GMC Motorhome, sealing out smells

Many of us are not effected by smells, others more so in fact it’s now found that mold spores do a real number on some.  Now there is mold mitigation in homes found to be effected.  Chemicals used in new materials leach out causing those sensitive to certain chemicals real trouble.  Even if you don’t realize it, air born chemicals, mold spores, and all kinds of things can effect you in ways you never thought of and only those that find out what they are allergic to may be the lucky ones.

So we’re building a coach for just such a person.  Nancy has lived with a very sensitive au factory system which will not allow her to be exposed to many chemicals and especially mold.  We live in a fishbowl of ait sprinkled in everything else.  So just think how it would be to constantly be concerned about the air around you……  that could be debilitating certainly a problem and something to consider when travelling in a motorhome.  Not only the materials used in it’s manufacture but also addressing somehow the surroundings the coach could encounter.

When this coach came in with Willie at the wheel, Nancy was following in the car.    A descent, well kept looking machine, there was something sinister laying in wait for Nancy.    Water had caused rot deep within the interior and Nancy’s entire body told her so. 

Looking, finding her perfect coach the mold and oders in the coach became apartment so something had to be done.  Willie and Nancy both like the coach and want to keep it but with her not being to stand being in the coach…..  even fabise was bested…. nothing worked so here we go.

  Breaking into the wood floor in the back, things were coming into focus.  Nancy’s nose was right on.   There was floor rot, not only the floor but a good portion of the outer and bulkhead walls were damaged.  The base holding the bath module was rotted    As the song “Big John” says, “With picks and shovels we started back down…..   Replaced right down to and including the floor we went.

All you stinky critters outa here!  They flew down to inspect the progress, Willie stayed a week to help us      While to the “root mean”, it was time for painting the exterior……. in we went with a “pile on” paint job.  Each stripe layer was on the last making the sanding to a flat surface a challenge and man were there stripes on this very 80’s look

      Guys, a really important tip.  Never layer your stripes on top of the main color of your finish like the sanding reveals    It creates a paint line bump you can feel but more than that, that stripe will have to be totally sanded off before you could repaint…. you would see the paint line!  Remember… smallest color first… bag that then the next larger and so on.  This way your paint line will not be a bump plus if you ever repaint it trust me… you will thank yourself…   but the only thing this has to do with the interior is the VOC’s in the paint on the outside PLUS how can we slow down the progression of outside smells…. if that’s possible. 

Cleaning the interior as much as possible, replacing any remaining rotted wood we are now ready to consider exterior and VOC remediation on the interior.  Working with Nancy and Willie, we found a prep coating with not low but NO VOC’s!  Prepping any porous interior surface even made to coat foam…… the interior got a full couple layers of this stuff

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    Floor complete to the ceiling, I had never bagged off an interior!     .  A new idea to treat an unique situation……. we’re into that!  The investigation points to less exterior infiltration of odors plus with rebuilding the interior with sealed wood all treated with this stuff should go a long way to making Willie and Nancy’s dream machine the best it can be.

Stay tuned for more on this project….

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