Water Damaged Manabloc Bay Floor - Suggestions on Replacement

[Bill R]

My Manabloc bay has had obvious water damage in the past (no current water issues).  The floor on the underside seems to have had a poor repair, and now the weather proofing material is coming loose.  Seems to need a complete replacement of the floor that includes being weatherproofed on the underside.

What material do you suggest I use?  Are there already these direct replacement floors that are just cut and install?   Please excuse any obvious things I should know.  Any suggestions are most welcome.

See pics below.

 

[jacwjames]

Bill

First question I have is what else is behind the panel where the Manabloc is mounted.  Does the issue go into that area also. 

On my coach the Manabloc manifold is in the same compartment as the waterpump, inverter, transfer switch, and water heater.  There are no separations or partitions.  This area is accessible from the larger forward basement compartment via a set of black plexiglass doors and the small basement door on the drivers side next to the wet bay.

If you want a get it & forget it type solution you could go with this https://www.tapplastics.com/product/plastics/cut_to_size_plastic/king_starboard/526 

You can order to a specific size,  BUT it is expensive. 

When I had to repair the floor in my LR I used an exterior plywood and I primed it.  I was able to salvage the vapor barrier that was glued to the bottom of the original floor and when I was done I sprayed it with flexseal.  Time will tell how long it lasts but I'm sure I'll be long gone by then.

In your case you could opt to go with a sheet of treated plywood and then glue a thin water proof sheet to the top and bottom.  https://www.lowes.com/pd/48-in-x-8-ft-Smooth-White-Wall-Panel/3446544

I assume that there is structure underneath to support the piece.  You might try using an oscillating saw to cut the old one out, these work good in tight quarters.  When installing you'll have to make sure to seal the edges with a good waterproof caulk. 

Hopefully someone else can chime in provide suggestions.

 

[Bill R]

19 hours ago, jacwjames said:

First question I have is what else is behind the panel where the Manabloc is mounted.  Does the issue go into that area also. 

James - The damage is only in that portion of the bay in the pic.  The inverter part of the bay, which is mounted just behind the Manabloc, is perfectly fine.

And thank you for options.   I'll start by taking out the rotted section and then see what might be the best approach and report back.

Edited May 17, 2022 by Bill R
Spelling

[jacwjames]

Silly question, where did the water come from the caused the problem. 

If you think water will be a problem in the future I'd recommend the composite type flooring but you might also consider putting a drain or two penetrating out the bottom and use the DuckBill type end that lets the water out and doesn't let critters in. 

[Bill R]

On 5/17/2022 at 1:58 PM, jacwjames said:

where did the water come from the caused the problem.

Previous owner said there was a washing machine leak from leaving the filter screen plug out.  With the underneath water barrier sheathing having come loose I am sure the damage was exasperated by driving in wet conditions 

[jacwjames]

Bill

What was your final solution for a repair.

Looks like I'm facing the same issue in my wet bay.  Mine looks like it is a laminated plastic/wood/plastic type flooring but it is pretty much gone.  Haven't tore it apart yet, going to evaluate this week.  My wife has a trip planned next month so if I dive into it have to get it done in the next month. 

[jacwjames]

So after looking at what would be involved with trying to replace the whole floor I decided to get creative.  The left side floor was pretty solid but the right side wasn't. 

So I decided to use a hole saw and drill a ~1.5" hole in the top laminate.   The wood was pretty much gone so I made a hook tool and pulled a bunch out using the tool and a vacuum.  I created a pretty good void.  I then took 4 old hacksaw blades and was able to shove them in the hole and position them in a crisscross pattern.  I had a large bottle that fit tightly in the hole, I cut the bottom off to make a funnel and then I drilled 6 small holes around the neck of the bottle and then screwed the bottle into floor, it was a tight fit.  The road side portion of the floor was sagging down so I measured and used a piece of 8X12" lumber and pushed back up and put a piece of wood to hold it up.  I then mixed up a generous amount of epoxy and slowly poured it into the funnel, it slowly flowed into the void.  the bottom of the wet bay actually bulged up a little but no leaks.  I let all the epoxy flow in and slowly unscrewed the funnel.  Epoxy stayed put.  I then took the hole portion of the floor that I cut out and taped it over the hole.  Then put a board across with some weight to level out the floor with the wood underneath still in place.

I looks like for the time being it fixed my problem.  A large portion of the floor that was punky is now solid.  The piece was held in with epoxy that had leveled out in the circle void from where I cut it out.  The hole is noticable but will not leak and the floor is pretty darn sold.  I'm satisfied with the repair.  If the left side gets softer I'll do the same thing on that side.  Heck of alot easier then trying to rip out the whole floor which extends back under the wall in front of the fresh water tank.

[Bill R]

@jacwjames  Jim - thanks for pointing out that I did not come back to this post with the solution.   

My solution was to remove the entire section of the floor and replaced with 3/4 inch plywood and just fastened it down to the angle Iron supports with lots of silicone. And spray painted the underside with Flexseal about two or three coats. And painted the inside with oil base white two or three coats. Siliconed around on the inside corners and it has been holding really well.  Here is a pic of the repair.

 

 

[jacwjames]

Thanks Bill

Yours is probably a better long term solution and looks a lot better.

But mine solved my problem for the short term and was relatively easy.  The area I repaired was in the wet bay, so I would have had to contend with the dump valves and the rest of the plumbing.  I'll have to keep an eye on it for sure

[windsorbill06]

@Bill R not related to your water leak, but I'm curious what the box is in the foreground?   Looks like electrical fuses/circuit breakers or disconnect?

[Bill R]

3 minutes ago, windsorbill06 said:

@Bill R not related to your water leak, but I'm curious what the box is in the foreground?   Looks like electrical fuses/circuit breakers or disconnect?

Bill - Good catch on noticing that.  Short Answer - It is a 20A sub-panel that was installed when the PO replaced the combo W/D with a separate W/D.  That subpanel is providing power to the dryer.

Long Answer - shortly after I bought the coach, we were staying for several days at a campsite hooked up to 50A shore power.  On occasions the pedestal 50A breaker kept tripping.  I couldn't figure out why the pedestal breaker was tripping but not the coach 50A breaker.  The campsite folks changed the pedestal breaker with a new one, but it happened again.  At this time, since I was a fairly new Class A coach owner I just decided I would manage better the load on the coach.  AC's, Dryer, HW Heater, Microwave, etc.  A few month's later I noticed that subpanel box.   Not knowing what it was for I traced the wires going in and out of the panel.  What I discovered was that the panel was going to the Dryer and was being supplied directly from the ATS.  Light bulb went off for me realizing this was bypassing the coach's panel as well as the EMS.  I ended up removing the supply from the ATS and wiring into the 120V Refrigerator breaker that was no longer being used since the coach has the residential fridge now which is supplied by the inverter.  No problems since.

[windsorbill06]

@Bill R PO obviously decided that running 5' of romex to ATS vs 25' to the panel was easier.  Can't blame him, but not best set up.   

[96 EVO]

On 5/19/2022 at 8:54 AM, Bill R said:

Previous owner said there was a washing machine leak from leaving the filter screen plug out.  

Bill, I recently had the same thing happen, on the first laundry load after several months of non use!

I know there is no way I would have left that screen part way out, and I'm the only one that touches it!

My theory is the rubber 'O' ring that holds the filter in place shrinks a bit when it dries out, then the pressure from the weight of the water pushes it out.

Watch that stupid thing like a hawk at least on the first use of the season!!