Floor Question

[higgy116]

Hi All,

I had to replace my Univolt boat anchor and when I finnally was able to get to it I found ( like so many before me) that the floor in my rear bath area had some areas of rot and would be in need of replacement. My question is when I replace the area of floor is there anything that I can treat the plywood with to help prevent this from happenning again if it does get moisture? anything like Thompson water seal or along those lines??? From what I have read I understand that alot of things dont play well with aluminum and dont want to do anything that will cause more harm than good. Anyone have any ideas??


Thank you and I am sorry if you all have answered this already but I could not find this question.

[tphan]

hi- I replaced the rear-most full sheet of plywood in my coach, and then made sure to eliminate the rear-end sag which can cause water leakage from the outside. There are many threads on this common problem. I then glued down new sheet vinyl, caulked to the perimeter to prevent any interior water from reaching the subfloor. In the rest of the coach, I painted the subfloor with some latex house paint I had, just to give it some kind of seal before laying the pergo flooring. I doubt any kind of paint, or water seal, is going to destroy any aluminum. It's WATER that is the bad guy here- you have to find and fix your leaks. Good luck, tim

[highmark]

Hi! I had a similiar situation with my 1977 Argosy. The product that was recommended to me the most was "CPES" from The Rot Doctor. The website is www.rotdoctor.com. They have a great website with the opportunity to email questions and get quick answers. I saturated my entire floor with CPES and it repels water like a fish. The product is easy to use but please order the special respirator so you don't damage your lungs. I have been nothing but pleased with the company, their product and their customer service. Check out the website and give them a call with any questions. Hope this works for you! Carol

[kitchenclose]

Rot Doctor is the company/product to use. I just epoxy'd my 1966 Caravel and the product works like a charm. Basically you mix 50/50 of the product and lay it on w/ a brush and let the wood "drink it". Lets just say my floor was thirsty. I put down 2 coats. My next step is to "Fill-in" epoxy the holes on the floor then sand.

I spoke w/ Steve and he's very knowledgable.

Give them a try.
Good Luck
K

[peegreen]

If replacing the plywood, use marine grade that is green in color. Little more expensive, but you won't need that much - cheap insurance.

[Jim & Susan]

Here's how I did it: http://www.airforums.com/forum...-15132-12.html

You can't beat West Marine products. A bit pricey, but easy to use. You should only need one quart if you are only doing one sheet of plywood.

Jim

[PizzaChop]

I recently replaced the transom in my '76 Silverline I/O and used CPES on the plywood, especially around the holes and edges. It is easy to use (one to one mixture) but isn't very cheap (1 qt A + 1 qt B = 1/2 gal for $50 + shipping).

I wonder if you couldn't experiment thinning epoxy resin with acetone and achieve similar results. (A gallon of Evercoat resin is around $36 and a gal of acetone is around $10-$12, I think)

I'd be careful about using anything green inside the trailer. The marine grade is stronger, but may not be good for inside applications.

[ALANSD]

I read a bunch of in for on marine floor repairs, and quite a few were using epoxy thinned with xylene, about 10% mixture. This seems to have had good results and is reasonable on cost.
I used Minwax wood hardener and Minwax performance filler on some small spots, seems to be solid. I soaked he wood hardener into areas nearby that are along the wall edges also.
Now I am thinking that I need to cut out the floor a bit under the old battery box area, and put a small maybe 12"x 20" piece of plywood in there. The floor is sagging some where the battery sat. Not rotted form moisture but for sure weaker than the surrounding areas.
Anyone have knowledge of the support in that area? Its in the very front of the Soveriegn on the right of the tongue. I can do the epoxy repair to strengthen, but i think a small plywood repair would be better.
The photo posted of the gaucho area repair got me thinking about this spot.
While the gaucho is out and the battery box gone, its a good time to fix this.

[bhayden]

There's probably worse things but be cautious using any volatile organic in a closed space like a trailer. Be extra cautious when mixing things. Like throw away mixing supplies rather than try to clean them with another chemical. Ventilation is good but be careful of fans or anything electrical that could be an ignition source.

http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/chemi...ealth_xyl.html

Xylene's not the worst thing out there by any stretch. Acetone, benzene and MEK are some really bad actors and commonly used for clean up. Well, not so much MEK anymore as that one's really bad.

-Bernie

[Jim & Susan]

What is the purpose of thinning the epoxy? To make it easier to work with? To make it go a little further?

Alan, do you need pictures of the area under the floor around the battery? I've got some of my '73, but it will probably be tonight before I can get to them.

Jim

[Wabbiteer]

Better penetration into pores & grain of wood - doesn't really stretch covering ability since 2nd and possibly 3rd coats are best when thinned down, so to better close surface grain up when wood wicks epoxy in deeper.

[higgy116]

Well I have completed my floor replacement in the rear bath and treated the plywood with Dr. Rot, I guess we will see how well it works .

I found when I removed my floor that the box and angle pieces holding the black tank had rotted out and I had to build new ones. well after alot of work I have put it back together and hope it will last a long time

I tried to post some photos.

Higgy