FoamStream , the restoration … a lesson learned .

[GPW]

Mike , being a “Green” kinda’ guy ( country mouse) , I put everything on hold for a while for the baby birds … I know it sounds a bit silly to some folks , but I try to respect All living things ( but mosquitoes ) . No worries now , the treated wood on the new board floor isn’t a problem with exposure …. not for two weeks anyway … that and no imminent rush since hurricane season is supposed to be a lesser one , although it only takes one to do the damage ...
Thanks for the number , I was wondering how long it would take …

ps. we’re really liking that new board floor … that with the new drip edges and water will hardly ever get near it …
I’m starting to wonder about the practice of wrapping the canvas around and under the bottom of the trailer now . Without a drip edge , daily morning consendation dripped down and underneath, and eventually rotted the canvas and softened the untreated OSB floor … but it took 4 years to do so … ( the Ant holes didn’t help ) … I now really believe that we should All have drip edges… sorry to wait so long to come to that conclusion , but it’s the result of long term testing … FS living Outside in the weather and all …

[GPW]

And speaking of mosquitoes , ( not to be too Off Topic) Our new Homemade Bay Rum cologne smells really good , and keeps Bugs away … Really , we’ve watched mosquitoes hover around us and some land but quickly spring away from our skin … Other bugs don’t get near us … We haven’t been bitten in months ! Great stuff , it’s organic , and it’s really good for my skin too ( my Dermatologist approved ) … Recipes on you tube and the net … No more poisons , and now I smell Good too … sorta like a spicy Cookie … You guys might want to give this a try …

[GPW]

Baby Birds almost done … still waiting … luckily no rain … All good ...

[GPW]

My helper is coming over this morning … maybe we can get some trailer things done … I thought I saw Momma Bird out yesterday with one of the babies … Cross your fingers the brood is done …nesting inside my trailer
Today , (hopefully) it will be Spray foam day , when the trailer gets foamed in all around the bottom where floor meets wall … It could get messy … Nothing a cheap serrated kitchen knife can’t quickly take care of …

No storms as yet , our Dumb Luck is holding ...

[GPW]

And speaking of Luck …. Todays trailer inspection revealed the baby birds were GONE !!!

But, in their place was two new eggs … Sorry they’re getting moved somewhere safe nearby … and now , back to trailer repair …

[GPW]

Was able to screw down the ply nose rib and then foam in all around the trailer … We’ll let this dry , trim and sand and then get out the canvas and the gripper … Moving right along now …

[GPW]

And then today we got out an ancient cheapo serrated steak knife and trimmed off all the extra dried spray foam in a very few minutes … Easy …

Now there are some spots where I could use a bit of a “Filler” just to level everything out … My instincts say sheetrock mud ... not the best idea , but easy … or just another underlying layer of canvas ( The previously mentioned “reinforcing strips” ) There are bound to be some air gaps around the floor wall join , but the plan is to Gripper the holy S*** out of the Foam face and the back of the canvas as well as the front …maybe using a thinned sizing coat in between … We’re going for Durability this time , and still trying to make the repair look “decent”

[GPW]

Had my paint clothes on and ready to gripper the open foam areas in preparation for canvasing …. Then it started to rain … Again !!! Nature seems to want me to drag this job out waaay longer than it should have taken … more waiting … What can I do … besides build a Barn …

[GPW]

OK , we got the trailer primed where the canvas is to go , and cut out some strips and a patch for the AC side … I was asking the wife if she thought I should make the foam smoother before I canvassed it … she said “ just get the damn thing finished !!! “ …

[GPW]

This Foamie repair , although a radical “floorectomy" , has actually been pretty easy to do , except for the weather… If I had it inside , we’d have been finished months ago …. and no baby birds either … And you can see we never made much of a mess either …

[pchast]

[GPW]

Thanks Pete !!!
Today , we’re betting we won’t get rained on ( dice roll) and am going to replace that 24’ H X 40” W piece of canvas on the port side by the AC vent . ( a Big Patch ) The place that the visible foam surface has "acne” cause by ants tunneling under the surface . ( grrr!!! ) We have been thinking about how to cover the AC vent , which apparently is an area susceptible to water entry ( and Ants)… and so for now , we’re going to cover right over the whole thing , and if we ever need to pop in the AC , I can just make three short cuts (sides and bottom and roll up the canvas , then stick the AC in … Closing it again , I can pop in the foam filler piece and just tape the two sides with my new Friend , Gorilla Tape … No leaks , no Ants …
Around here , any hole in the structure is a chance for a leak … So far we’ve had the brand new AC , sitting on a dolly in my Utility room … If we need it , we got it … If we don’t, then that area stays sealed and waterproof .

The long strips 12” X 16’ will wrap all around and joining with the drywall corners , will form the requisite drip edges …

And … in order to really waterproof this this thick 18 oz. canvas, we’re going to thin the Gripper by 50% ( water) and use it as a sizing to sink down and seal all the inner fibers , then prime that with full strength Gripper , then a couple coats of colored Latex and we’re done … with the outside … Inside is a few touches , install the nose cards (chipboard , which did Fine) , paint , and find a nice rug for the new floor … Then we’re done …

[OP827]

GPW, I experienced the GS expansion weeks after it was sanded flat, which caused an issue since I had lamination already done... Hopefully you will not have that kind of issue. Your climate is more humid, which hopefully makes the foam to fully react. Foam stream is a great looking camper

[GPW]

OP, Thanks !!! I think our Intense Heat has some effect in firing off the foam quickly . It seems “done” for now ( we’ll see eh? ) … At this point we’re not worried too much about cosmetics … Just getting it ready to use if need be. ( making the wife Happy )
We’re headed towards the peak of the Hurricane season ( sept 10 ) … That’s what it's for .. and here I am waiting on the rain to finish up … again … I might have to leave town to find some dry weather …

[GPW]

Although rain was promised by the weather service , it didn’t happen so we went ahead and installed the Big Patch … No problems with Gripper and it stuck well to the drywall corner too ( drip edge … and that’s important ! ) glad to get this part done .