Stepped out onto the steps and one of the bolts pulled through the floor that hold the steps on. I have floor damage at the door. Has anyone gone though this, how did you fix it and do you have pics?
I cut the other bolt that holds the steps on and removed the steps. I think i'll have to remove the door also to fix the entry.
Yep, first step is find out what caused the damage and fix that first. Then use a sawzall or circular saw to cut out bad section. Install some new wood supports underneath and use 90 degree angle brackets to make them stronger. Then cut and install the replacement floor piece, preferably exterior grade plywood. Finish the job with new floor covering like sheet vinyl or planks
mobilefleet wrote: Yep, first step is find out what caused the damage and fix that first. Then use a sawzall or circular saw to cut out bad section. Install some new wood supports underneath and use 90 degree angle brackets to make them stronger. Then cut and install the replacement floor piece, preferably exterior grade plywood. Finish the job with new floor covering like sheet vinyl or planks
I know what caused it and it has been repaired. Now I have to deal with the steps.
I cut up about 5 or 6 planks of the laminate floor inside the door. Underlayment is bad for about 6 inches from the wall.
I don't know how i'm going to re-attach the steps. There were 2 long bolts that seem to have been installed before the door went in and that seem to go into the wood under the threshold of the door. I think I have to remove the door to do something there and put new bolts in.
Repairing the floor inside the door is not too bad of a job to do:
Your application may differ slightly but the basic technique will be the same.
Here is how I did mine:
What I will do with this description is describe my application, yours may be the same or slightly different. I think most things will apply here. If something in yours varies a lot from mine, then techniques will have to be modified.
I am going to assume you have some basic knowledge of things here, so when I say remove this or that I won’t have to detail getting out a screwdriver and taking a screw out!!
First the obvious – the door must be removed. Simple and straightforward, remove the plastic trim over the door frame, if present, remove all the screws and pull the door out. It is likely stuck real good with butyl tape so you may have to get a bar in there and g e n t l y pry to get it loose.
You will need to access the floor and the bottom of the wall. Don’t get scared, it isn’t hard to do.
You will have to remove the bottom row of siding, and most likely your wheel well molding too, depending if your door is located similar to mine. And the awning arm bracket will have to come off too.
You will find it is way easier to just simply take stuff off that is in the way rather than trying to work around it. Trust me on that one, it is way easier!
I thought I had more pics than these, but at least you can see the basic steps.
Once you get the bottom row of siding off (if yours has siding), you will need to separate the walls from the floor. Usually they are held together with screws from the bottom plate of the wall going down into the outside floor framing member. It can be a bit tricky to get them out. Make sure you have the right driver bit and a drill. BE SURE you don’t strip the head out, otherwise you will have to get between the floor and the wall with a recip saw and a metal blade and cut the screws. You may have to do that anyways. Driving a long wedge between the wall and floor will force it apart a bit so you can get a saw blade in there. Make sure the saw blade doesn’t go inside and mar your flooring up. The wall will have to be separated from the door all the way to the next transition in framing, that is depending on the location of your door, from the door to the wheel well, and from the door to the front of the trailer. (or rear)
Oops, I think this is going to turn into a small novel…. Sorry, I have a habit of getting quite descriptive.
I will assume you have lino flooring. I removed the bench from my dinette so I could cut the lino and lift it up, so I could put it back down without having to buy new flooring. Screws holding it the floor are inside, going down through the framing into the floor. Your application will differ from mine. Look at my pics and see the idea is to cut the floor underneath something so you don’t see the cut when you put it all back together. Mine was a bit awkward inside my door to the left and I tore it a bit trying to pull it out of the way. But if you don’t tell anyone, I won’t either!!
So make sure you pull out any simple things attached to the floor that will be in the way of the repair. If you have a full height partition or something, then you will have to leave it in place for the repair and get creative about cutting the lino at the edge.
Next you need to literally lift the side of your trailer off the floor. Again, don’t get scared, it’s no big deal. Put a piece of 2X4, cut to length inside the top of your door opening. Get out a hydraulic jack and another 2X4, cut to length to sit under the top of the door opening and on top of the jack. Do this from the ground outside. Your trailer will tilt sideways and lift up until you see the wall begin to separate from the floor. It’s OK, these things will take a lot of bending and stress. They are designed to bend and flex a lot as they go down the road. Now MAKE SURE that you do have the wall disconnected from the floor all the way along as described. Other wise you will be jacking forever if you forgot a fastener or 3. This is important. Once you see the wall separating from the floor, keep going until you have about ¼ to ½ inch of space. Don’t get too carried away here. Once you can see separation from the wall to floor, Get another 2X4, cut to length to jam under your door opening and to the ground outside to hold it in place. I did mine on my concrete driveway, not dirt or grass. If you are on dirt or grass, then put a piece of plywood or something down first.
Now cut your lino, under something so you won’t see the cut, get down on your knees and pray that it is not glued down, (mine wasn’t) and after your prayer, lift the lino up and out of the way and gently fold it over, being careful not to crunch it flat. I used a pair of work boots to hold it in place.
