Message Forums

I am in the process of repairing some damage due to damp on the rear side wall of my van. I have removed the old wallboard and replaced the rotten timbers. A few questions for the experts amongst you:

1 The same part of the van was repaired previously by a local firm ( not very well it appears) and removing the wallboards has left glue "spikes" all over the area . Any ideas on the best way to remove them to leave a reasonably flat surface to fix the new wallboards to?

2 In removing the wallboards there are several areas where the polystyrene has broken away, some 15mm+ deep. Is there anything suitable I can fill these deep indentations with?

3 When replacing the awning rail, is it best to put the sealant strip on the rail or put it on the van before fixing

4 What type of screws are best for fixing the awning rail? Do they need to be stainless steel?

In getting this far, the advice from all the projects etc on this website has been terrific. Thanks to you all - I probably wouldn't have attempted it otherwise!

Hi Richard , i had glue stuck all over a wall i repaired , i got it off with a scraper .
The polystyrene can be filled with low expansion type foam in a can .
You should put the sealant strip on the rail . See here Awning_rail .
Yes they need to be stainless , you can find these at B&Q made by Spax 3,5 x 25mm long ( i used 30mm long on my repair but they were just a tad to long , though if a bit of extra grip was needed then use this length ) , the only small problem with these screws is you need to grind the head down a shade ( diameter )so they pull down into the awning rail .

atb

Wizard

dont make the same mistake I did on one of my rails ,I forgot to wipe it down with meths after cleaning with white spirits. the mastic does not like white spirits and will not seal hence I just replaced one side grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Thanks Wizard/Als - that's very useful.

Is the low expansion foam the normal stuff sold as gap filler in B + Q etc? I assume if it over-expands, you just trim it level with something like a hacksaw blade?

Quote: Originally posted by RichardH100 on 07/10/2007

---

Thanks Wizard/Als - that's very useful.

Is the low expansion foam the normal stuff sold as gap filler in B + Q etc? I assume if it over-expands, you just trim it level with something like a hacksaw blade?

---

There's 2 types of expanding foam , low or high expansion , i would go for low , you should be able to get both from B&Q , and yep trim with a hacksaw .

atb

Wizard