Replaced the shared exterior wall in my shower. Sealed up window too., Pictures inside for those that like to look! Options

[Bryan L.]

I just got this Scamp about a month ago and knew I was going to have to tackle this right away. The area around the shower window was fairly soft and looked like trouble. I finally got some nice weather so I made a trip to Lowes and gathered everything that I would need. I started with this:

 Winodw.JPG ( 81.78K ) Number of downloads: 88


With just a little picking, it turned in to this:

 Widow_with_broken_wood.JPG ( 95.33K ) Number of downloads: 91


I then removed the window by removing the screws from the inside. It's easy to do this with one person with this window since you can grab the knob to keep it from falling out on to your driveway.

 Window_removed.JPG ( 104.94K ) Number of downloads: 81


I then cut all of the caulk away from the edges and pulled out the board. It looked like the stuff that they use for pegboard (without the holes though!) with some paint on it. I can't imagine this was stock from the factory but I've been fooled before. The back of the board looked like below. Think there was any water there?

 Back_of_shower_wall.JPG ( 104.83K ) Number of downloads: 112


continued in next post

This post has been edited by Bryan L.: Feb 8 2009, 08:40 PM

[Bryan L.]

The board broke along the bottom edge because it goes behind the shower floor pan so I removed the acorn nuts that held the two panels together and pulled those rivets out from the outside. I will replace those with stainless steel fasteners when all is said and done.

 Lower_right_corner_of_shower_wall.JPG ( 113.86K ) Number of downloads: 77


I am not sure if Scamp cut all that Reflectix away at the factory but I decided to go ahead and put Reflectix in all the way to the window. I can see why they wouldn't do it to ensure a nice even fit but I guess we'll see what happens with that extra layer of Reflectix in there.

 Window_wall_with_no_cover.JPG ( 126.98K ) Number of downloads: 67


I cut more Reflectix off of the wall to make it square so it would be easier to apply the replacement panel.

 Sqare_reflectix_hole.JPG ( 138.73K ) Number of downloads: 54



continued in next post

[Bryan L.]

I measured and cut a new piece of Reflectix in place using spray adhesive and aluminum tape. I then just used a razor blade to cut it the same shape as the window.

 New_replectix_taped_in_place.JPG ( 125.79K ) Number of downloads: 54


I still had one pesky piece of the wall stuck in the lower left corner down by the vent pipe so just cut the vent pipe as I didn't want to remove the little vent cover from the outside just yet.

 Cutting_toilet_vent_pipe.JPG ( 118.49K ) Number of downloads: 73


 After_toilet_vent_pipe_is_cut.JPG ( 111.03K ) Number of downloads: 69


This allowed me to get at that last little remaining piece. I plan on drilling out the rivets holding the vent cover in place and then cutting a new hold through the new panel from the outside with a Rotozip and a steady hand.

[Brandy]

Nice job explaining everything and with the how to photos that really helps for those wondering how to do such a fix.

[Bryan L.]

For the replacement panel I looked at several options. There is a product called tile board that looks like square tiles on one side and it looks waterproof on one side but the back is just compressed wood and I worried about it getting wet and expanding. I ended up going with a plastic sheet that has a rough, pebbly surface on one side and is smooth on the other. Think about any community pool bathroom that smells like urine. Now think of the walls in those smelly bathrooms. I used that. I didn't like the pebbly side though as I thought it would be harder to keep clean and harder to apply caulk to. I measured the opening and added about 3/4's of an inch in width so that it could slide in to the little radius on each side between the outer shell and where the front and rear wall of the shower meet the sides, if that makes any sense. Sorry, there are no pictures of me manhandling this piece of plastic in to position. It really wasn't too bad. I then cut out the window opening from the outside with a jigsaw. I did have my wife hold it nice and tight from the inside since it had a tendency to bow inwards a bit due to the curve at the top.

Obviously, the previous owners thought that the window itself was leaking and not the seal behind the window so they proceeded to fill the entire window frame with silicone caulk. The window was still operational but I wanted to remove it so that it would "look nice." After about two hours of working on that, I realized that that was a stupid idea and I should have just left it as it was.

 Window_with_silicone.JPG ( 141.4K ) Number of downloads: 86


To set the window, I placed the butyl putty tape around the opening:

 Butyl_Putty_tape_around_winodw.JPG ( 76.26K ) Number of downloads: 75


I positioned the winodw and slowly started tigheting the screws from the inside, making sure that there was no binding in the frame. Afterwards, I cut the extra putty away from the frame using a blade that had been used to cut cement board so it was very dull on the end and did not scratch.

 Cutting_excess_butyl.JPG ( 108.95K ) Number of downloads: 49

[Bryan L.]

After I tightened the window down, there is a little bit of bow-out in the plastic right above the window. I think I am going to run a nice piece of wood from one side of the shower to the other to hold this in place against the wall and serve as a transition between the rat fur and the shower wall. When I got the trailer, the transition was just a little plastic trim piece that was caulked to the rat fur. Was this standard? I made the new panel longer to cover up the old caulk that was stuck to the rat fur. I am not a fan of how the shower walls slide outside of the shower pan and have to be caulked like crazy to keep them from leaking but I don't see us using the shower too often so I guess it isn't going to matter. Are the new ones any better in that regard?

