Repairing water damage on floor

[Campin' Texan]

A little back story. I started building my trailer last year. Right as I started building it, my wife got a job offer back in Texas. So I wasn't going to have time finish building the whole thing before moving. So I got the trailer welded and put the deck on it. It worked great to move a few thing across four states.



We haven't had room at the new place until now for the trailer. It's spent the last 9 months at my fathers place. It was stored in his barn that was pretty open. The front of the trailer was not as protected as the rest and it got some water damage. The deck is made with 3/4 outdoor rated plywood. And the whole thing was covered with a marine epoxy. But apparently all that still wasn't enough. The top layer has buckled up a little and there's cracks about 3 inches into the wood.





What are my options to repair this? Sand down the parts that buckled and repair with a filler? What?

[CarlLaFong]

That doesn't look so bad. I would inject some glue or epoxy into the voids and clamp it down. Sand it smooth and reapply some more sealer where you sanded and call it good.

[halfdome, Danny]

It's your foundation for the whole teardrop.
Save the "I should have" and replace it.
It's only one sheet of plywood that should have stood up to more than it did.
Just my opinion.
Danny

[CarlLaFong]

Well, you have a yes and a no. I'll bet that really helps.
If the damage consists of what you have shown and nothing else, I would still go ahead and fix it and use it. There doesn't seem to be any rot, mold or punky looking wood. It seems clean, dry and firm. It's a simple delamination. Re laminate it and it will be as good as new. Just my two cents worth, but I am not a worry wart when faced with a 1% chance of some sort of problem.

[Campin' Texan]

I'm leaning to your solution Carl. The trailer is 5x10. I think it would be extremely difficult to replace the one 4x5 section of plywood. The different pieces are glued and screwed together. And the whole deck is bolted down to the frame.

[48Rob]

When you did the epoxy, did you coat the edges and underside too?
I'm with Danny, if there is even the slightest chance the foundation is crumbling, it makes no sense to build the cabin on top of it.
If you can explain why it went bad, and feel good about having made sure it won't happen again, then using what you have might make sense.
If nothing else, it would be wise to come to a final conclusion about why the wood failed, or the rest of the trailer (as yet unbuilt) may fail the same way.

Rob

[Campin' Texan]

Yeah, the edges and bottom were also coated in epoxy. The bottom also has the spray on automotive undercoating and insulation.

[CarlLaFong]

The sky is falling!!!!!!! The sky is falling!!!!!!!
Good Grief.
It's a simple, very minor delamination. It's not a space shuttle O ring, it's a hunk of plywood. It failed (if that can be called a failure) because the edges were not thoroughly soaked with epoxy and it was left exposed to the weather. It does not need to be sent to some top secret testing lab for X Ray and stress analysis.
Fix it and use it. It will be just fine.

[48Rob]

Carl,

That's a little over the top...

The OP. said it was stored, somewhat covered, after sealing with epoxy, and this was the result of minor exposure to exterior rated plywood after just 9 months.
Big problems usually start out pretty small.
It is possible, even probable, to get a bad piece, or batch of plywood.

We all have different levels of risk acceptance.

Rob

[bobhenry]

As we all know I am the king of cheap. I would not bat an eye at building on the base as it is. The undercoating was a concideranble expense and the delamination is limited to the top most ply so I am with Carl on this one let it ride.

Should it later be deemed offensive it can be layered over with another ply or just a forgiving floor covering such as carpet.
Once the shell is on, the floor will be protected and come to no further harm.

Just my 2 cents worth !

[doug hodder]

If the plywood when initially coated out with epoxy was a new piece, it's completely possible that the moisture content was a bit high and that possibly contributed to it's delamination. Also, epoxy on a hard 90 degree corner won't hold up well either, It will tend to fail at that point, and it needs to be top coated. I do both sides on a floor, then paint the bottom. I know it had undercoating on the bottom side, It also had insulation that may have held moisture in. Who knows if the undercoating did seal it the same as a coating of epoxy would. You're going to have to do whatever you think is the best direction for your own piece of mind and wallet. Doug