Kitchen slide leak

[schoolsOut]

So I noticed a soft spot in the floor beside my kitchen island, not very close to the wall. I figured water was coming in somewhere but did not know where. I had just resolved a leak coming from fresh water pump and I thought it was related to that-I was wrong (it’s been a rough spring). When I came back to the camper this weekend (sits on permanent site, typically with slides open), I noticed the soft area has spread toward the wall at the rear edge of the kitchen slide. I pulled back the vinyl to find the floor rotted at the rear edge of the kitchen slide. More investigation found that the area under the outside kitchen is soft/rotted as well. At this point I am figuring I have a total disaster on my hands. How is this slide supposed to seal? It seems there are only inner and outer “flap” seals on this slide. The super slide on the other side has a seal that gets crushed when the slide is open. I should also mention that I discovered the top outside flap seal was partially folded under. Could this have been my problem. I’ll try to add some pics if possible. Thanks!

[schoolsOut]

Here are a couple of pics. I should also mention that my floor is the luan/foam sandwich type if I understand correctly.
http://www.keystoneforums.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=994&pictureid=5542
http://www.keystoneforums.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=994&pictureid=5543

Pic of the camper for reference.
http://www.keystoneforums.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=994&pictureid=5544

[schoolsOut]

Well not much action on this thread but I tough I would update anyway. What a mess. I tore up the old floor. Put 1.5” insulation down, and replaced floor surface with. 1/4” aluminum. I also added an aluminum joist for support. Didn’t screw down yet. Then I followed the rot. Floor of “furnace room” beneath pantry was rotted out. Outside kitchen floor rotted out. In fact I found the sink drain to be installed incorrectly and now I wonder if that may be be the source. The outside kitchen and furnace room are going to be the most challenging. Because there are not aluminum joists throughout. Here are some pics:

The problem I have now is removing the outside kitchen counter without damaging. Appears to be nailed from the bottom. Thoughts? Anyone tackle this already that could throw some tips my way?

[cavediver]

I can feel your pain. I'm doing half of my floor, 1/4 of the drivers side wall and 1/3 of the roof. On my Fleetwood Pegasus. What fun.

Jack

[ctbruce]

No tips just encouragement. Looks like you are doing a great job. Sorry for your issues. You are doing a huge task that we would all dread.

[cavediver]

Well not much action on this thread but I tough I would update anyway. What a mess. I tore up the old floor. Put 1.5” insulation down, and replaced floor surface with. 1/4” aluminum. I also added an aluminum joist for support. Didn’t screw down yet. Then I followed the rot. Floor of “furnace room” beneath pantry was rotted out. Outside kitchen floor rotted out. In fact I found the sink drain to be installed incorrectly and now I wonder if that may be be the source. The outside kitchen and furnace room are going to be the most challenging. Because there are not aluminum joists throughout. Here are some pics:

The problem I have now is removing the outside kitchen counter without damaging. Appears to be nailed from the bottom. Thoughts? Anyone tackle this already that could throw some tips my way?

The way they build these they are not repair friendly. My walls were screwed in from the top. I used a Sawzall to cut the screws to get it apart. It will go together differently. They must use one wiring harness for all trailers, In had 5 feet of extra just laying there. That will be shortened. For my floor I'm just wedging it up enough to slid the new floor under it.

\Jack

[schoolsOut]

The way they build these they are not repair friendly. My walls were screwed in from the top. I used a Sawzall to cut the screws to get it apart. It will go together differently. They must use one wiring harness for all trailers, In had 5 feet of extra just laying there. That will be shortened. For my floor I'm just wedging it up enough to slid the new floor under it.

\Jack
What are you using for the floor? Only thing I could think of that would be strong enough at 1/4” but light-ish was aluminum.

[schoolsOut]

I can feel your pain. I'm doing half of my floor, 1/4 of the drivers side wall and 1/3 of the roof. On my Fleetwood Pegasus. What fun.

Jack
What material are you using for subfloor?

[schoolsOut]

This weekend I’m going after the outside kitchen. I’ll photo document in case anyone else runs into this disaster.

[sourdough]

I just want to echo Chip's thoughts and encouragement. That is a daunting task and one that everyone of us prays we never encounter and would dread having to do the job you are doing. You're doing a great job in the face of adversity. I know it's tough and I truly do feel for you. I wish you great luck in getting it repaired with as little frustration as possible. Good luck and keep us apprised.

[cavediver]

I went with 3/8 Baltic birch plywood it's stronger than regular plywood . It seems to be strong enough, not as strong or rot resistant as aluminum. I wish I would have thought of aluminum. I've been a welder my whole life. I could have put in a few stiffeners. I put everything in with great stuff polyurethane foam adhesive. It seems to work pretty well.

Jack

[schoolsOut]

Getting ready to put new floor covering down...I am planning to use vinyl plank flooring such as this:
http://www.keystoneforums.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=994&pictureid=6027
It looks good, is relatively easy to install, and is waterproof. My question is, should I try to seal the top of the luan before installing? As you can see I tore up the old vinyl because I wanted to inspect the floors to determine if there is any more damage...which there was to the rear bedroom:
http://www.keystoneforums.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=994&pictureid=6024

Here is the bare floor that I am considering sealing before installing floor covering - it just seems too vulnerable to leave it as is...thoughts?
http://www.keystoneforums.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=994&pictureid=6028

[mikec557]

Is this new flooring "self adhesive" or is it that "floating floor" kind. I would be hesitant to adhere the new flooring to the luan...

Mike

[schoolsOut]

Is this new flooring "self adhesive" or is it that "floating floor" kind. I would be hesitant to adhere the new flooring to the luan...

Mike

It would be floating. Good point tho!

