# Protecting floors



## mldkh (Sep 10, 2013)

I have a bolero 600 EK of 2008 vintage. So far the floor seems solid but ...... As I shall not be able to afford another van, I'd like to make sure the floor stays solid. Does any body know of a protective coating I can apply to make sure the floor stays solid.


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## bigcats30 (Aug 13, 2012)

Mines been done with a spray on black stuff......it's even covering the bottom of the engine.

I have the advantage over most that I can get my van up on a ramp and this stuff is/has done it's job so far

Waxoyl is the stuff used but I believe there are many other types.

Defo worth the effort.


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

I thought Waxol was anti-rust preventative to spray on a chassis. surely this would be no good for the wooden floor. I would have said at least an oil that is used on decking, not paint, I SAID OIL.

cabby


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## GEMMY (Jun 19, 2006)

The best way to protect floors is to stop damp and water coming thru walls and leaky appliances.

tony


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## EJB (Aug 25, 2007)

If you seal underneath a floor it won't breath and damp/condensation won't dry out.


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## teamsaga (Feb 26, 2006)

HI
your bolero already has a protective coating on the underside of the floor. This is what causes the damp problems, the moisture gets into the floor from above or through the unsealed sides of the floor panels and is trapped by the vinyl seal underneath.


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## mldkh (Sep 10, 2013)

Thank you for your replies. The van does not have a coating it is painted a matte black. I was hoping someone might come up with a breathable coating that would protect the wood. The idea of a decking oil does seem to be a good one, would that breath? How about painting the edges with oil leaving the rest to breath?


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## drcotts (Feb 23, 2006)

Hi Midkh
The most common reason for problems with floors is delamintion which is where the layers of ply (plywood is used for most MH floors) delaminates and the plys come apart and so the foor goes spongy.

Tte main reason (though not the only reason) for this is that when holes are drilled for appliances and pipes to go though the floor the cut edges are left open to the elements and water enteres the open edges of the plys and so starts delamination.

So the best thing you can do is look around the floor under the van for where pipes and stuff go through and make sure the edges are well sealed. if not get some good mastic sealant and reseal them.

DIY persons often fit their own accessories and leave the holes unsealed so even if you do this on the sides of the van say for example fitting a gaslow inlet or a bbq tap that involves cutting a hole in the side the edges should be sealed. even sealing them with PVA glue would be good and better than nowt.



Deffo dont cover the underside with anything like an oil based spray as this turns into a sheet of plastic and can trap water that does get in and this then runs to different parts of the floor and you end up chasing delamination all over the place. Use a breathable spray like a fence spray water based if you want to use any type of sealant spray at all.

Phill


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## bigcats30 (Aug 13, 2012)

waxoyl has wax in it

people have been waxing wood for.....well longer than I've been around.....thus waterproofing it and protecting it.

And varnished wood doesn't breath.....because it seals it....but again has been protecting wood since well time began.

Staining wood allows it to breath....but doesn't waterproof it. (look at most garden fences they still rot)

your mission is to water proof the wood....is it not???

Only if the wood is already wet will waterproofing it cause problems.....doing it when the wood is dry will add years to the wood by protecting it.


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## brightsparkretired (Sep 26, 2008)

Could I ask a question about the same subject? (thanks not hijacking :lol: ) Last year I discovered damp under the floor, off the scale at the rear gradually improving right up to the rear wheels. Back to Swift for repair. Checked yesterday, off the scale all over & it hasn' been out for the last month. Is this a normal thing that happens & will it eventually dry out. When it came back after repair it had been repainted with the black stuff. Its very depressing & I dread the habitation check results because there's always a damp problem although the mobile engineer last year only tested the interior


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## Mrplodd (Mar 4, 2008)

Brightspark

I would be STRAIGHT back to whoever carried out the "repair" asking for a WRITTEN explanation!! 

My guess would be that they didnt bother to actually repair anything, or let it dry out. Instead they just applied another coat of sealer and thus sealed the damp IN


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## brightsparkretired (Sep 26, 2008)

Hi Mrplodd It has been back to the manufactures every year from new,
2008 with this problem but last year they refused to extend the warranty so we assumed they had eventually found the problem & were confidant everything would be ok. It looks like we will have to go down the "unfit for purpose" route but so be it. From previous topics on this problem other people have been down this route, I will have to try & find out whats involved.
Tel


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## PMK (Mar 30, 2014)

*Water ingress*

Found water ingress in the same areas of the underneath flooring this December .Marquis wants 2 to £3.000 to repair it again .They repaired our swift ace senna for the exactly the same areas in 2012 are we to be expected to pay out 1 to 2 years for this swift design fault. I would never buy a swift product and advise others to do same we go to many caravan rallies and lots of our members think the same


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## VenturerDave (Oct 2, 2009)

Going back to the original posters query, would something like Cuprinol wood preservative be a good idea to apply and preserve the wood or ply that it is used on.


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