Ruined unit

[Lee]

Hi all,

Went to clean out my camper van today and noticed one of the units at the bottom has warped, presumably from water, no idea when that happened. Anyway, I've tried to get in touch with the conversion company, not response yet, slow as hell getting back to me.

So I just wondered what my options might be, no idea if it can be repaired, or how easy it is to repair.

Real pain, can only assume it was when I cleaned the van floor, I must have left it damp in that corner

 

[Jonny]

Does that whole section feel soft or is it just the veneer that's warped? It would probably be a good idea to seal the bottoms and even fit a nice looking, discrete bit of upvc beading to stop this from happening again.

 

[Lee]

I've gone in and checked, its just the veneer that is warped, do you know if that can be repaired, or would I need to replace the whole thing?

 

[Davenjo]

It should of had a bead of silicon along the bottom edge but are you sure its definitely from when you've cleaned the floor? I'd double check that there is nothing coming though from inside the cabinets, e.g steam/condensation from the oven, or a leak elsewhere (windows maybe?).

We found a bit of water inside one of our cabinets when we first had the van - it was from the SMEV sink unit with glass top - to conserve water my Mrs had been running a bit of hot water into the sink to wash a couple of bits and then leaving the water in the bowl and closing the lid ready to wash something else later - condensation was forming on the glass lid and because of the slight angle we were parked at it was running straight towards the hinges and, in the down position, going straight through the seals to the cabinet below.

 

[Lee]

That would be a sackable offence that Davenjo, at least her intentions we're good, my mrs seems to leave any limited house duties behind when she's in the van.

My sink is on the opposite side to where it has warped, though the oven is close by, that said, we've only used the oven once, mainly the hob, though still not a lot.

I think to be fair though, it was probably me when I cleaned the van, the floor was filthy and I did get it quote wet when cleaning, thought I had dried it up but perhaps not.

 

[Davenjo]

We have a clear demarcation of duties in the van - Jo does the prep and washing up - I do the cooking - simples!! (Best run and hide before Jo sees this thread!!)

Hope you get it sorted but I expect it is going to be a case of making it look better rather than making it perfect again - you could try gently heating it with a hair dryer to see if that pulls it back in but I wouldn't do too much until you have managed to speak to the guys that did the conversion. Good luck!

 

[Lee]

Yes, I'd be travelling alone at the weekend if Jen saw this thread...

I'll give the conversion company another nudge.

Cheers

 

[Colinlp]

Try and get hold of a syringe and a needle from the doctor or somewhere, slightly dilute some pva but only slightly. Inject the glue through the higher warped patches of veneer then squidge it around a bit to spread the glue around. Then find some way of clamping the veneer tight back down to the substrate and let it dry overnight (put some polyethylene between veneer and the block used to clamp). In the morning remove the clamp and give the veneer a good wipe to remove any excess glue.

It won't be perfect but it will be a lot better with luck, give it a dry run first to make sure the clamping actually works. Remember that veneer is actually printed paper so if you scrub it too much the print will come off

 

[Fish]

PFA