needs replacing and they said it will need to come out anyway. Whether or not the actual window frame is part of the problem I have no idea.

However, its not very practical for us to have two trips to the dealer. Unfortunately its a 6 hour trip one way. They will need it for two weeks to fix the damp and window and we don't want to be without it any longer than necessary so doing it in one hit is the best for us.

To us there is no sign of damp anywhere so a temporary fix isn't possible as a diy option even if we new where the ingress was coming from - which if related to the window isn't going to be possible anyway. No option for indoor storage either.

Again unfortunately Skye can be very damp over the winter - but that's a minor downside to living here :)
 
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I've had the same thoughts as you but I would hope that they'll re-test before starting and address any increase in the dampness. The main damp area is around the window that needs replacing and they said it will need to come out anyway. Whether or not the actual window frame is part of the problem I have no idea.

However, its not very practical for us to have two trips to the dealer. Unfortunately its a 6 hour trip one way. They will need it for two weeks to fix the damp and window and we don't want to be without it any longer than necessary so doing it in one hit is the best for us.

To us there is no sign of damp anywhere so a temporary fix isn't possible as a diy option even if we new where the ingress was coming from - which if related to the window isn't going to be possible anyway. No option for indoor storage either.

Again unfortunately Skye can be very damp over the winter - but that's a minor downside to living here :)
BTW don't forget to check the mastic around the lockers and make sure that the lockers are still sealed tight to avoid damp ingress and also to avoid a second 6 hours trip at a later stage.
 
Jun 16, 2020
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BTW don't forget to check the mastic around the lockers and make sure that the lockers are still sealed tight to avoid damp ingress and also to avoid a second 6 hours trip at a later stage.

It is sad that you are having a problem with the seals on the lockers of your fairly new van. As you know, I recently had to put a new battery locker in. The old locker was fully and solidly bedded in over the 30 mm lip. I had a job getting it out and cleaning off the old sealant.

Without removing and replacing cupboards it is hard to see how a decent repair job can be achieved. Same as awning rails, they need removing to do a good job of resesling.


John
 

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