This is what it looks like right now. I still have two screws to add to the bottom. One broke and I need the other one to take to the store with me to find a replacement. That's why the bottom of the window looks all wonky.

 Finsihed_project_from_the_inside.JPG ( 80.12K ) Number of downloads: 100


I still need to caulk the corners and drill new holes through the new panel from the outside so that I can get new acorn nuts through there to attach it back to the outer wall. I was going to move more slowly on this and let others offer suggestions along the way but there is a 100% chance of rain tomorrow so I had to get it buttoned up today! When I do more, I'll update here.

This post has been edited by Bryan L.: Feb 8 2009, 09:21 PM

[Dan Meyer]

Nice work, and thank you for all of the pictures!

I have speculated that the wall you are replacing was simply fiberglass. It is very good to know that it is some sort of wood-based product. In my trailer, the top transition isn't caulked to the wall; it simply covers the edge.

On my trailer, the floor is uneven and doesn't drain completely. Is this the case with your rig also?

Did you remove the black tank to help with access?

-- Dan Meyer

This post has been edited by Dan Meyer: Feb 9 2009, 05:52 AM

[peterh]

A top-notch job with great pictures to show us how!

[Bryan L.]

Nice work, and thank you for all of the pictures!

I have speculated that the wall you are replacing was simply fiberglass. It is very good to know that it is some sort of wood-based product. In my trailer, the top transition isn't caulked to the wall; it simply covers the edge.

On my trailer, the floor is uneven and doesn't drain completely. Is this the case with your rig also?

Did you remove the black tank to help with access?

-- Dan Meyer

Dan,

I am not sure if this was a Bubba repair job or if it came from the factory with the wood based product. The tranistion at the top also had copious amounts of construction adhesive up there also so this may have been done by a previous owner. The side gaps were also filled with rope to fill up the gap under the caulk.

I did not remove the toilet for easier acccess since I'm still fairly unfamiliar with the whole toilet set-up. Can I just undo those screws around the base and lift the whole thing out without getting in to a big mess? I was just worried I would open a whole new can of worms but I'[d like to know for the future.

I am not sure if mine drains correctly or not as I've yet to run any water in there. We're still getting freeze days so I haven't worked on any water stuff yet. There was some water sitting in the back corner between the door and the toilet when I hauled it home after I bnought it so I'm guessing mine is a little uneven too.

Thanks Peter! I actually enjoy taking pictures and doing these write-ups as I know how helpful they are to me. I collect old pedal mopeds and I do it for all of that stuff too. It's a sickness.

[Ty Patterson]

Was the shower a factory installed unit? This is a side bath it appears? My is just like your (1982 16') I think; and been toying with the idea of adding shower. Just curious.

Ty

[Bryan L.]

I'm not quite sure why this was moved from the Problem Solving section since it says:
Problem Solving -- Owners Helping Owners
Share your problems, concerns, fixes of Molded Fiberglass Trailers

I thought it was a "fix", but it makes no difference to me!

Ty, this was a standard bathroom according to the original sales receipt that came with the trailer when I bought it. You're right - it's a side bath unit. Does yours have just a toilet then or no bathroom at all? What is in that space if no bathroom? Mine is the only trailer that I've ever seen in person so I don't know what the deleted options look like.

[Raya L.]

Bryan,

What a great report! I think not using the "tile" board that is really a fiberboard type thing was a good idea. I have looked at those fiberglass panels and also thought that the pebbly texture was a drawback. I don't know why I never thought to turn one over and look at the back - schmart!

Raya

[Donna D.]

I'm not quite sure why this was moved from the Problem Solving section since it says:
Problem Solving -- Owners Helping Owners
Share your problems, concerns, fixes of Molded Fiberglass Trailers

I thought it was a "fix", but it makes no difference to me!

Bryan, I moved it.

Problem Solving -- Owners Helping Owners
Share your problems, concerns, fixes of Molded Fiberglass Trailers = You have a problem, others tell you how to fix it.

Modifications, Alterations and Neat Updates
You show us yours...we'll show you ours! = You have definitely modified, altered and updated the shower area in your 1990 16' Scamp.

[Raya L.]

Problem Solving -- Owners Helping Owners
Share your problems, concerns, fixes of Molded Fiberglass Trailers = You have a problem, others tell you how to fix it.

I can see why Bryan would have chosen the former category. Not that it's a big problem, but maybe if the word "fixes" were removed from the description it would be more clear that it's to ask about how to take care of problems rather than to show how you have taken care of them (that's what "share...fixes" suggests to me and I guess to Bryan too).

Raya

This post has been edited by Raya L.: Feb 11 2009, 03:47 PM

[Carol H]

Thanks Bryan for sharing your photos on this project. I have a 92 that developed a leak around the bathroom window during a big storm down south - which closed down the camp ground. I am going to have to take the window out and reseal it as well. Hoping not to have to replace the wall but will see what it looks like when the window is out.. As far as I know it only leaked that one night.

I took a photo of mine so you can see what a 92 looked like from the factory. You can also see were it leaked on the left of the window. The wall covering on mine is just a sheet of countertop arborite. As you can see in the photo there is a small amount of caulking at the top at the rat fir and down the sides there caulking as well but only a fine bead of it. All neatly done.

 92_Scamp_Bathroom_Window.jpg ( 54.02K ) Number of downloads: 73