How do you waterproof plywood floor?

[lalise]

Any of you had a wood floor fiberglassed over. Victor Benz reminded me that moisture is the real enemy of wood. I will be bolting to the frame a sheet of sheet metal; plywood; fiberglass mat; "white styrofoam with al surface" don't know what its called and on top of that Allure flooring. The problem is the moisture on the original wood over the sheet metal was a crumbling mess. I was thinking of spraying the plywood with Flexseal advertised on TV.
Thanks

[captsteve2002]

There is a product sold by West Marine called Gluv-it, about $25.00 a quart. It is very thin epoxy that will soak into the wood and seal it from moisture. Great stuff and I have used it often on boats, with good success

[Darwin Maring]

Consumers Reports do not give the flex seal a very good rating.
captsteve2002 has a Great Idea with the thin epoxy.
You might think about gluing a thick layer of flexible sheathing on the outside side to it after the epoxy. Sheathing like you use to winterize your house windows but thicker.

[Earl E. November]

How about marine grade plywood, and linseed oil..
The porch stoop on the side of my house has an exposed plywood floor.. Going on 6 years old with no problems and that's just exterior with linseed stain.

[Richard Hayes]

Multiple costs of epoxy properly applied will seal plywood very effectively. I make sure all edges are thoroughly saturated to avoid moisture penetration thru the end grain. I've owned and maintained a 24' ply/epoxy trimaran, build ply/epoxy kayaks, and have a 10 year old epoxied vanity top (solid pine) that sees lots of water. All these use multiple coats of mixed epoxy; in the boats, FG tape is used along the seams only. None has shown any sign of water penetration in the coated areas. Epoxy encapsulation really does work.

[captsteve2002]

Reason I suggested Gluv-it is that it is a flexible epoxy, when it is dry. This will help keeping it from cracking after it dries and it bends as you walk on it. I saw the post about Marine Plywood with Linseed Oil. The Marine Ply is best if, you are replacing any rotten plywood-and the strongest. The Linseed oil scare me as not much will stick to Linseed Oil coated surfaces. epoxy will stick to epoxy, and do make sure that you cover all surfaces, including all the edges, or you will have problems down the line. You can paint of use some other flooring over the epoxy and it should stick without problems. Good luck to you with your project.

[lalise]

Thank you all, I will buy the Gluv-it as I already have the wood. I really want to be sure the rotten wood doesn't reappear. Now, rain please go away so that I can work outside.

[kirkman]

Call these guys they will sell you exactly what you need!
Merton's Fiberglass & Marine Supply: Epoxy & Polyester Resins

[dylanear]

Any suggestions for water proofing my floor without removing my kitchen and closet pieces? The front and back seats will be removed this week and the carpet is coming up for Allure. So this would be the time to treat the floor if I'm going to do it.

Seems the bottom of the floor has a thin layer of fiberglass/resin. But the top seems to be untreated plywood of a not particularly robust nature. I've had a few plumbing leaks and they've resulting in swelled plywood and even some damage that lasted beyond drying, just a few spots not bad. But I do wonder what would happen if there was similar wetness and I wasn't in a climate that will dry anything in a few hours.

Seems a huge oversight that Scamp would sell such a durable, sealed trailer and then put it on a floor so unprotected from decay. Especially when replacing the floor requires tearing the whole interior out.

[Darwin Maring]

Be sure to Spray the water damage areas with a heavy mix of Clorox Bleach and water to kill any thing that may be growing (At least 50/50 mix)

[captsteve2002]

If you have damaged areas another product that you might consider is Git-Rot. Again another very thin epoxy, pretty expensive per quart, that hardens and will soak into the plywood. I used it when I repaired some rot under my cousins toilet, and it was perfect 10 years later. Gluv-It will seal everything, but the Git-Rot will help where there is damage to plywood that you aren't going to remove. You can use the Gluv-It over the Git-Rot without any problems. Since most of these products have been developed for the marine industry, if you have a problem finding any of them, you can always go to westmarine.com and order the stuff on line. Good luck with your project.

[dylanear]

To be clear, no rot at all. The trailer has lived in a desert climate it's whole 11 years. I had a water leak at the hot water heater which I found and fixed after a few hours and dried pretty quick after that. Removed all the carpet from that area, got a big huge fan and in the New Mexico air it was dry very fast.

It's just a few small patches of plywood that are rough, like some of the wood bits unglued from each other a bit. The wood is still structural and has no discoloration or odor.

I'm removing all the rest of the carpet that didn't get removed at that time and putting in Allure. I'd just like to protect the wood a bit before the Allure goes in. Seems the Allure could hold moisture against that untreated wood if it got in there.

[lalise]

Originally Posted by kirkman

Call these guys they will sell you exactly what you need!
Merton's Fiberglass & Marine Supply: Epoxy & Polyester Resins

Already got Gluv-it through Amazon Prime but the site is great, I will need more fiberglass as I miscalculated when I went to Tap Plastic in Bellevue, Wa. It is quite a drive from my home.

Thanks for the site.

[Kenny D]

My floor in my Travco is untreated marine grade plywood from the factory. The camper sat for years with both roof vents broken and numerous leaks and i is still in overall good conditon save for a few spots where the water accumulated. I am putting MArine Grade back in and coating the pieces with Exterior grade Polyurethane. I figure if it lasted 40 yrs with nothing it will last more than 40 yrs with the poly and that will outlast me....

[dylanear]

Originally Posted by Kenny D

My floor in my Travco is untreated marine grade plywood from the factory. The camper sat for years with both roof vents broken and numerous leaks and i is still in overall good conditon save for a few spots where the water accumulated. I am putting MArine Grade back in and coating the pieces with Exterior grade Polyurethane. I figure if it lasted 40 yrs with nothing it will last more than 40 yrs with the poly and that will outlast me....

I do not think the Scamp has Marine grade plywood. Seems like the cheap stuff from Home Depot to me other than the layer of protection on the bottom.

Considering the how important to the life of the trailer and how hard replacing the whole thing, it's one of my biggest disappointment in Scamp design and construction. The welded on axle being another. Both things that could be done so much better for little added expense. I know it's hard to stay in business building these things, but still!