How do I seal a 1 inch gap at the galley?

[yrock87]

Hi there everyone. I have gotten a ton of help from this forum over the last 6 months of my build. almost all of that has been from the search bar and quite a bit of reading. I have a question that hopefully someone here has already found the answer for.





my hatch is built, and it turned out perfectly. exactly like I had planned, unfortunately I knew there was going to be a problem sealing the hatch from the get go. I had hoped that I would find the solution between the design phase and execution, but that time has arrived and I'm still unsure of how to best seal this 1 inch gap.

the hatch was built with 1 inch deep spars and 1/8 inch ply on top. that ply extends out past the spars on the sides to be basically even with the outside of the trailer wall. the trailer to hatch ply gap is 1 inch, the clearance from the trailer wall to the spar is about 3/16 inch. I built it this way because I planned for a notched wall at the hatch. I also knew that I would need at least 1 inch thick hatch spars to make it strong enough. I knew I couldn't have my hatch spars directly over the trailer walls unless I raised the hatch up 1/4 - 1/2 inch to give me clearance between the spar and the wall. So I built it this way hoping I could find a sealing solution.

anybody have any ideas for a combination of trim and gasket that will give me a watertight seal?

(it isn't pictured, but a hurricane hinge will be at the top of the hatch)

Thanks for your input guys!

[yrock87]

79 views, no responses.

So, I think I have 3 options.
A. use two different seals, one on top, one on bottom to bridge that 1 inch gap. the upside is no additional fabrication, it is the easiest, and it can be removed if it doesn't work, the downside is that a gasket on gasket seal is likely not a water tight (or wind) as a gasket on solid surface seal.

B. cut 2-3 strips out of 1/8 ply, stack them together to make a 3/8 tall piece and laminate it all to the inside edge of the hatch, this would close the gap to 5/8, a much more manageable size. upside is maybe a stronger seal, and it will add some strength to the hatch at that edge. the downside is the fabrication and it will eliminate using the automotive type gasket that attaches onto a 1/8 edge with a bulb that faces down from that edge. not the end of the world, but I do already have that gasket.

C. cut a 1/2 thick spar for each side out of the 1/2 ply that I made the other spars with. that would close the gap but it is much more intensive to fabricate correctly (especially since I used the master constructing the hatch) and I would have to do at least two on each side (cutting out 4 total). NOT the preferred option.

Thoughts?

[Pmullen503]

I would epoxy a wood strip on the hatch and/or the top to take up the extra space. You'll need a gap to mount your hinge anyway. Depending on which hinge you buy, the flange will probably cover the extra strip(s).

[troubleScottie]

You are talking a gap running the entire length of the hinge/hatch/roof, not just the region over the walls, correct??

How much of the space does the hinge take?

Having not install a hurricane hinge, I am looking at various hinge images. For some (two "L" with a sealed hinge), the two inner metal surface are touching. For others, there is a gap. For still others, there is no inner hing walls ( two flat strips with joint). Some hinges are offset vertically. Some have 90 degree angles for the "L"s, some do not. Which hinge are you working with? Can you supply dimensions/cross sectional view?

I am guessing that you did not attempt to dry fit the hinge/hatch/roof prior to completion of the hatch.

Almost all of your schemes appear to be compromising the attachment point/edge. Again no knowing where the screw center or width of each hinge surface, you will be driving screws from the top surface of the hinge into the spars on each side. You will not want the screw centers to be anywhere near the extra wood (too thin) or the wood joint (too weak) and far enough into the hatch or roof spar that the wood does not split. You might run out of hinge before you can center your screws.

[yrock87]

I need to clarify.
The hinge gap I am not worried about. The 1/4 inch space between the hatch and roofline is perfect for my hurricane hinge. I used spacers to set that gap when I built the hatch. I just haven't installed the hinge because I will do that after I epoxy and aluminum the hatch.

I am concerned about the side wall to hatch seal. it is kinda hard to see in the 2 photos, but there is a 1 inch gap between the outside sheathing of the hatch, and the top of the curve of the sidewall. those two surfaces are where I need to create a seal to make the hatch watertight.

does that make sense?

Thanks for the responses guys, made me realize I described the problem wrong.