[mikec557]

Okay. This is just my handyman opinion, no expertise here.

I'd do something to seal the luan. Nothing fancy, maybe a coat latex primer, or regular, paint. My thinking is that luan wood is like a sponge and if water gets to it it'd be nice if it had a chance to evaporate before soaking in. In addition to that, I'd consider the entire downstairs floor a wet area like a kitchen in a s&b home. I would cover the entire area with that resin (rosin?) paper required in a s&b build. Home improvement stores sell it by the roll. It's not expensive. I know you said the new flooring is waterproof but the paper is cheap insurance. It too will help any liquid penatration get a chance to evaporate before soaking into the luan.

Signed
Jack of all trades, Master of none

[Steveo57]

When I replaced the rotten floor in my old trailer I gave it a few coats of paint to try and protect it from future leaks. Great way to use up some of that old paint you've got laying around too!

[jsmith948]

Have you thought about applying a couple coats of "Red Guard"?
It is a polymer coating that can be brushed or rolled on to any clean, dry surface and forms a tough film that is waterproof. Used it to coat the backer board before installing the wall tiles during our shower renovation in the S&B.
Recommended for sealing cracks in concrete slabs before flooring such as laminate or tile is installed. It remains flexible, so the twisting of an RV floor should not be a problem. Just a thought.

[mikec557]

Have you thought about applying a couple coats of "Red Guard"?
It is a polymer coating that can be brushed or rolled on to any clean, dry surface and forms a tough film that is waterproof. Used it to coat the backer board before installing the wall tiles during our shower renovation in the S&B.
Recommended for sealing cracks in concrete slabs before flooring such as laminate or tile is installed. It remains flexible, so the twisting of an RV floor should not be a problem. Just a thought.


I like this idea and pass on a tip a tile layer once told me about this product. Before applying the first coat (of 3 or 4, in a tile project) to the backer board, dilute it about 50-50 with water so that it penetrates the backer-board a little. Then use straight mix on the succeeding coats. Now, since backer-board and luan are so different, I probably would not go 50-50 with water. It's your guess here, but maybe thin the first coat with "some" water so that it does penetrate the luan a little.



Just a thought.
Mike

[schoolsOut]

Checkingout the Red Guard and I like the look of that as a waterproofer. My concern is that this luan layer seems so sensitive to moisture, that I may actually damage it by "wetting" it with paint. Any merit to this concern?

[JRTJH]

Checkingout the Red Guard and I like the look of that as a waterproofer. My concern is that this luan layer seems so sensitive to moisture, that I may actually damage it by "wetting" it with paint. Any merit to this concern?

My concern would be that luan has 2 sides. Painting one side doesn't do anything for the other side which is not accessible and in contact with Styrofoam which acts as a sponge. 1/8" or 3/16" luan will act like a sponge itself, so making one side "impermeable to moisture" will only "halfway" solve the issue of water damage..... YMMV

ADDED: On second thought, painting the outside surface of the "sandwich" would/could lock the moisture in the 3 ply luan/Styrofoam/luan structure and might even cause more damage than leaving it unpainted. Again, YMMV

[schoolsOut]

Luan/foam subfloor removed. Insulation installed. Time to get some aluminum cut to fit.

http://www.keystoneforums.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=994&pictureid=6036

http://www.keystoneforums.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=994&pictureid=6034

[TLB]

You are making progress.

[Gegrad]

Starting to come together Seth. Looking good, keep us updated.

[schoolsOut]

Well, it has been a long process, one that I don't hope to repeat, but the camper is starting to come together. Put flooring down last weekend. I used Coretec vinyl plank (coretec xl in venice oak). I had just redone flooring in my home with this stuff and decided to use it in the camper as well. Was a little worried about kitchen slide clearance, but no issue. Here are some pics. I should still do a cove moulding or something of that sort along the walls.

http://www.keystoneforums.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=994&pictureid=6303

http://www.keystoneforums.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=994&pictureid=6305

http://www.keystoneforums.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=994&pictureid=6304

http://www.keystoneforums.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=994&pictureid=6306

http://www.keystoneforums.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=994&pictureid=6307

[schoolsOut]

One more thing, I should mention on this thread...I believe it was not my kitchen slide after all that leaked, but rather the door to the outside kitchen. I believe water wicked in through un-sealed screw holes on the door frame (thanks keystone!). You can really see the center of the rot being the area on the other side of the main bunk - the outside kitchen is under that bunk. See thread: http://www.keystoneforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36235

[roadglide]

Nice work . I refurbished 1973 nomad the bath room was was the tough area . I used quarter round molding for the edging .

[Steveo57]

One more thing, I should mention on this thread...I believe it was not my kitchen slide after all that leaked, but rather the door to the outside kitchen. I believe water wicked in through un-sealed screw holes on the door frame (thanks keystone!). You can really see the center of the rot being the area on the other side of the main bunk - the outside kitchen is under that bunk. See thread: http://www.keystoneforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36235

I had a leaks from the same place. It's a lousy design. The screws should be on the inside of the door or at least not along the bottom of the frame. Luckily I found the puddle of water on my floor and traced it back before it did any damage. I hit the screw heads with a dab of sealant to stop the leak.

[schoolsOut]

I had a leaks from the same place. It's a lousy design. The screws should be on the inside of the door or at least not along the bottom of the frame. Luckily I found the puddle of water on my floor and traced it back before it did any damage. I hit the screw heads with a dab of sealant to stop the leak.

Unfortunately, I never had any evidence of water - it was wicking under the sheet vinyl. Eventually I came across a soft spot in the kitchen...that's when a year of fun began.

[Dogue]

Looks great.

I'm sure nobody on here likes seeing these threads because they pray they never have that problem, but it's nice to see it was 'fixable'.