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I have just bought a 1984/5 abbey lancaster and it is riddled with damp. I have stripped back the front from under the window to the floor and removed all the rotten wood and I am fairly confident of doing a good repair but I am not as confident about repairing the roof. Is the process similar to the walls? as in, is it hard/soft wood frame with polystyrene insulation and a plywood skin?

I have also noticed the door does not sit well in its frame, I can see daylight around it especially at floor level and the catch "just" makes into the lock, Has anyone else come across this?

Many thanks in advance for your replies

Kaz

Yes it is the same mate. Dont worry, if you've got the confidence to repair the front in the way you've described, then the roof will be no problem for you.  :-)

Structure will be the same. 22swg ally outer skin, polystyrene block or rockwool insulation between softwood framing and "finished" hardboard inner skin.

Cousin of mine had his 'van condemed by a dealer a couple of years ago after he found damp in a corner of the roof. Dealer ripped down the inner roof liner (at least thats what it looked like he'd done to me!!) and just left it. Cousin was distraught and rang me cos he knows what I'm like with 'vans, ie LOVE 'EM and love tinkering with them.

I had a look and said "sod it, we've nowt to loose lets give it a crack." Ended up replacing the near side 1/2 of the roof!

I've no caravan training as such, just years of interest and experience and a usefull aircraft craft apprentiship some years ago.  :-)    Cousin was thrilled to bits with the result and and after a further 12 months use, ended up getting about 3 grand in PX for a more modern 'van!  :-)    Total cost was approx £250, materials only.

Best advise is use VERY good quality sealant and PLENTY of it it. You can always wipe off the excess but getting more in if it leaks is nigh on impossible!

GO FOR IT and Good Luck mate.  :-)

Hi Kazbat.

Good on yer girl! Go for it!

In order...........

Sikaflex will be fine. Good quality stuff, like I said, just use pleny of it, you can always wipe up.  :-)

Personally, I'd go for Polystyrene foam over rockwool. Its harder work cos first, you've gotta buy the right thickness (or bond multiple thicknesses together) and second, its gotta be cut to size properly for a good fit. BUT, its got better insulation qualities and when its done, if the fit is good and the bond is good, it'll be a MUCH stronger sandwich construction. When thier made, they use special glues which a/ wont melt polystyrene and b/ MUST be bonded under vacume conditions to cure properly. Obviously, the DIY repairer simply can't replicate these condtions but the company 3M's produce a range of suitable adhesives which are safe to use for the DIYer. They have an office in Cheadle (Greater Manchester) and I rang them for advice before I rebuilt the luton overcab bed in one of my motorhomes. They were VERY helpfull on the phone and advised the right product once I told them the materials and application. Might be worth a quick call.   :-)

It wont be easy to find the initial ingress point unless you do a LOT of stripping back. Even so, it can be a b*gger to find but obviously needs doing so that all your hard work isn't wasted in the future. The ingress point can be yards, let alone feet or inches from the "show" point cos the water can track behind the panels. Only methodical stripping back, a bit at a time, is going to answer that one I'm afraid.

Obviously, roof vent surround seals and panel joint seals are the main factor for leaks in roofs BUT, pay carefull attention to the roof paintwork. I had an Elddis Autostratus which developed a roof leak wich took me ages to find, but i sussed it in the end. The 'van had been parked in a storage shed which leaked. The water dripped off the iron work for 2 months solid onto the same patch of roof which, I think, must have had a paint chip. The iron rich water off the roof beam reacted with the bare aluminium roof and cause electrolitic corrosion! All I found was a tiny bubble in the paint after carefull inspection. When i poked it, my finger went through!!!!!!! Looked fine from distance though! 

Hope all this rambling helps and DONT be put off!  :-)

A bit of thought, care and enthusiasm goes a heck of a long way...............besides, two of our best aircraft fitters here are lasses...........ser there!  :-)

Good Luck

Z

ps usefull tip.

When you're stripping down { the 'van that is! :-) } lay out every bit of roof batten/structure on the floor as you strip it off. That way, even if it's just 2 or 3 inch pieces surrounded by rot (as was my cousins!) you'll end up with pattern of the structure layout on the floor which you can use to produce new beams/intercostals etc.