[halfdome, Danny]

From your photo I'd carefully cut a bunch of 1/8" strips of hardwood and start laminating them one at a time using Tightbond II glue and masking tape every couple inches along the length.
Use the 1" masking tape as a clamp taping across the strips and down each side a couple inches, you'll get the hang of it soon.
They will change in length as you progress.
If possible sister a piece of wood with just glue on the inside bridging the gap between the sidewall and the built up laminations.
The nicer the strips look the nicer the finished look will be.
I run strips through an overhead sander.
If you can talk a cabinet shop into running them for you you'll be better off as the consistent thickness will glue up better.
If you have them sanded, rip the strips 1/16" thicker so they have something to sand too.
I've banded many shelves this way when we didn't have an edgebander.
Danny

[yrock87]

From your photo I'd carefully cut a bunch of 1/8" strips of hardwood and start laminating them one at a time using Tightbond II glue and masking tape every couple inches along the length.
Use the 1" masking tape as a clamp taping across the strips and down each side a couple inches, you'll get the hang of it soon.
They will change in length as you progress.
If possible sister a piece of wood with just glue on the inside bridging the gap between the sidewall and the built up laminations.
The nicer the strips look the nicer the finished look will be.
I run strips through an overhead sander.
If you can talk a cabinet shop into running them for you you'll be better off as the consistent thickness will glue up better.
If you have them sanded, rip the strips 1/16" thicker so they have something to sand too.
I've banded many shelves this way when we didn't have an edgebander.
Danny

Thanks Danny, after thinking through it the last day or so I had a feeling that would be the easiest. I was orignialy planning to use some aluminum trim, so looks are as important. also I will cover whatever I do with Epoxy.

two follow-on questions. if I epoxy over it all, is there a reason I shouldn't do what you recommend, but with 1/8 BB ply, I have that handy and it is easy to work with. And secondly, you recommend adding UP from the sidewall? why not DOWN from the hatch?

Again, thanks for the input

[halfdome, Danny]

From your photo I'd carefully cut a bunch of 1/8" strips of hardwood and start laminating them one at a time using Tightbond II glue and masking tape every couple inches along the length.
Use the 1" masking tape as a clamp taping across the strips and down each side a couple inches, you'll get the hang of it soon.
They will change in length as you progress.
If possible sister a piece of wood with just glue on the inside bridging the gap between the sidewall and the built up laminations.
The nicer the strips look the nicer the finished look will be.
I run strips through an overhead sander.
If you can talk a cabinet shop into running them for you you'll be better off as the consistent thickness will glue up better.
If you have them sanded, rip the strips 1/16" thicker so they have something to sand too.
I've banded many shelves this way when we didn't have an edgebander.
Danny

Thanks Danny, after thinking through it the last day or so I had a feeling that would be the easiest. I was orignialy planning to use some aluminum trim, so looks are as important. also I will cover whatever I do with Epoxy.

two follow-on questions. if I epoxy over it all, is there a reason I shouldn't do what you recommend, but with 1/8 BB ply, I have that handy and it is easy to work with. And secondly, you recommend adding UP from the sidewall? why not DOWN from the hatch?

Again, thanks for the input

Do as you wish, BB ply isn't as nice to laminate as hardwood which will give the best result, remember BB ply has cross laminations.
I build with a 3/8" or less notch in the galley wall so that's why I recommended it done as above.
Good luck with whatever you do.
Danny

[KCStudly]

I did a laminated wall cap for the galley ends of my foam walls. I made them over a form and had some issues with them springing back and twisting slightly because I did not use them as soon as I made them (which shouldn't be an issue if you build them right on the walls).

The other thing I would have done differently would have been to make them a little wider than final plan. Slight variations in the rough wood and inability to clamp them uniformly during buildup meant that I ended up having to plane the sides flat again after the glue up. That left them narrow and I ended up laminating a 5mm rib on to build the width back up. Again, maybe not an issue if you do it straight onto the wall and can tape them each one at a time before curing and adding the next layer, but I'm not as good a carpenter as Danny, so I'd leave a little extra to trim/sand/plane off.

[yrock87]

I decided to go with the 3mm Birch ply because I had scraps on hand and I didn't want to spend the $ on 1 inch thick hardwood to rip down. ripped 8x 1inch wide strips from the 3mm, 3 ply Birch. Then I built up four layers on each side, clamping, screwing and gluing one layer at a time. The whole thing is currently covered in one layer of epoxy, and will keep adding until it is fully water tight (3 coats should do it). the gap is down to just under 1/2 inch. my 1/2 inch large D gasket crushes down about 20% when the hatch is in place, so I think this is about perfect.



Thanks for the input all. I will post a photo of the seal once I get there.

[KCStudly]

Cool. Sometimes it is the trepidation of having to do a fix that gets in the way of just doing it. Usually, after it is done and we are glad we did it "right", it no longer seems like it was such a big hurdle.

Just keep taking small bites and before you know it you will be done!