Rebuilding wall need help

[Yobie]

hello,

The back wall on my toyota dolphin is rotten, both the exterior and interior panels including the wood frame. I'm going to replace all of it. I was wondering what kind of wood to look for when replacing the exterior and interior. It is in the back by my shower so I was going to use frp on the inside there. Any suggestions

PS it goes from exterior to interior ---> fiberglass siding -> wood paneling -> Styrofoam - >wood paneling

Thanks,

Matt

[Dolphinite no longer here]

hello,

The back wall on my toyota dolphin is rotten, both the exterior and interior panels including the wood frame. I'm going to replace all of it. I was wondering what kind of wood to look for when replacing the exterior and interior. It is in the back by my shower so I was going to use frp on the inside there. Any suggestions

PS it goes from exterior to interior ---> fiberglass siding -> wood paneling -> Styrofoam - >wood paneling

Thanks,

Matt

Matt,

I'm not as familiar with the newer fiberglass bodies as I am with the older metal sided ones, but some things seem to be standard to all these wood-framed Toyhomes. For the interior wall framing, you can use plain ol' common lumber as long as its nice and straight and dry. The paneling nearest the exterior fiberglass wall is probably about 1/8 inch thick stuff. Most Toyhomes have this junk in them somewhere and replacing can be a problem since the replacement paneling isn't much better. One way to make everything last much longer is to coat both sides of all wood (including the hidden 1/8 inch paneling) with some kind of water proofing. I use two-part epoxy and it works great but its expensive. Polyester resin works well, too and even a good coat of paint does a great job. Don't paint the areas that are going to get glued together, if that's what you're going to do, but if you are using epoxy glue, you can coat everything.

FRP is a great choice for the shower area and it comes in lots of different patterns if you don't want just a plain, flat surface. The 1/8 inch interior paneling was often just covered with some kind of patterned wallpaper stuff that was water resistant, but was only okay in keeping water away from the wood underneath. One thing to be aware of is that the present-day 1/8 inch paneling, or doorskins, are not made with waterproof glue, so if you decide to go that way for the shower, you'll need to precoat everything with epoxy or polyester resin.

I don't know how old your Toyhome is, but one thing to keep in mind is that even with the poor materials and only okay workmanship, these Toyhomes have lasted quite well. Even if you don't precoat everything inside the walls, and use only wallpaper-covered paneling for the shower, you'll probably get a good twenty years out of the rig, for sure fifteen.

Be sure and use lots of your favorite sealant/bedding compound on the exterior molding when you put it back on and around the window when you put it back in. Aluminum corner and bottom trim is available for the FRP panels from Home Depot and Lowe's and its a good idea to squirt a small bead in the molding's slots before pushing the FRP (or doorskin) panels in.

Good Luck.

John

[85mirage]

I would think about eliminating wood paneling between filon siding and styrofoam. What purpose does it serve? Just as a filler. Just another place for moisture to work its way into and expand and contract your new wood.

PS it goes from exterior to interior ---> fiberglass siding -> wood paneling -> Styrofoam - >wood paneling

Im almost there with you just waiting for warmer weather

[Yobie]

Thanks to both of you. Your in depth answer was appreciated. Thank you and I will be using this information like the above poster said "when it gets warmer." I got a little spring happy with a few days of warmer weather.