# Habitation Check ---- bad news!



## suegalway (Jun 28, 2012)

I've moved this from my Leisure Battery post because it's even worse than I thought....

It was £180 for the habitation check. It's really bad news! When I got home I went through the engineer's list and the damp report is saying "excessive damp readings all around motorhome inc soft wall board and rot above cab". What is soft wall board? This is very upsetting. Isn't that the worse thing that can happen to a motorhome?

He did a battery test and it came out REPLACE BATTERY on the slip he left. It's a pity I wasn't here to talk to him but OH said he was very unforthcoming. I don't think they hit it off! Anyway, I'm very depressed now and don't know what to do for the best. I would never sell it to anybody else without telling them about the damp and the hab engineer told OH it's too expensive to fix damp so I'm going to lose money either way. He did say just enjoy it so I suppose that means we can still use it as we would if we were ignorant of the damp problem.


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## coppo (May 27, 2009)

Oh dear it sounds like bad news, the battery is the least of your worries, damp is bad news for a MH, you need to try and found out what it will cost to repair it, then work out if it is worth it.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Paul.


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## ched999uk (Jan 31, 2011)

I replied to the other post: http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftopicp-1286025.html#1286025


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## gj1023 (Feb 23, 2010)

Am sorry to hear of your problems, I would buy a decent damp meter and find out where this damp is precisely and reseal the points that water is entering. 

Also I would buy a dehumidifier straight away and start drawing the water out. I had this with my previous MH and bought a Dimplex DXDH10N , did a brilliant job. I was told if water gets in your van and is not stopped , it spreads everywhere , hence why you need a dehumidifier now.

A soft wall board is where the water gets in the wall boards and leaves them spongy. Once dry, you can live with spongy boards. The rot sounds more worrying and I`m sure someone here will know more about that problem.

Gary,


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## Mike48 (May 1, 2005)

Having had two caravans ruined by damp I sympathise. That is why I have a panel van conversion. 

The best advice I can give is to investigate the problem further as a matter of urgency. The longer you wait the more of a problem you will have.

Personally I wouldn't bother with a dehumidifier as any potentiual repairer will need to know where the damp is located. And if it's damp there is no point in drying it out as remedial work will be required. But I would speak to the technician who did the habitation check first to ascertain the extent of the problem and gauge his opinion on what needs to happen next. 

Perhaps you should then get a second opinion. Based on my earlier experiences a workshop will not be able to give a firm estimate until they start stripping the offending panels away but speaking to a few people might enable you to gauge who is best to carry out the work.

Good luck!


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

I would get some quotes from several repairers. Ask on here for recommendations.

We had a damp problem with spongey walls in the kitchen on our 16 year old van. I reckon it had been there for years and the quotes varied from £1000 to £3-4000! In the end I found a local chap recommended who ripped out the entire front of the van, replaced all the woodwork and walls and found all the leaks and included a 12 month guarantee as well as 2 checks within that time. 

He had me down to look at it when it was all ripped out to show me the damage and it was worse under the cooker, fridge etc: it took about two weeks and the total cost was £1400. I spent that on our sat dish and it's just about 6 weeks touring cost so in the great scheme of things on a van thats still worth in excess of £15k it's not that bad.

So don't despair it might not be as bad as you think


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## suegalway (Jun 28, 2012)

Thank you everybody. I'm feeling a bit better about it after your comments and perhaps all is not lost. I'll get a damp meter and see what the readings are and take it from there. Tomorrow I'll ring the technician and talk to him as well and keep you all updated. :?


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## mandyandandy (Oct 1, 2006)

Have a word with this guy, he is lovely, very honest and has done 2 repairs for us, one major and one fairly minor.

Came out to the house on both occasions and is a real gentleman. Not too far from you I don't think.

Always feel so sorry for people when things like this happen, its horrid when it is something you just want to have fun in.

http://www.motorhome.co.uk/aboutus/index.html

Good luck and I am sure there will be many more on here that will have good advice.

Mandy


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

We found we had a MAJOR proble with damp, to be truthful we had a major problem with a minor stream running through the wall from the mounting point for the awning down and around the door......

since it was caused by damage due to wind (external :lol: ) our insurance company picked up the cost which was several thousands....

once they took the inner wall off the exten became clear and it was fairly straightforward to replace all the affected materials but it takes time and once stripped out it all has to be dried to a very high level before being resealed.

Ask around for estimates - they are unlikely to give firm quotes until it is all taken apart but it can be resolved and if you can find a small independent person to do the work you will get quality without needing a new mortgage......

One delaer told us our bill would have been in excess of £5k with his company, which it was not.

Good luck and do keep us informed. The battery can be tackled when needed, the damp must be tackled asap.

Dave


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## duxdeluxe (Sep 2, 2007)

I can vouch for Peter Ayles company as well. Did a great job on a previous van and the bill was less than the quote.


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## colliezack (Feb 10, 2008)

duxdeluxe said:


> I can vouch for Peter Ayles company as well. Did a great job on a previous van and the bill was less than the quote.


Yes, not far down the road from me. Has repaired mine via insurance. Proper Job done. Can recommend.
Seriously, get yourself a proper Damp Meter. I think mine cost £120; maybe less. -But I can monitor and lend to friends!
Then you will know the Truth. Peace of mind etc.