Hiya Zaskar

Thank you sooo much for your advice on the poly-s versus rock-w, I am defo going to go for it lol, I can't afford not to!! Far from putting me off you have made me more determined to do this!! It is doing my head in coz I can't get started on it yet, I can't wait to get stuck in!! I have always been into DIY and I am pretty damned good at woodwork even if I say so myself

The company you mentioned, what was it's name? I googled 3M's and all i got was a manchester united site haha, If you have their phone number or a link to their site that would be great, i would defo give them a ring. I hear a lot of people use "no nails" solvent free adhesive on the poly-s which seems to do the job.

Unfortunately when we had a look at the damage at the front of the van, the wood was so rotten, black and wet it just crumbled in my hands so can't use any of it to make templates I'm afraid, I am pretty good at making my own dressmaking patterns and I used lining paper to make templates for curtains for my landrover ( we sleep in it a lot lol it wasn't just to make it look pretty!) so I guess I will be able to use something similar for the wood and plywood, lol I am starting to sound like a right girly which I really am not!!

I am going to start work on this nightmare hopefully the first weekend in November, I plan to tackle one bit at a time, the front end is allready stripped and I need to take the front rail off so I can get the rusty staples out that held the inside shelf. I was planing to remove the outside seal, clean all the mastic off, cover with sikaflex and use stainless steel screws to replace the strip, handles and the internal shelf which will be made from 4" x 1" undressed wood. From there I will be copying the internal framework of wood to make a new one, filling the gaps with poly-s and then covering with 3.2mm plywood, Hope that makes sense lol, hopefully I will be taking foto's of each stage so you guys can keep me right :/ Would it be best to let the sikaflex dry before I put in the screws or can I do it when it is still wet??? This would make more sense to me, the screws would hold the s-flx in place while it dried?

I am a bit of a perfectionist so it might take me a while and I am bound to make mistakes but I am hoping it will all be worth the effort :) It will be soooo satisfying to say I did all the work on it myself!! One for the girls ;)

I think the roof will be the last to get done as this looks like the biggest job, I havn't had a good look at the outside yet but I have got it covered so hopefully no more water can get into it. I am hoping this will give it a chance to dry out too so I can use at least some of the materials to make templates.

Thanks again Zaskar, I hope you stick around and help me through this project, I think I am going to need it!!

Kaz

...............I hope you stick around ...................

I will now!  :-) cant wait to see the photos and progress. Nothing better than a restoration job once you get past the disheartening first stripdown bit. Frankly, the way you've desecibed things and what you intend, I very much doubt that me (or many others) could teach you owt!  Sounds like you've got it well sorted.

Definately install screws whilst the sealant is still wet, better still, sqeeze as much sealant as poss into each hole before you install the screw. Screw holes are the No1 cause of leaks.

Wish I lived Newcastle way, I'd love a good nosey!  :-)

http://solutions.3m.co.uk/pv_obj_cache/pv_obj_id_FC6764E0878A403E834E469AEC684CA6A5000100

http://solutions.3m.co.uk/wps/portal/3M/en_GB/EU2/Country/Corp/Contact/

I'm sure they were in Cheadle when I spoke to 'em...........but I'm going back about 10 years now!

Hi Al+Mel

Thanks for your reply, it certainly sounds like Sikaflex is defo the way to go, I will be buying it by the skip load lol The handles on the front have been screwed in with four different screws and no sealant whatsoever, hence the massive problems I am facing now :(

Hi Z

I wish you lived near Newcastle too!!! You would have been welcome to have a good nosey, having someone there who has done this before would be a massive help!! I have got a good idea what I have to do but the actuall doing isn't always straight forward, so believe me I will be posting every little detail on here so you guys can keep me right, and of course reel in the compliments for when I do a good job haha...you never know.. if other people see what I can do then it will give them the confidence to try their own DIY which would be cool ;)

Many thanks for the link I will contact them tomorrow and have a natter about stuff and find out if they are still in Cheadle lol.

I might be going to where the rot box ( erm my caravan) is stored at the weekend so I will try to get some pics of the state of play so far and post them next week.

ooooh can't wait to get started :)

Kaz

Oh well best laid plans and all that :( I have been summoned by a higher power which has stopped me working on Battered Bertie this weekend...gutted...was really looking forward to getting stuck in tomorrow, but alas :(:(

Going now to have a feww beers to drown my sorrows catch up with you guys later

kaz