I have serious damp in my 1971 caravan and have had to strip back to aluminium and now need to replace timber framework but I have no knowledge of woodwork and have no idea what wood I need to get. Also is it OK to clad with 3.6mm plywood to clad inside? I've read I need to get hold of 3mm ply.
Any advice would be appreciated.
It won`t rot anything like as quickly if you get another leak and the difference in price is coppers. If manufacturers used treated timber in the first place instead of the cheapest carp they could lay their hands on we wouldn`t have people having to do major rebuilds on vans that are only a few years old.
Unfortunately you can`t get tannalised timber any more (impregnated with arsenic), but the modern equivalent (Tanalith or similar) is better than plain softwood.
Thanks JuanHuNose. I have many questions! I have read that Sikaflex 221 would be good to use to bond wood to aluminium? Also, I need to try and get 3mm plywood to clad inside. is this correct and how will I attach this? I have heard of something called No Nails?
No Nails is a brand of grab glue, probably best exterior grab glue is Evostik Serious Stuff so use that for gluing wood to ally & wood to wood. Sikaflex or any cheaper brand of polyurethane sealant/adhesive sealant is ideal for exterior sealing of awning rails etc.
I used old interior house doors to rebuild my old Corvette. The door skins were 3.6 mm ply and the frames co-incidentally fitted where the rotten timber frame of the caravan used to be. Kept the original blue foam insulation and used lots of Soudal Fix All after finding it as good as Sikaflex, but cheaper and easier to use.
Covered the ply in a coat of PVA glue for protection and then once dry, simply wall papered over the lot.
This repair was in 2009 and still looks fresh. Still dry too.
You can buy the proper faced interior board if you want & it will save the cost of paint. This stuff, you can probably find a supplier near where you are.