I set off at about 10.15. It was cloudy, but reasonably warm, and at least there was very little breeze, which made getting onto the pontoon relatively straight forward. Having tied up, I drove into Rugby to get a few things to enable me to tick a job off the list: replacing the very corroded interior trims on the mushroom vents.
When we had Briar Rose surveyed before purchase, the surveyor noted that inside the mushroom vents you can see a gap between the wood of the ceiling and the sprayfoam insulation above it. He thought moisture could get into the gap, and then condense, making the back of the wooden ceiling damp; he suggested filling the gap. This seemed logical to me, so I got some expanding foam filler, to do the job while the trims were off anyway.
This turns out to be the stuff of nightmares. You have to hold the can upside down and apply the filler through a straw. This is not easy when you're working above your head, and are trying to fill a circular gap. It also expands enormously, and keeps on doing so for a considerable time.
After about 45 minutes, it's stopped growing and is hard enough to trim with a knife.
Finally, the new brass trims could go on. They're a huge improvement, and make quite a difference.
2 miles, 0 locks. (6 miles, 0 locks)
4 comments:
When I fitted Harnser I bought some brass plated plastic liners, I think these would fit inside your covers. I screwed the liners to the ceiling and then went on the roof, took the mushroom top off and sealed the neck of the liner to the inside of the mushroom up stand with silicon, so between the mushroom and the ceiling face is now fully sealed. We do get drops of condensation on the liner in the winter and this would go on top of the ceiling without the liner being sealed in.
My liners were similar to these
I couldn't help laughing at your description of using the dreaded expanding foam. It does go a bit berserk doesn't it.
I used it cruelly to block up the holes of a rat's nest under our shed at home. We never saw them again. The worst of it though is that you have to use up the whole can in one go because it sets in the application tube.
Hi Neil, I used a lot less than a whole can, but still ended up throwing it away. I couldn't stand the thought of cleaning the tube -- and then found it had welded itself onto the can anyway! I also had a fear that if you stored it away somewhere, but the time you needed it again it would be so big you wouldn't be able to get it out!
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