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Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Firth of Fifth, or how to fix a leaking crank out window

When the original owner purchased my Scamp he paid $40.00 extra to add a crank out vent window over the cooktop. He ended up costing me a lot more than that. Apparently these windows are notorious leakers, allowing rain water to run down between the rat fur and the fiberglass shell. A waterfall may be Madrigal, but not inside your Scamp. This water makes its way under the fiberglass and soaks into the wood flooring that makes up the bottom of the sink/stove cabinet. This was pointed out to me only after I had listed the Scamp for sale. Rather than sell a scamp with a little rot, I decided to operate.

Phase 1: Remove the rot. Genesis wrote "Like a cancer cell is removed by steel let it be revealed." I carefully cut out the portion of the floor that had suffered the most rot, and like any good surgeon a bit of the surrounding "margin".  A new piece of matching plywood was set in place and sealed with epoxy and fiberglass cloth. The underside was sprayed with a rubberized coating, and the whole cabinet floor was bonded with an additional 1/4" plywood and sealed to the structure with epoxy and a zillion 3/4" heavy duty flooring staples.

Phase 2: Repair the source: Apparently the only thing holding the window in was some vintage 1987 Butyl tape and a poor attempt to caulk. Removing the window took about 30 seconds and a sharp utility knife.

What is it with Scamp's windows? As mentioned earlier in this blog, the window in the Scamp's door was too thick for the thin fiberglass and there was about a 1/4" gap that allowed the door's wooden core to rot. So be it with this vent window. It is too thick for the 1/8"in thick fiberglass wall. Weep holes designed to let rain out only encourage rain to go between the fiberglass and the rat fur... something has to be modified.

Phase 3: A new 21: drip cap will divert most of the rain away from the window, New Butyl tape and some silicone caulk for good measure, and new weatherstripping of the window frame, and new drilled weep holes will hopefully keep water outside.

https://www.rvautoparts.com/Drip-Rail_c_104470.html



Photos to come.


5 comments:

  1. I'm having the exact same problem. Can you post pictures of exactly what you did? I'm not the handiest and and considering a quick-and-dirty duct tape cover.

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  2. I never took photos, but the procedure for replacing the floor is documented all over the internet. The Window was replaced with butyl tape, which is available on-line and regular silicone caulk. Some rivets if you have them.

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  3. The seal and butyl tape was not the issue with the window. I am the new owner of this egg and actually just fixed the leaking window issue. It was the seam in the upper part of the window frame being split. I took the window out, used epoxy to fill that gap and butyl tape to reinstall the window. Finally, it's no longer leaking (and that's with the added drip shelf removed and the holes from it filled in. This egg has gotten a complete frame off restoration and is nearing completion.

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    1. I never really had the time to test my repair, and frankly did not notice the split seam. If I had my druthers, and the ability I would have deleted that window and filled the fibergalss body. It just seemed odd to have that window so close to the propane stove, when a stiff wind could blow out the flame. And it really did not act as a vent for the stove. But the original owner had it added probably thinking it would vent the stove.

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  4. Thanks for the info. I fully understand the reasons why we should hire professional power washers for effective cleaning of all types of surfaces. I have been searching for a long time to clean the surface of my garage which is full of dirt and mold. But now I'm going to hire a professional pressure washing service from Jim the handyman Home Services for my garage pressure washing.structural wood rot repair

    ReplyDelete