A 6yr old van, purchased, damp, repair and what to

to do.

 

Bit of a long post, so maybe pull up a chair...

In short, part exchanged my 2004 van for a 2007 van, my van appears to have had an amount of damp which I agreed was in attendance (even though it was given the all clear a few days before..but thats another story)

So the upgrade has cost a little more that the original quoted price, no problem with that either.

I checked the new van before collecting it and it had some reasonably serious issues ...namely ..damp

It's a bailey bretagne, the problem I found ( I have my own Protimeter Surveymaster) was damp in the rear of the van down the wall between the door and the back of the van (by a cupboard next to the bunks)

It was dispatched to be repaired by a Bailey dealer and I saw the van when the bunks were stripped down and the rear roof panel taken off and a repair taken out on the foam etc. 

A week later I went to collect the van but still wasn't happy about a small amount of damp by the door between the door and the cupboard (again at the rear)  the lino was loose and then when the small 4 shelf cupboard was opened the panel that made the cupboard between the side panel of the van and the cupboard...was black at the bottom, about an inch up and the lenght of the cupboard panel (about 2 feet)

It was agreed to remove the panel and replace with a new one, so a couple of weeks later went again to look and the panel was out, the floor was bare and lino up.  ( I had requested I see the damage before it was repaired)

This is where I have some questions:

The floor where the cupboard is...and which was exposed when it was stripped is quite black..well, sort of dark brown. the water/dam damage has taken it's toll, it seems solid enough and they have since treated the floor with some amount of fungacide...I've tested it with my meter and it shows around 22% at the moment. 

However, some of the lino was taken up and in front of the door towards the toilet where the lino is up (ready to be matched up and relaid) my protimeter was registering almost 90% damp .  The floor itself was not dark, in fact it was quite light, it sounds hard as when knocked and did not appear spongy or weak...  what would be the reason for ths 90% reading?  The nails i the flooring obviously where the van floor is put together are darkened at their heads as if rusted, I don't know if this is standard on all flooring nalils after time?

I have taken some pictures of the flooring and have put them online for others to view.

I am supposed to be collecting/paying the remainder of the van on the morrow but is this problem is a bit more than what I as a caravanner (and not a seller/dealer/repairer) should know about?  Will the black part of the floor even though treated become worse very quickly?

The dealer has offered 12mths warranty on the repair work or quite possibly on the van altogether re the damp but is this going to come back and bite me and then leading to messy 'warranty' discussions.

I like the van, my partner likes the van, the rest of it is in excellent condition and I am aware that bailey front/rear panels have a habit of cracking and I'm also aware that ealrier 2006/7 Bretagne's have a condensation issue with the rear bunks.  I am also aware that the cupboard in the bretange by the back door (approx 12in which and as deep as the rear bunks) is by the door and back panel and is possibly prone to some amount of ingress due to it being a/ dark n dingy in there and b/ next to the back door and where cracking panels/roof panels are etc..

What I should make clear is that this is not a dig or complaint at the dealer (who I shall not be naming)  thus far they have been very accomodating and professional.

What I don't want to do is spend around 8.5k (less the amount given for my 2004 van) and buy a pig in a poke and at the same time this van has beenb repaired and so I know it's good or at least had a warranty with it in the eventuality tha the repairs fail etc....

Please see the links for the 4 photos I took, I can't put the video up just now but i assure you it shows 90% when punching the pins into the ply ..even though it looked perfectly dry etc.

I will post the links in the next post.