I knew the first step was soft so I started digging in today. It has now turned into a full remodel. Going to rebuild it all and then put luxury vinyl on the steps and tile on the sides.
I think I'm going to leave the riser off the first step so that we have a cubbyhole to put our shoes into.
I'm going to seal off the area that allowed water in and then use treated wood for the first step. I can't decide if I want to fiberglass the bottom or find some other waterproof sealant for the underside of the first step.
Wish me luck
Hey Elliot, bummer.. looks fixable though. I sure you'll make it better than new.. Where was the water getting in at?
From underneath; it slipped between the bottom box and the first step and then pooled towards the front. This is a good reminder for everyone to get under their coach and make sure that entire area is sealed off.
very common issue
marine grade plywood is best wood option
many of us have replaced that step with "starboard"
King Starboard Plastic Sheet - Cut to Size and Stocked Sizes (https://www.boatoutfitters.com/material/plastic-sheet/king-starboard?gclid=CjwKCAjwxZqSBhAHEiwASr9n9B46a7Ff-f6Pn_vS7NtP3_lfbGsAttnP8YOlpzZP9l2Up6cXVmLtfRoC5x4QAvD_BwE)
I'm curios if anyone has had issues getting laminate or wood flooring to stick to the Starboard. Their website specifically states you can't glue it or paint it.
David Flanigans team at FOT glued Chiliwich on ut 7-8 years ago - still holding strong.
Ill try to post pictures in the AM
Tim
You can mechanically attach flooring to Starboard using a polyurethane a caulk to keep water from migrating between the two.
Ours were rotted, also. After reconstruction-the treads weren't adhered when this photo was taken
Your steps are the first I have seen that were maybe even worse than mine were... :o :o :o Below is a link to my thread about the process. I used Starboard in my repair after Tim F. clued me in about the stuff.
Step Repair or Renovation (http://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=19971.msg143342#msg143342)
Don
Please give consideration to increasing the ability to step under the above step to increase the length of each step. Couple inches of overlap with make access much better and safer. If you push out step length to 10 inches you will love it.
Scott
Just a thought here.
Our '89 GV has the bottom or first step in a fiberglass "well" and the 3/4" marine plywood was absolutely unaffected by the water that set in there over the years.
But the really crappy powder blue shag carpet was impossible to keep clean.
So I pulled the carpet, unscrewed the plywood, dried out the well area, and then drilled several holes to let the water out.
Next step was to glue and temp staple part of a door mat on the top surface.
Then I noticed that the lip on the well was above the mat so I glued and stapled eight pads of the rubber door mat on the underside of the plywood. Doing this elevated the top flush with the well lip, and left a gap underneath for water to exit out the holes.
(My philosophy is if I can't keep water out then let it out)
Oops, got (2) step 9s. Step #10 is a picture of the crappy blue carpet.
And then I proceeded to rework the seals around the door and now water doesn't get in, other than what water and dirt comes in on our feet. No problem because I can just lift out that bottom step and clean it outside!!
Is 3/4" starboard rigid enough for the span of the step or does it need to be braced underneath?
Elliot, I used marine grade 3/4 inch plywood on our bottom step and sealed off the area that was allowing water to seep in, more like pored in! I did a short article on ours on the forum.
If you are talking about spanning the width of the step without a riser, then no. Maybe ¾" aluminum or a fabricated composite, but IMHO, even an oak ¾" tread would be inadequate for that task if you want it to feel solid.
Don
I made a bit more progress today. I started by cutting out the soft wood that wasn't salvageable and cut a replacement section that i treated. Then I hit all the other questionable parts of the wood with a plethora of Wood Hardner so it's basically plastic now.
Then onto building support for the bottom step. Should finish that tomorrow. I don't think that Scott is at risk of losing his job to me, but it'll get the job done.
So the Starboard is ridiculously expensive. A piece large enough to do the entire bottom step would be about $200 shipped. I also can't find marine-grade plywood in town, I'd have to have that shipped too :headwall: I like being overkill when possible but at the end of the day these are just the entry steps.
So for the low price of $54.99, I ordered some deep penetrating epoxy wood sealer and am going to treat plywood I already have. I also bought some galvanized sheet metal so I can seal off the gap all the way around between the bottom step and fiberglass box below. Then I'll pump that space full of expanding foam (partly for waterproofing and partly for insulation).
Elliot never underestimate the power of the expanding foam. AAA+++ so a trick Ive used for years is to drill application holes anywhere you want to apply foam. Ive even perforated panels and applied all the way across. Removal will be nearly impossible. Great stuff. Once cured you can also cut with a hot wire. Some are fireproof rated and a structural adhesive.
Scott
Did anyone notice that when I held up the bottom step that the picture showed you a pretty neat hiding place under the removable step for extra keys and "stuff"?
I built a skirt to seal off the gap between the two boxes. Knowing what I know now, this is something that would be wise for anyone with a similar coach to do.
I'm just waiting for my epoxy sealer to get in so that I can install the steps and then I'll pump foam into the space between the boxes.
I'm very happy with the epoxy sealer from TotalBoat. It penetrates extremely well, so much so that you can barely tell the wood has been treated. It just looks wet and feels a little smoother. I cut it with paint thinner like they suggest for deeper penetration. The only downside is that it takes four days at 40° to set, which makes sense when you think about it; it's an epoxy that needs to penetrate before hardening.
At the end of the day, the adhesives between layers of plywood is still not marine grade so it's probably not as good as proper marine grade plywood but for coach purposes it's a great alternative.
Here's a link for anyone interested in trying it: TotalBoat Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer | Protects & Repairs Wood (https://www.totalboat.com/product/penetrating-epoxy/)
It was crappy work but I redid the insulation around the entry steps while I was at it. Closed cell foam coated with rubber truck bed liner.
Looking forward to this job being over.
I need to do that on mine.
Finally done with this one
Nice work
My wife saw this and really likes it, now it looks like I have another project ;D She showed it to me and I was like, "Oh, yea that's Elliot, he rebuilt his due to rust. I am hoping I don't have to do ours". Now at the very least I need to remove the carpet and make it similar. Thanks
@Elliott :)
Lol sorry!
FWIW, this is probably the least appreciated/noticed cosmetic upgrade I've done to our rig. It gets dirty so quickly and in our case, usually loaded with shoes, that it often goes unnoticed. A bit of a bummer really because it was one of the more expensive, time consuming jobs
Aren't those rubber button mats a bit slippery when wet?
No not at all so far, and we've been dealing with a lot of rain here in the midwest. Much better than the 20 year old rubber I replaced for sure... those I did slip on a couple times.
Bummer it is not appreciated, it is nicely done. We have dogs so a rubber mat is friendlier than carpet, especially when wet.