Water-damaged caravan ceiling lining replaced in fire-retardant aluminium composite panel — done in your driveway, typically over two days, backed by a 12-month workmanship warranty.
Caravan ceilings fail because water gets in. Usually through a sealant failure around a roof vent, aerial mount, or the air conditioner. The water wicks into the ceiling lining, and over a few years the panel softens, stains, and sags.
Replacing it doesn't need to be a huge job. Our approach keeps the roof on the van and works from the inside out.
We remove the damaged ceiling panels from below, leaving the roof structure untouched, check the timber frame, and fit new fire-retardant aluminium composite panel. The new ceiling is bonded into the existing perimeter extrusion using the same technique the factory used — just with a better material.
Pricing scales with how much ceiling needs replacing and the condition of the roof above it.
Partial replacement starts at $750. That covers a single damaged section of ceiling (typically one panel between joins), localised timber-frame inspection in that area, and resealing the roof penetration directly above the damage. It's the right scope when water damage is contained to one part of the ceiling and the rest of the lining is sound.
Full ceiling replacement starts at $2,500 and includes the entire ceiling lining, a full inspection of all timber frame members, and a complete roof reseal of every penetration (hatches, vents, antennas, air-con, solar, awning rail). The final price within the full-replacement range reflects van size and the number of roof penetrations. Most full ceilings on standard Australian caravans land between $2,500 and $4,900.
You'll get a fixed written quote before any work starts. The final price on that quote is what you pay, unless timber frame damage is found during the work (see the FAQ below).
The two-day process below describes a full ceiling replacement. Partial replacements are usually single-day jobs since the scope is smaller and the localised reseal cures faster.
Before we travel, we'll ask for a few photos of the ceiling, any visible water damage, and the roof from outside if you can safely get the shot. We'll also need to know the make, model, and length of the van. From that we can give you a fixed written quote without needing to attend site first — most ceiling replacements are quotable from photos alone.
We remove the damaged ceiling panels, inspect the timber frame, and do the full roof reseal. Every penetration — vents, hatches, aerial, air-con, solar mounts, awning rail — gets stripped of old sealant and resealed with marine-grade non-skinning polymer. Then we leave. The sealant needs overnight to cure properly.
We return and water-test the reseal with the ceiling still open — we can see every square centimetre of the roof cavity from below, so any weakness in the reseal shows up immediately. Once we're satisfied the roof is watertight, we fit the new ceiling panel, reinstate the light fittings, and finish up.
Being able to leak-test the reseal from below, with a direct line of sight into the roof cavity, is something a workshop doing top-down work can't do. It's the reason we run the job over two days instead of one.
For ceiling replacement, yes. The variables that drive price — van length, ceiling area, number and type of roof penetrations — are things we can confirm from photos and the van's make and model. The one thing we can't assess remotely is the condition of the timber frame, and that's because you can't see it from the outside either. We handle the frame with a discovery allowance (see next question).
Water that's been sitting long enough to rot the ceiling lining has sometimes been sitting long enough to rot the timber frame behind it. We can't see the frame until the ceiling panel is off, so we assess it on day one, photograph what we find, and show you.
Light frame damage — one or two softened members — we can repair as part of the job, quoted separately before we proceed. Significant frame damage is a larger job that usually requires removing the roof to access the frame properly; that's outside our scope, and we'll refer you to a workshop that does full roof work. In those cases you haven't lost anything — you've paid for half a day of our work and you get honest advice on what the van actually needs.
For full ceiling replacements the answer is no — between day one and day two the ceiling is open, which is unsafe to sleep in and not weatherproof. Plan to leave the van on-site (your driveway or storage yard) overnight. The sealant also needs the overnight cure time to set up properly before we can water-test it.
Partial ceiling replacements are typically single-day jobs, so no overnight is needed.
We photograph the roof cavity before the new panel goes on, and we water-test the reseal with the ceiling still open before we close it up. Nothing gets covered until the timber is dry, the insulation is sound, and the roof is verifiably watertight. If any of those aren't right, we fix them before we close up.
Send us photos and the make, model, and length of your van. We'll come back with a fixed written quote within the business day.
Email us the photos →