Oh gads I’m getting long winded here. It’s OK, you may take a break now, go have a cold beer and come back to work. Have one for me too.
Once the lino is pulled up, you can assess the damage.
It is important to remove ALL rotten plywood flooring. You will need to cut the floor back to the nearest support (joist). Remove all rotten plywood flooring. And pull out and discard all the soggy insulation. Then there is all the gross disgusting white fungus covered schmoo you will encounter. Get some rubber gloves and get it all out of there. I used a very stiff solution of bleach and water to spray everything down after removal. This will kill the fungus spores.
Now you have to examine the floor joists and determine how far the rot goes. It is really really important to replace all the rotten floor joists. They will need to be cut somewhere back into a solid area. Remove all rotten wood.
Now you need to duplicate the old joists. I used kiln dried spruce 2X4’s and ripped them with a circular saw to the same size as the existing floor joists. The outside floor joist is a given – it will need to be replaced, as that is why your step pulled out. It is rotten. You may or may not have to replace any of the inner ones. I had to replace one. So if you have to replace an inner joist, you will have to cut the old out, cut a new one and put it in place, butt joining it to the existing joists with the rot cut out of the middle, and then you will have to put a splice piece in to join the old to the new. I like to go at least 18” into the old joists. I use LOTS of carpenters glue and #8X3” decking screws to securely fasten the joists together. Don’t be a cheapskate on the screws!!
Now the outside floor joist, I strongly recommend you replace it in one piece from the door to the next transition, that is the wheel well and the front of the trailer. This piece carries the wall and should be good and sturdy.
You may have to put lateral support members into the floor to strengthen your repair. I did. Everything you do here, glue and screw it all. Pre-drill the wood at the ends if you have to toe-screw things together. This will prevent splitting. Once you replace all the framing members, then it is time to replace the floor plywood itself. It is VERY important that this plywood is replaced in its entirety, right out to the edge of the trailer. This is why you have lifted the wall off the floor. So you can replace plywood right out to the edge of the floor.
Now is the time to re-insulate the floor. Simple, buy some insulation and fill the floor cavity. Do remember that insulation is intended to be loose fit. You cannot increase your insulation R value by cramming more of it in there. So if your floor is 2X3’s, get a few batts of R-20 and split them in half, making sure you fill every void with insulation.
Now carefully measure and cut the new floor plywood to size.
Here is where you will appreciate the time you took to lift the wall off the floor. Insert the plywood under the wall, from the outside and carefully guide it into place on your new floor joists. Screw the plywood down to the old and new joists. You will have to angle screws from the outside to get them under the walls, but make sure it is securely fastened down.
This pic was from the repair of the rear floor area. The principle is the same.
Here is where you put your step back in. It is likely held in place with carriage bolts, put down from the top with the nut on the bottom. This is a bit awkward to do, as the wall is the way to drive the bolt in. Get under the floor and pre-drill up through the new wood to enable putting in the new carriage bolts to hold your step in place. Most likely it will be 5/16” or possibly 3/8”. Measure your old bolts and replace them with the same size. It is a little tricky to run the new bolts down, as they are directly under the wall. I was able to pry my wall sideways enough to get the bolt into the hole and drive it down. I then tightened the nut enough to pull the head of the bolt down flush to the plywood floor.
There will also be 2 more bolts on the inboard side of the step. They are easier to do, as they are in a foot or so from the door.
Once this is done, then you can put your flooring back in place, under the wall too.
Now you can use the jack and 2X4 and take the pressure off you brace that is holding the wall off the floor, and let the wall back down onto the floor. Proceed to screw the wall to the floor with #8X3” decking screws. On the ends and about a screw every foot should suffice.
Beyond this, the rest of it is re-assembly of everything you took apart to do the repair.
I didn't take any of the completed project pics. These are all I have
Sorry to be so long winded. Short inconcise descriptions only leave you to wonder what I mean.
That was a really good description of a floor repair. My floor rot wasn't quite as bad and didn't require as much. I bought one of those "multi" tools, the one with the vibrating head, and cut the old floor out flush with the cabinets and wall. Used the green "treated" plywood for replacement. I believe the 1" thickness matched the old OSB flooring. Interestingly enough, the floor wasn't supported with anything under the door opening. I bolted a piece of angle iron under the floor across the opening. Anywhere I needed support under the floor where the new and old pieces met I used treated 2X4's. I then caulked the seams and recovered the floor with new vinyl. Good as new, and I now have the treated plywood for any future (hope not) leakage. You can do it.
Lynn & Diana Wagoner
Three Boston Terriers
2005 Chevy 2500HD D/A
2006 HHII 29.5LKTG
Retired
That was a great description of the repair. Thanks a ton.
ExRocketScientist wrote: Get a welder to install some outriggers on your frame and bolt the steps to the outriggers.
That would make for a ton more work. My belly is enclosed. All that would have to come off to weld to the frame. I thought about pulling the welder out and doing it but it doesn't seem like a good idea.
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