Recovering rotten/wet wood?

[UncleSteve]

I have a motorhome in my yard that needs some attention to some doors.

The basic construction of the motorhome consist of a white fibreglass skin of about 2-3mm, then a ladder framework made from 40mm x 30mm white pine to give a wall thickness of about 40mm. In between the plywood framing is 40mm thick white polystyrene then the inside is faced with 3mm plywood with a vinyl water proof skin.

For the locker doors, a hole is cut in the panel/wall which is then lines with an aluminium frame. The frame is basically fitted in place with non setting mastic and loads of stainless screws.

I've found part of the bottom inside of the doors seem a bit soft, like as if moisture is getting in. What I intend doing is drilling some breather holes along the bottom of the doors to try and get rid of the build up of moisture, however I was wondering if there is any liquid that I could inject/pour in to the doors to react with the damp to harden up the soft timber and hopefully still allow the wood to breath?

I appreciate the ideal way would be to remove the inner skin, dry out, replace suspect wood, however I don't think its too bad at present, so hopefully I can avoid further deterioration in the bottom of the doors.

What ideas or products can anyone suggest please?

Thanks for reading this far and thanks in advance for your feedback

 

[Digit]

There are plenty of wood hardeners available, the ones that I have used consist of polyester resin which you could put through a hole in the door base, but you would really need to remove the door so that the resin could be flowed back and forth, the wood would need to be dry for best results.
HTH.

Roy.

 

[RogerS]

UncleSteve..you've ignored the most important bit, IMO. How is the water getting in? You need to address that first. You really need to dry the wood out before adding anything like hardener.

 

[vomog]

I always use "Lakeone" Old wood stabilizer. Not easy to find, but W S Jenkins do it I think. Just make sure the wood's dry first.

 

[UncleSteve]

I think the dampness is an accumulation of 9 or so years where moisture has bee pulled in to what should be sealed cavity, and then not being able to get out, hence the problem. Getting the door off is not an issue.

I have looked around the door to see any obvious signs of moisture entry, and the damp area is at the bottom where the aluminium frame is joined which seems to have loads of mastic around it.

I'll drill some largish holes along the bottom today to let it breath and see how bad it really is.

I'll go and investigate the products mentioned above, thanks for the leads and comments

 

[dickm]

I think the dampness is an accumulation of 9 or so years where moisture has bee pulled in to what should be sealed cavity, and then not being able to get out, hence the problem. Getting the door off is not an issue.

I have looked around the door to see any obvious signs of moisture entry, and the damp area is at the bottom where the aluminium frame is joined which seems to have loads of mastic around it.

Does the mention of aly frame give a clue? Could be condensation on that frame, which will tend to have a colder surface than the rest of the material? Might there be a way of letting any condensation run off without wetting wooden bits?

 

[UncleSteve]

I think the dampness is an accumulation of 9 or so years where moisture has bee pulled in to what should be sealed cavity, and then not being able to get out, hence the problem. Getting the door off is not an issue.

I have looked around the door to see any obvious signs of moisture entry, and the damp area is at the bottom where the aluminium frame is joined which seems to have loads of mastic around it.

Does the mention of aly frame give a clue? Could be condensation on that frame, which will tend to have a colder surface than the rest of the material? Might there be a way of letting any condensation run off without wetting wooden bits?

I've been under the vehicle today doing other protection work, whilst under the vehicle it gave me the opportunity to have a good look under the doors. The moisture is congregated around where the aluminium frame is joined which sort of confirmed the moisture is being sucked in to the frame via the joint and not escaping. I've seen similar in electrical conduit systems where the installer has failed to drill drain holes at the lowest points.

Having had a look around for suitable rectifying fluids, Pentacryl seems to be the one to use. What do others think?

Steve