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How the Floor Is Constructed
The floor of all modern caravans is a sandwich-type construction. The top section is a thin plywood sheet. The core section which is around 3-4 cm thick, is made out of a polystyrene foam material. The bottom layer is a thicker sheet of plywood.
Why Do I Get Delamination?
When delamination occurs it is normally in a walkway which is heavily used such as near the kitchen or by the door.
The polystyrene foam section in the middle becomes compressed and a void is created which allows the top layer of plywood to depress when walked on.
Another Reason.
The same symptoms can be caused by a different problem; sometimes a section of the floor plywood can become unglued and can start to move.
Which Problem Do I Have?
To determine which problem you have, while someone walks up and down inside the caravan with a spongy floor, another person looks underneath the van and notes what the floor is doing. If you get a small amount of movement in the floor and it is the same all the way along it would usually indicate compressed foam. The void takes up the movement of the ply.
If you notice one section of the floor moving much more than the others, the section joints will become apparent. If this is the case, then it would point to the floor becoming loose.
How Is It Fixed?
It is important to diagnose the problem correctly because they are corrected in different ways.
To repair compression delamination, holes are drilled in a grid formation into the ply, usually from the underside, and a two part resin is injected into the void. This hardens and stops the top layer of ply moving.
When the whole floor is moving, a framework of supporting struts has to be constructed to stop the section moving.
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