# Damp - self repair



## lev (Feb 14, 2009)

Hi all,

We've just bought a new (old) van.

I had a damp test and in the outside locker the door seal has come away and a small area of the sidewall is damp and 'squishy'. It is very small - say 4" x 4" and not 'climbing' or spreading. The habitation engineer took a damp meter reading of 20% and said not to worry too much but fix the seal asap and perhaps consider a moisture trap in the locker.

I was wondering what peoples' thoughts are. I'm not very excited about replacing the wall board, as it is an outside locker and there are other more important jobs to spend my hard earned pennies on, but is there anything I can treat the area with once it has fully dried out - I did see one poster who used wood hardener for instance.

As always, all advice is greatly appreciated from you knowledgable bunch.

Thanks
Lev


----------



## SNandJA (Aug 22, 2008)

If it is localised and the initial source of moisture ingress is fixed then I guess the key is to hope that drying the material completely will leave it in a solid rather than "crumbly" state. So in theory you'd have to let the trapped moisture escape. In a cavity wall they have these devices
Weep vent

I'm sure somewhere I've seen a similar product that draws water out but can't find it. So the problem is that if you seal the intial problem you have to let the moisture out somehow.

I had a minor problem with a small area of floor that got wet inside a locker. As it happens I needed to drill through the floor to install some reversing sensors so I sealed the outer hole after passing the cable through but left the inner hole unsealed for a while and it seemed to improve over time and the softness improved. I didn't try wood hardener however I have used the product on spongy wood succesfully but it sounds an interesting option.

So unless anyone else has any ideas perhaps a small hole inside the locker in the soft area might let moisture out and could be plugged later with a screw cap?

Sometimes on this site you get people with a small area of externally damaged wall who have covered the fault with a false cover or socket like a BBQ point so there might be some lateral thinking solution here?


----------



## lev (Feb 14, 2009)

I'm going to try and really dry the area out - it's very minor and certainly appears isolated - and then make sure the locker seal is really watertight.

Might just leave the area then and see what happens. My main concern was whether there is any form of protection required but from everything I've read it seems not.

Given the area is in an outside locker I'm not too concerned by cosmetic damage and the habitation engineer coiuldn't find signs of anything structural.

Now onto the next thing..cracked shower tray....


Many thanks for the reply.
Lev


----------

