is it water damage?

[Coro77]

Maybe this is a stupid question but if you have a water leak and the wood is soft but still damp is it always water damage? Meaning if it dried completely would it still be soft and need to be replace? Or is it possible for it to dry hard and be good-to-go? When can you safely say you have water damage?

[imgoin4it]

Not sure what kind of wood everyone is talking about. There is wood and then there is plywood and oriented strand wood (osb). If it is plywood or osb, like would be flooring material,that got wet and soft it needs to be replaced.

[CA_Traveler]

When is soft soft?

When good wood gets wet for a short period of time the surface may be a little softer than normal and when dried will be OK. You seem to be describing dry rot which occurs when wood is wet for a period of time AND there is no air circulation. Think covered floors, walls, etc. Drying doesn't help as the wood is compromised.

And if glues are involved then trust me RVs don't use water proof glues...

[CA_Traveler]

The resins I've used are not clay like. They are very thin and penetrating. They also require a lot of holes to be drilled for penetration.

From prior posts I agree that job is likely much more than a weekend job.

[westend]

Coro77 wrote:
I have read a little about the epoxy kits for water damage and I like what I read so far. The reason I asked this question was I had a pretty bad leak and alot of the wood was soft. Since this is a weekend project for me, I noticed that some of the wood was a little harder this week and also there was still dampness. My plan was to remove all the make sure its all dry, remove the super soft wood and fill it in with that epoxy clay like stuff.....good idea or bad?

Probably a bad idea. It's easier to just replace the affected wood, a lot cheaper, and you will have a better result. Typically, trying to restore TT framing from a severe leak is more than a weekend project, there maybe rotten roof members, rotten wall framing, and destroyed floors. All insulation that has been soaked should be replaced, as well.

Can you describe what you're dealing with in better detail? I have no idea if this is a small area or half of the rig? Post up what brand and model you have.

Edit: I now see that you've posted a previous thread that described a water leak from the fresh water system and while inspecting for problems, you found a lot of damage to areas on the floor and around the tub that were unknown to you.

This is the way I see it (without pictures or very detailed description): You inherited some problems with leaks and the wood affected was allowed to be compromised from neglect by the previous owner. This is more typical than one thinks, there are many owners of older rigs that don't use them and are unwilling to maintain them.

You should make a decision whether you want to sell the trailer, as is, and move on or engage in restoration. The restoration won't be fast, cheap, or easy. At a minimum, you will be removing a lot of the built in pieces to access the rotten floor. You may be required to work underneath the trailer. If the exterior is bonded fiberglass, repairs will be needed to done from the inside and I'm pretty sure you will discover more areas where there is damage that needs to be restored. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but it's better than someone telling you to paint on some resin in hopes of it all going away.

[Coro77]

Not wishful think westend....its just poor ignorance 🙂 I was surprise this weekend that some of the wood dried hard...I was thinking it would dry flaky since it was so soft. Knowing now it can still be damage, I will make sure I treat the wood around the entire leak with epoxy. Another question.....if I treat the wood with epoxy does it penetrate through the wood? For example, I am treating the wood on the floor...if I treat the surface does that make the entire plank good. am asking because it would be impossible for me to access the bottom part of the floor to treat with proxy.

[gbopp]

If the wood is soft, it's rotted. Even if it dries, it will be soft.

Lay a piece of 2x4 out in a rain storm. It will dry out and be solid.
Water damage generally doesn't happen with one soaking, or leak.

It's when it gets wet and can't dry, like inside a wall. Or, it lays out in the weather that causes rot.

If your wood is soft, you have water damage.

[Big_Katuna]

There is more to water damage than soft wood. Most RV walls and roofs are glue /,vacuum bonded laminations of foam, and/or Filon and wood or Fiberglas or aluminum.
Water causes the glue to unbond.

And usually the wood rots after it gets wet.

[Coro77]

I have read a little about the epoxy kits for water damage and I like what I read so far. The reason I asked this question was I had a pretty bad leak and alot of the wood was soft. Since this is a weekend project for me, I noticed that some of the wood was a little harder this week and also there was still dampness. My plan was to remove all the make sure its all dry, remove the super soft wood and fill it in with that epoxy clay like stuff.....good idea or bad?

[westend]

Your situation may be wishful thinking. When wet framing and interior paneling start to appear, a leak has had time to saturate the wood and rotting will have already started. If the wood is soft, the fibers have already decomposed and it needs to be replaced. There are epoxies available that can be introduced back into rotting wood that will make it structurally sound but they are expensive and there is no guarantee that the epoxy will saturate all of the wood piece.

[ed6713]

Google Fix Rotted Wood and you will get lots of info.
As just said, there are epoxy kits designed to fix the rot.

[CA_Traveler]

Even dry it's sill structually compromised. Depending upon what, where and how much there are resins that can be used for repair.