Soft floor discussion (pics and steps to fix included)

[TonySe]

We have a 2008 Aerolight that went soft at the front door...I have all the vinyl taken up and now I'm looking at the repair for the unit....the issue I've run up against is I don't know how the step gains strength through the floor....please watch the short vid (1min 30secs) for some details...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1q1M_qqBqc

Questions:
- Is the plywood normally glued to the foam core?
- Assuming it is, what glue is used to to secure the plywood to the foam core?
- The step is attached to a 2x4 between the plywood (instead of foam) for about a 6' span, but how does this wood get it's strength? There doesn't seem to be a stringer for the 2x4 to lay across to get strength.

Thanks for any help you can lend,
Tony

[westend]

That's a cute little tool.
FWIW, they do make foam adhesive (maybe it's PL that has one). The strength of these composite floors is all about the bond of the three layers that make the sandwich. Lose one of those surface bonds and the composite is really weakened. IMO, they shouldn't use this design for a trailer floor. I had one area in my floor that was damaged from a leaking water heater. The rest was in great shape and the floor is 44 years old. It is 5/8" plywood over 2"x2" joists.

[TonySe]

FWIW, a little rotary saw this makes it really easy to cut out the old rotten flooring.....IMHO, it saved my ass on this project.



T.

[TonySe]

FWIW, I went to store the trailer this weekend and when emptying the water I noticed that the floor was gone at the back door too.....took me about 5 hours to clean this one up but its' ready for the floor to go back in.

[TonySe]

I got the entire area cleaned up, old wood that's left is covered with the Rot Doctor, then put in a new 2x3 that the stair bolts to, and then plywood on top of that (I used PL construction adhesive to glue it all down). Looks like this as you enter the front door, ready for the floor to go back down..



Note that this was 1/3 spots that I fixed in the front of the trailer...next up are shots of the rear of the trailer that I discovered needed to be fixed this weekend :<

[TonySe]

Good news on the photo...let's give it a try...



This is the spot in front of the door.....I used a small circular saw to cut away the rotten stuff and then cleaned it up...at the bottom is a black hollowed out spot with no foam, and that's where the piece of wood goes for the door...I have that cut out and treated with end cut ready to install...you can see near the top of the photo that the luan wasn't rotten but it did get wet..that's one of the areas where I put the "Rot Doctor" to waterproof it and stop the rot.

Tonight I'll start to reassemble so I'll get more shots.

T.

[BarneyS]

TonySe wrote:
Snip...
..I'd post pics but I don't think I can attach photos to a reply unless they are linked, which isn't going to work for me.....

T.

Hi Tony,
You can easily post pictures into any post including replies. Just go here, upload your picture from your computer, and then copy the resulting URL directly into your post. The picture will then appear in your post, be properly sized, and there is no need to use the picture posting icon in the post reply window - which requires linking to an offsite hosting service and is often confusing to folks.
Barney

[TonySe]

I decided against the Gorilla glue for a few reasons....expensive, harder to spread in large areas, foams up when drying which isn't ideal for matching an existing floor height.

I considered contact cement, but I have to slide the boards around once they are down to get them to fit and contact cement isn't good at that.

I noticed that construction adhesive says it can be used to glue foam, so I'm going to use that to glue the new pieces of wood in place.

T.

[TonySe]

I have all the rotten wood pulled up now and then I cleaned all the luan from the foam core.....I made templates for the missing wood out of 8.5x11" pieces of paper and have cut new wood to fit the spots where it's missing...next I "painted" all the wood that was left with "Rot Doctor CPES" to stop any further rotting and to kill any mould that might have made it's way into the wood.

I've also got new timber to go accross the door for the step to attach to, and a few new blocks used for mounting the body to the frame....once the new plywood is in for the floor I'll drill out the holes for the floor and frame mounts and put the vinyl back down.

..I'd post pics but I don't think I can attach photos to a reply unless they are linked, which isn't going to work for me.....

T.

[TKW]

I did a partial floor replacement on my last TT but the construction is the traditional type with wood over steel frame. So I can't give you advise on this repair. But I believe no matter what type of construction you are dealing with, you still have to remove the rotted floor to its closest supporting members so that you can secure your new floor structure to it.
One thing I do like to point out is that this type of floor damage is likely caused by water leakage from somewhere. It could be all the way up on the roof (in my case)or a nearby window. It may not through the door seal as it is too obvious. The source of water must be eliminated before the floor replacement.

[GrandpaKip]

I had the same problem. I removed the whole floor back to the frame, then replaced it with 2x6s that rested 1/2" on the frame and were screwed to the aluminum frame under the door. I covered top and bottom with 1/4" AC exterior plywood, then lagged the steps into the 2x6s and bolted to the frame. Has worked well for 2 years, hopefully much longer.
Good luck.

[TonySe]

Hey Wing!

I hear you....I had a chemistry teach that would get pissed if you said "Styrofoam" or "Kleenex"....heaven help any kid that mixed up "transparent" and "colorless".

One of my first calls was to a company called Rot Doctor..they sell a product that is supposed to seal up wood and stop rot...I was telling him my issues and he said the following...
"High density foam is usually polyurethane-based, in which case CPES will have no effect on it. CPES is only incompatible with Styrofoam."
So I called Aerolight customer service to see if it was extruded polystyrene vs. high density foam....they confirmed that the floor is not extruded polystyrene...the walls are a different story as they do contain extruded polystyrene.

I'm not a chemist, so I don't I really get what all this means, but I ordered a bunch of Rot Doctor stuff hoping it will help get the job done (and not melt the foam at the same time).

T.

[wing_zealot]

Styrofoam is actually a brand name, just like saying scotch tape. The fact is they are all extruded polystyrene foam boards, panels, whatever (which is way different than the material that is commonly referred to as a "Styrofoam cup" or other similar materials). They all come in different densities which is why you seem to make a distinction between "Styrofoam" and "high density construction foam". Sorry if I confused you by using the term Styrofoam instead of foam panels, boards, whatever; it's like the scotch tape thing.

[Bumpyroad]

use some type of glue recommended for the foam material perhaps such as liquid nails. do not use gorilla glue.
bumpy

[GMandJM]

Courtesy Click to the OP's video