Just finished pealing the wall paper and what was left of the plywood off the bedroom wall... I was expecting some 'studs' behind the wall to fasten a new wall panel to... there is one vertical stud at the rear corner but that's all the studs I found... The disintegrated plywood section is from ceiling to floor--about three feet wide--and, yes, the leak in the roof has been fixed (new roof)What we have looks like a 'sandwich'... fiberglass exterior-foam board insulation-plywood interior-vinyl wall paper...I got all the plywood off the interior up to the point where there's a very thin layer of the old plywood still glued to the foam board insulation...Questions: Do I 'sand' off the old plywood or can I glue a replacement plywood section over the old plywood?I've narrowed my replacement panels down to two choices--a Luan plywood (from Home Depot) covered with... well, I'm not quite sure what to cover it with (see question below)... the second choice is a decorative hardboard panel from Lowes ( Lowes Paneling ...it's got 'wallpaper' attached to it already so once I glue this panel up I'd be done) If'n I sand off the plywood (down to foam board) what type of glue would hold the plywood/foam together without 'eating' the foam?Any suggestions on a complimentary/contrasting wall covering for when I get the new plywood up? (I kinda doubt I'll be able to find 'matching' wallpaper)

Good question. I'd use luan instead of hardboard, and glue it to the thin layer of existing old luan. Maybe contact cement would work the best in this situation?I think you could paint over the entire new and old rear wall with a color of your choice. I do believe there have been folks here who have successfully painted over the original vinyl covering. Maybe it needs KILZ primer or something like that to bond.Check out this new thread on replacing wallcoverings

Spot test any adhesive you want to use on the foam board insulation, to ensure that the adhesive doesn't melt the foam board.

I also would leave the old Luan, I believe it will accept an adhesive better than the foam.

I would suggest searching some of the sailboat building forums. The home built boats are constructed with fiberglass over foam, so the methods are pretty common. I have used contact cement, which melted the foam, but stuck OK anyway. It only melted where it was put on too thick. I have also used PL Adhesive which did not melt the foam, and seemed to hold up well.

A few suggestions...#1 learn to love what you have and maybe add some personal touches like pictures or other decorator items. Maybe change something like bedding or other to detract from the walls. But, if you're dead set on changing the wallcovering.....definitely a good primer. You're not going to be able to use pre-pasted paper. You'll have to do the pasting and then hang it. An inexpensive paper is not going to hold up well, so you're going to need to plan on several $$$ to do this job. If you've not hung paper before, this is not the place to learn. The idea of adding thin luan is fine except that you're adding more weight. How about a picture of this wallcovering and maybe we could add other ideas? Strongly believe that you should do everything you can to avoid this change. Another thought....are you planning for this to be your last trailer?? If this doesn't turn out to look absolutely perfect, you may be shooting yourself in the foot come resale time. Really think you need a Plan B.

Sandwich repair (interior wall) | Good Sam Community

KnowNuthin
Explorer
Sep 02, 2013
96bounder wrote:
Snowman9000 wrote:
the beauty of using the existing luan, and contact cement, is the instant bond.

If possible I would of left the existing luan but I had several spots that were coming apart.So basically I stripped the walls to good material and rebuilt it from there

I pulled away quite a bit of the old plywood/'wallpaper' with just my fingers... literally crumbled in my hand...

The section that is bad is a vertical strip about 2 feet wide running from the roof to the floor... I've got some Luan from HD... plan on using a 3 foot wide panel... anchoring one end to the good stud at the rear corner (adhesive and screws) and running about a foot overlap with the good/OEM wallboard... probably just adhesive on the overlap... adhesive all along the middle too where it would only be glued to the foam board...
2Bargos
Explorer
Sep 01, 2013
Snowman9000 wrote:
the beauty of using the existing luan, and contact cement, is the instant bond.

If possible I would of left the existing luan but I had several spots that were coming apart.So basically I stripped the walls to good material and rebuilt it from there
gatorcq
Explorer
Sep 01, 2013
This is the product that was used to install new siding onto our rig.

Produce Web Site
hotbyte
Explorer
Sep 01, 2013
westend wrote:
There are construction adhesives that hold well and won't react with foam.

Liquid Nails makes a version of their product that is safe for foam board insulation. Ace Hardware has a similar product in their house brand.
Snowman9000
Explorer
Sep 01, 2013
the beauty of using the existing luan, and contact cement, is the instant bond.
Argosy24
Explorer
Sep 01, 2013
I've used spray foam insulation to glue foam to foam, wood, metal, almost anything solid.
2Bargos
Explorer
Sep 01, 2013
I just finished redoing the bedroom in my 96 bounder.Mine is the same construction as yours.
I removed all the old paneling to the Styrofoam core.I used luan (1/8 inch I think )plywood and Titebond 2 glue from Lowes .

The hardest part was getting the luan to stay in place until the glue dried.Luckily I removed the windows and was able to fashion some clamps and props to hold everything in place until glue dried.

I Cut some Strips ,,Groves,,in the Styrofoam and added a stud for the joints in the luan.Just glue them in and when the glue dries you should have a good connection point for joining the luan.

I used Prepasted wall paper and also applied a thin coat of wall paper paste and so far everything has stayed in place.

As mentioned A good smooth surface is a must.

Sorry I don't have any pics or I would post them.I took several with my cell phone but it died and I lost the pics.

If I can be of any assistance please pm me and I will help all I can
westend
Explorer
Aug 31, 2013
I'm no interior decorator so I chose to just finish the Lauan interior paneling with varnish.

If the remaining plywood is somewhat flat, I would glue the new panels to that remaining plywood veneer layer. There are construction adhesives that hold well and won't react with foam. The biggest question in my mind is, how are you going to brace the new panel to the wall while the adhesive is curing?
jhilley
Explorer
Aug 31, 2013
Could you provide a picture? It might be best to cover the whole wall with thin Luan. A whole sheet may be able to straddle the damaged 3' section and be glued to sound wall on either side. If you do the whole wall it should be at least as attractive as original and possibly even enhanced.
dadmomh
Explorer
Aug 31, 2013
A few suggestions...#1 learn to love what you have and maybe add some personal touches like pictures or other decorator items. Maybe change something like bedding or other to detract from the walls. But, if you're dead set on changing the wallcovering.....definitely a good primer. You're not going to be able to use pre-pasted paper. You'll have to do the pasting and then hang it. An inexpensive paper is not going to hold up well, so you're going to need to plan on several $$$ to do this job. If you've not hung paper before, this is not the place to learn. The idea of adding thin luan is fine except that you're adding more weight. How about a picture of this wallcovering and maybe we could add other ideas? Strongly believe that you should do everything you can to avoid this change. Another thought....are you planning for this to be your last trailer?? If this doesn't turn out to look absolutely perfect, you may be shooting yourself in the foot come resale time. Really think you need a Plan B.

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