Water ingress problems

Hi all,
I am new to this forum and wondered if anyone on here has any experience in solving a newly discovered water ingress problem.  I have found clear clean water puddling on the floor under the seating at the back of the van.  The upholstered wall lining and indeed one seat cushion in the n/s rear corner is also damp to the touch.  The last habitation check in October last, which included a damp check with a written report showed nothing amiss.  I initially suspected the fresh water inlet piping which goes through this space to be leaking, which I have checked and all is well with that,no leaks.  Since the upholstered wall lining is damp woul tend to suggest water running down from above???  If so, the culprit could be the rear or side windows letting water in, but where?? Any help advicer recommendations greatly appreciated thanks.

Hoggyatkpf wrote:Hi all,
I am new to this forum and wondered if anyone on here has any experience in solving a newly discovered water ingress problem.  I have found clear clean water puddling on the floor under the seating at the back of the van.  The upholstered wall lining and indeed one seat cushion in the n/s rear corner is also damp to the touch.  The last habitation check in October last, which included a damp check with a written report showed nothing amiss.  I initially suspected the fresh water inlet piping which goes through this space to be leaking, which I have checked and all is well with that,no leaks.  Since the upholstered wall lining is damp woul tend to suggest water running down from above???  If so, the culprit could be the rear or side windows letting water in, but where?? Any help advicer recommendations greatly appreciated thanks.

Hi and welcome to the forum, lots of info on the forum re-damp, water ingress etc, type into the search box. however you might want to ring Mark Burdett at Auto sleepers Willersey ,01386853511, he should be able to advise you.
Boaby

Hi, welcome to the forum! We had a similar problem and i also dismissed the water inlet pipe, [black PVC ] it seemed to be OK but on closer inspection I found it had a split underneath very very hard to see ,but if you flexed it when filled with water sure enough there was the leak! Might not be the same for you but if it is its a simple fix, best of luck .  Regards   Paul

Hi Boaby,
Thanks for the reply, will try the search box as you suggest.  I have already spoken to a Pat Niblett at AS who has been helpful in the past.  However, their best advice is to have the van professionally assessed with an advised course of action to remedy the problem.
Hoggyatkpf.

Hi Hoggy
The only NCC approved workshops I can think of near to you is Border motorhomes in Ayr (BC Motorhomes) , according to their website they have workshop facilites to work on exterior and internal damp repairs etc.
Their number is 01292272277, enquiries@bcmotorhomes.co.uk
This might save a trip to Willersey ?
Boaby
We had a great time along the Galloway coast back in June ending in a week down near Drumore.

Hi again Boaby,
Things ha ve moved forward apace and I hav found the source of the leaking water.  It is coming in at the bottom corner of the large rear window running down the upholstered wall and puddling on the floor.  Fortunately it gas only done som staining damage which is superficail and hidden anyway.  I have spoken eith Mark Burdett who has talked me through removing the window and replacing the damaged sealant.  I have removed the window and am currently spending hours cleaning off the old vary sticky and messy Sikaflex, before resealing with new and refitting the window.  All is going according to plan, albeit very slowly, thanks again for your help.

Hoggyatkpf.

If it is any comfort I hava a friend who had a similar problem with one window of his van conversion leaking. I helped him remove and reseal the window with black Sikafex and that cured the issue.  I found that petrol on an old towel was the best way of removing the old sealant.  However, I did have to let the new sealant cure before using the same method to remove the excess that squeezed out when the window was replaced, otherwise it was too easy to drag the sealant out of the gap.
On a van conversion there tends to be rather more sealant on side windows than on a coachbuilt as the body panel can often be slightly curved which does not mate cleanly with a flat window frame.

Hi Ron,
thanks for the info, however, I have actually used methylated spirits to clean off all the goo left, after manually scraping off the thickest of it with a stout plastic scraper.  I am now in the process of cleaning down all of the surfaces that will have Sikaflex 512 bonding adhesive applied, when fitting the window back in.
Hoggyatkpf.