Stowage Doors

[Steve,N,Jan]

I have started the project of rebuilding my compartment doors.I have picked the sewer hose door to start with,being the smallest and worst condition. I read workshops tread on this projectand am following it closely.I have it all apart and cleaned. I am useing blue 3/4 inch foam instead of 1 inch and will use 1/4 inch board in front and back of instead of 1/8".now my question is...can I use aluminium or plastic instead of plywood ? My thinking is there should be no more water damage possible. Looking for anyones input on this so I can get the material to get it back together.
Thanks in advance for your input.

[Workshop]

Originally posted by Steve,N,Jan:
I have started the project of rebuilding my compartment doors......will use 1/4 inch board in front and back of instead of 1/8". Now my question is...can I use aluminium or plastic instead of plywood ? My thinking is there should be no more water damage possible.

Steve are you looking at using the aluminum or plastic instead of the plywood inner panels? OR as the outer panel, that would be the inner part of the compartment door.

I went with the 1/8 inch wood panels to keep the weight of the doors to a minuminum when everything was rebuilt and because when I was experimenting with materials__this is the combo I came up with. I don't know what new doors weight.....but the compartment door for the 'lawn chairs' in the main slide isn't anything I would want to let loose!

To me at the time, it was a matter of the materials I was able to get locally and would fit together within the frame of the door. If you have other options that would fit the space and can be 'glued' together to form the 'inner panel' you can experiment with it. Remember it is the glue-up of the parts that gives it it's overall strength.

I couldn't find another material to use to replace the plywood, I would be interested to know the material and if it works out ok for you, we could update the post I did to include other options if it works out.

I would most likely stay with the plywood__I found that the two problems with the doors were the joint seam at the top and the major one the compartment latch, that passed through the door, and the screws that held it in place. Believe if these areas are sealed good, that should take care of the problem. I feel I would be trading up to 'something' before I had to rebuild the doors again. If you do a good job sealing...feel your doors will last also.

If you have a space issue with the materials...Lowes also carries a fiberglass inner panel that doesn't have the 'orange peel' look that will not take up as much height when assy it all back together.

If I can help, you can PM me if you like.

Chris

[Steve,N,Jan]

Well thanks to the poor weather I had time to put the unit on the side of the garage and repair all the doors. Ready the a great year

[Tom SKP]

Originally posted by Workshop:

I would most likely stay with the plywood__...
Chris

Workshop, is marine plywood available or can regular playwood be treated with someting like Woodlife to prevent or at least retard future deterioration from water?

Tom

[Steve,N,Jan]

Paint is an option marine or treated plywood would weigh alot

[Workshop]

Tom, I don't know if you have reviewed the second post, Rebuilding the compartment doors, on my Topic at the top of the forum?

At any rate, I used a 1/4" moisture resistant Lauan for both the inner and outer wood panels. At the time I purchased it at Home Depot (#492-930) and Lowes (#12549) also carried the same item. This product was vey stable and had no warp factor or curl that could be had with other ply type material. Finish very smooth to work with also.

I feel that between this lauan and the way the doors were repaired that the doors will last forever. Maybe not that long__but have no concerns after the repair.

If you review the photos of the damage to my doors, I felt the latch/handle was the major cause for the moisture that entered within the door panel. The upper seam was also a problem but feel minor in the total damage done. I feel that by fastening the handle/latch down with through screw/nuts that my chances of having future damage is minor. If you look at some of the photos, the edges of the original panels don't touch anything, the moisture entered from the side in the loction of the handle/latch.

If you are going to do a glue-up of the panels (wood and foam) one has to be carefull of the types of finishes one uses to treat the wood. Some types are wax, oil and other types that take a while to setup. Painting as mentioned would be an option__but it can all be labor intensive.

Hope something helped.

[MikeandClaudia]

Check out Thompson's Water Seal and see if it would be an option. It does a remarkable job of repelling moisture if it would be compatable with the foam.