Floor Repair

saunders59 · 05-25-2016, 07:34 PM

I have a 2005 Shamrock 17M and the front part of my floor is wet. I think it came from the leaking front bed door. That has been repaired. What kind of work am I looking at to make this repair. It looks like most things are just held in by screws. Any helpful hint would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance
Mark

RSchleder · 05-25-2016, 08:09 PM

I guess the first question is-- is it just wet or is it rotten/spongey from being wet for a long time? The answer to this question will totally determine what your looking at for repairs.

saunders59 · 05-25-2016, 08:17 PM

The floor buckled and we have mold. The floor in the front needs to be replaced.

NoviBill · 05-25-2016, 09:09 PM

Hello Saunders59,

Sorry to hear about your floor. I had a simular problem a few years ago, with a Bantam B17 (floor was luan and styrofoam). The source of the leak was at the front base of the trailer, water ran down the front and into the subfloor at the bottom molding.

Here are photos of my repair: https://www.flickr.com/photos/cdrdwd...57627084950665
Click on the photos to larger photos and notes.

The repair worked well, but was a lot of work (but much cheaper than the $3000 that General RV wanted to repair it (same as the value of the unit at the time - if the floor was good).

saunders59 · 05-26-2016, 04:44 AM

After sleeping on this I had a thought. I'm going to replace the wood that buckled. Can I dry out the rest and paint over the top? The rest looks solid just damp. I'll also clean off any mold. I want to get 3-4 years of use and then move up to a fifth wheel for retirement.

NoviBill · 05-26-2016, 06:52 AM

saunders59,

A picture is worth a thousand words.

If your floor is the luan, styrofoam, luan sandwich like in my Bantam, the strength of the floor is crated by the 3 being glued together (makes a bridge like structure). So patching over may not be sufficient.

I know that other have pulled out the linoleum and put a 1/2 plywood over the whole floor. Not sure how well that worked long term (they had to cut 1/2 off the bottom of a few cupboard doors).

saunders59 · 05-26-2016, 07:59 PM

Well this is worse than I thought. I removed the linoleum on the floor in the front of my camper and my knife cut right through the sub floor. How hard is it to remove the water heater and furnace. I'll post some photos tomorrow. Not what I really wanted to do this weekend.

NoviBill · 05-26-2016, 09:01 PM

I did not do the heater, the water heater was simple, just make sure the gas is off.
Connecting things back up is the concern, make sure to soap test each gas fitting before reassembling (and hiding the fittings).

I will give you the same advise I received: Don't do it, just get rid of it (and it was good advice).
I will also say I was happy with the results, but it was a lot more work than I planned and I am fairly handy.

saunders59 · 05-27-2016, 08:09 AM

I wish I had the option of getting rid of it but I can't. I'm fairly handy also. I guess I get to use the tools I've collected over the years. I'll post photos of my progress. I hope to have this completed by the end of next weekend.

5picker · 05-27-2016, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saunders59

Well this is worse than I thought. I removed the linoleum on the floor in the front of my camper and my knife cut right through the sub floor. How hard is it to remove the water heater and furnace. I'll post some photos tomorrow. Not what I really wanted to do this weekend.

Again, a photo is worth a lot when asking for advice.
Also keep in mind... if your floor is the Styrofoam sandwiched between two pieces of Luan, a utility knife will cut right through even when good. The Luan is very thin material.

saunders59 · 05-27-2016, 08:45 AM

The floor is definitely plywood. I'll post some before photos tonight when I get home from work.

saunders59 · 05-31-2016, 08:25 AM

Well our repair is complete. When the plywood floor dried out all the damage was if the front storage area of the camper. Instead of pulling the floor I put 1/2" treated plywood over the top. I think our water came in from the front bunk door. Last year we had the gaskets updated on the front and this took care of any leaking issues. I verified this was true by hosing the front of the camper down with no leaks. Man this was a lot of work. I'm glad we had a three day weekend to get this completed. Thanks for all the suggestions.

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