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## suegalway (Jun 28, 2012)

Thanks again folks. Some good advice here. Will definitely keep you informed. Just about to buy a damp meter from Amazon!


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Suegalway

I do hope you can get it sorted

Was all the damp not itemised on the habitation check with readings?

Once you start to tackle a problem its not so overwhelming

Good luck

Here's hoping you are soon back on your travels

Aldra


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## jhelm (Feb 9, 2008)

I'm just wondering how bad would it be to use the dehumidifier to dry everything out, fix the leaks and then just go on. If the walls are then dry and the structure is not rotted out, what is the harm if there is no visible damage.


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## Mike48 (May 1, 2005)

jhelm said:


> I'm just wondering how bad would it be to use the dehumidifier to dry everything out, fix the leaks and then just go on. If the walls are then dry and the structure is not rotted out, what is the harm if there is no visible damage.


Because it needs to be wet so that you can trace where the water is coming from.

And the walls are like a sponge. It would take a long time for them to dry out. Meanwhile the leaks continue. It's a bad idea - believe me I've been there.


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

The fundamental problem is that until you remove the lining and expose the woodwork it is impossible to know how bad it is, and it is impossible to dry out the wood until everything has been exposed - it is better then to replace rather than risk trying to dry out and later finding you have missed a damp part deep inside a joint or wherever.

I agree it is a hassle but in the long term it is worth the aggro and you then know that part is 100% reliable and will not spread mould to adjacent timber.

Sadly rot can spread VERY fast inside unventilated areas unbeknown to anyone on the outside.

You need the damp readings for the while van to be able to identify where the worst area is and then start at that point - it may be near a rooflight, door or window or simply a join in the roof to the side......

it is imperative that the original findings are avaialble so that you have the background information - if he has not still got them then ask for a resurvey at his expense to give you that information - it is what you paid him to do after all!

If you can keep the MH under cover ftb while the work is awaited and then being carried out it will reduce the ingress as hopefully it won't be raining quite so heavily inside!

That will still leave the gradation of dampness from downright soggy to dry so that you can trace it back - using a dehumidifer immediately will reduce that gradient and make it harder IMO.

Dave


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## teal (Feb 23, 2009)

First I sympathise with you as we have been down that road. Our story was on a Autotrail Cheyenne. Water got through a window rubber seal and the board underneath got spongy, place humidifier in van for couple of weeks and reading went down to 18. Then took it to local dealer who replaced rubber seal for £75.Alls well I thought.Now my wife got heart trouble which ment giving up m/h.Nearby dealer offered a price which was reasonable .then took it to dealer who then insected it and said its got severe damp in rear plus under that window which was done and in bathroom. This ended up with me loosing thousands on deal.Couple of months later going by that dealer saw our van up for sale £2000 more that we had paid for it 2 years before. took a look inside to see what they had replaced. Zilch!.I still have not got over it.


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## rosalan (Aug 24, 2009)

I am surprised that you did not notice the smell! Old established damp smells sour.
I too have been there with damp and also been to Peter Ayles who resealed my van for £800 for which he is equipped. He gave a full itemised damp report prior to sealing the outside, which, after all is where the damp is coming from.
I decided to tackle the problem on the inside myself, I am fairly handy but not especially so.
As someone has already said, once you can see the damp damage, things fall into place, I had to replace some ribs that were totally rotted away, cutting out the bad material and sealing with a rot stopping agent the bits I left in that were sound. Using the strongest boat-builders glue I joined new (treated) timber beside the existing woodwork. This turned out to be much easier than I expected. The insulation was replaced and the next task was finding suitable wall lining. I used fairly thin plywood and was fortunate enough to find the exact lining paper. The main difficulties are working around existing furniture. My only regret was fixing all of the lining paper on sideways instead of upright (close up I could not see the difference until I finished) but in reality, most of the surface was hidden behind curtains. Part of the work was structural but now, after several years, the van has remained dry and is still on the road.
There really is hope!
When they are quoting a very high price, they are no doubt going to give you a finish as per an insurance repair, total, as new, complete and allowing for worse than anticipated damage.
Until you see the extent of the damage, you do not know what is involved.
Alan


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## DTPCHEMICALS (Jul 24, 2006)

If it is that bad you must surely have a musty smell in the mh.
It should also have been picked up on previous hab checks.

I know you all think I am 95 p short of a £, but I would remove all exterior mouldings and trims which cover panel joints and reseal them. Remove trim from around windows and check for water ingress. Apply wood preservative and replace window seals De humidifier in side for a week or two.
Try to find the spongy wall once dry it should be ok.
I once rpaired the front of our first caravan. The wood work under the front window was like a powder it was that dry. It did not show up on damp test.

Dave p


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## suegalway (Jun 28, 2012)

I've received email notification that Alan and Dave p have posted about the damp but I can't find the messages on the forum. Anyway, that's what is so suprising. There is no smell of damp. It doesn't smell musty or sour. It smells ok. We did have a smell problem at first but, if you saw my post, you'll know it was because the previous owners hadn't cleared out the toilet cartridge! Anyway, no smell. Some great advice from you all. We're going away this weekend to Bicton, Shrewsbury as OH is doing another Enduro and we've paid up front and all that, but afterwards we will have to get down to it. I've ordered a damp meter and that should arrive this weekend.


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