Assessing water damage in wooden camper
Hi all, brand new 1966 Travel Queen waiting for full assessment. Jacks on order and plan is to get it off the truck once they arrive, but shipping time means it won't happen this weekend. I've read...
Forum Discussion
I wanted to respond again in more specific answer to your specific questions.
The time to run is before the purchase. After the purchase you play the hand you were dealt. I might add, "water damage" is quite a subjective phrase in stick-built campers. In your case, the water damage we see is mostly visual water stains on the birch paneling. Much of the mark would sand out (be careful, it's a pretty thin veneer). In my case, choosing a darker color stain hid much of my water marks, and we are lightening the interior in other ways. Of course we like our darker, cozy look to begin with. But as other say, press to locate soft areas. Then there may or may not be reason to investigate further. Unless there are obvious structural problem spots, fix the interior (and exterior) cosmetics and seal the exterior until the next deeper fix is required. The seams where the exterior sheet metal meet each other could be peeled back a little so as to fasten them down securely and then refasten with good seal, the aluminum trim pieces. I haven't yet done that part on mine and I saved all the trim, but it's pretty narrow and it's likely I'll be re-using some, but using a wider newer style in many places just to try and get a better weather seal. You might consider that as you check over exterior sealing. Same on the windows, vents and other holes in the wall. I recommend you stay away from silicone. I suggest fasten down materials good first, apply a quality RV tape putty over the joint and screw down the trim, then a small bead of quality flexible exterior siding caulking along the top edge of the trim portions right where it meets the sheet metal. Maybe another similar bead on the bottom edge of the trim when needed (like the trim on the cab-over nose that drives at high speed into the face of a storm).
Those are just water marks and wood staining from the iron screw. My screws were a dark bronze finish, but many had gotten to the rust stage (interior condensation or even water vapor getting from interior through the wood that breathes, into the wall cavity and then condensing on the inside surface of the sheet metal, then running down the inside of the metal until finding a new liquid water path at a nail to wet the wood hole where the nail goes through). I found them almost impossible to remove without damage to the paneling so just finished them into the whole as part of the patina!
1) I'd give you a 2 on the scale of 1-10 based just on visuals and your description. No offensive odors? No wood rot style soft spots? Pictures indicating interior condensation (people living) and some leakage of exterior water through things like windows, vents, or edge seams?
2) Start with worst area and move toward lessening areas of concern. Make sure exterior portions are sealed, especially before winter hits. Move inside once exterior is sealed up and make plans like where you want things, modification or keeping original. Get the systems up and running and verified functional. Cleanup and finish small areas of improvement (break the job into rooms perhaps). Then take it out and use it to fine tune your decision making on other improvements.
In essence, don't look to discover damage because you will discover it. But that's all relative. I found that the way they are built gives strength of structure balanced though many small tie-ins: staples, screws, nails, plus sheet material (paneling, sheet-metal). So areas that are damaged may well STAY supported sufficiently for many more years.
The main reasons we didn't use ours as is, and went with a complete rebuild are because...
1) I'm anal, or as I prefer to say, "particular"
2) The small camper size is what we wanted, but not the systems as is. So ours was to significantly increase systems capability as well as a showpiece style of living.
Littlest Birds wrote:
I've read many places in this forum to run from water damage, so now that thorough investigations are postponed, maybe folks can help satisfy my curiosity around how much damage might lurk behind this pretty birch paneling.
The time to run is before the purchase. After the purchase you play the hand you were dealt. I might add, "water damage" is quite a subjective phrase in stick-built campers. In your case, the water damage we see is mostly visual water stains on the birch paneling. Much of the mark would sand out (be careful, it's a pretty thin veneer). In my case, choosing a darker color stain hid much of my water marks, and we are lightening the interior in other ways. Of course we like our darker, cozy look to begin with. But as other say, press to locate soft areas. Then there may or may not be reason to investigate further. Unless there are obvious structural problem spots, fix the interior (and exterior) cosmetics and seal the exterior until the next deeper fix is required. The seams where the exterior sheet metal meet each other could be peeled back a little so as to fasten them down securely and then refasten with good seal, the aluminum trim pieces. I haven't yet done that part on mine and I saved all the trim, but it's pretty narrow and it's likely I'll be re-using some, but using a wider newer style in many places just to try and get a better weather seal. You might consider that as you check over exterior sealing. Same on the windows, vents and other holes in the wall. I recommend you stay away from silicone. I suggest fasten down materials good first, apply a quality RV tape putty over the joint and screw down the trim, then a small bead of quality flexible exterior siding caulking along the top edge of the trim portions right where it meets the sheet metal. Maybe another similar bead on the bottom edge of the trim when needed (like the trim on the cab-over nose that drives at high speed into the face of a storm).
Littlest Birds wrote:
Please note that the camper smells wonderful! No hint of dampness, mold, mildew or rodent. None of the wood in the corners, floors or elsewhere has any give to it at all.
However, there are some surface water stains under the aluminum windows and bleeding out from the front vent and there are a few dark spots up front and worst of all there is one dry mildew stained area behind the bench cushions in the dining area.
The back passenger side (where the mildew stain is) did not leak on the rainy drive home and may be a result of this successfully (??) repaired hole in the roof.
The only other dark areas are in the front, where I did find water after the trip, but the the front vent was flapping in the breeze the whole way:
And are these dark nail holes just age, or nightmare mold squeezing in from between the skin and frame?
Those are just water marks and wood staining from the iron screw. My screws were a dark bronze finish, but many had gotten to the rust stage (interior condensation or even water vapor getting from interior through the wood that breathes, into the wall cavity and then condensing on the inside surface of the sheet metal, then running down the inside of the metal until finding a new liquid water path at a nail to wet the wood hole where the nail goes through). I found them almost impossible to remove without damage to the paneling so just finished them into the whole as part of the patina!
Littlest Birds wrote:
There is really nothing that would have convinced us not to bring this rig home, but now its time to face reality. Two questions for the forum:
1) On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being, pull the skin immediately and start over) how much damage do these water stains suggest we might find?
2) How best to begin the investigation without diving into a complete tear down.
All insights welcome!
1) I'd give you a 2 on the scale of 1-10 based just on visuals and your description. No offensive odors? No wood rot style soft spots? Pictures indicating interior condensation (people living) and some leakage of exterior water through things like windows, vents, or edge seams?
2) Start with worst area and move toward lessening areas of concern. Make sure exterior portions are sealed, especially before winter hits. Move inside once exterior is sealed up and make plans like where you want things, modification or keeping original. Get the systems up and running and verified functional. Cleanup and finish small areas of improvement (break the job into rooms perhaps). Then take it out and use it to fine tune your decision making on other improvements.
In essence, don't look to discover damage because you will discover it. But that's all relative. I found that the way they are built gives strength of structure balanced though many small tie-ins: staples, screws, nails, plus sheet material (paneling, sheet-metal). So areas that are damaged may well STAY supported sufficiently for many more years.
The main reasons we didn't use ours as is, and went with a complete rebuild are because...
1) I'm anal, or as I prefer to say, "particular"
2) The small camper size is what we wanted, but not the systems as is. So ours was to significantly increase systems capability as well as a showpiece style of living.
