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Old 04-15-2019, 07:02 AM   #41
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This is what I was talking about in my earlier post... I would have taken more pics during the process but my phone was quite literally dead as in not resuscitate-able. This is from my thread;

Subfloor securing... I know there is lots of different opinions and ideas about this. So this is how I skinned the cat if you will, or if you're a fan of Letterkenny this is how I F**Ked that pig.

So one of the most common problems with plywood is the cupping, bowing, or twisting... less so with T&G but still an issue end to end on length. Now my subflooring composition is as follows, treated steel floor, epoxy painted (fancy aircraft paint..) 1" rigid foam board, and 5/8" T&G.
Now in between the steel and the foam board I spray a bunch of foam friendly spray glue, and set it in place, along the edge gap from the foam to the wall. I put PL300. I immediately put more spray glue atop the foam and laid my ply on so the that the cupping would be up, this meant the boards would be making good contact across the middle. I placed all my tools, wood, and HD rubber floor tiles (400# worth) along the edges of the floor.
I did this for a couple reasons, firstly my hallway will run down the middle of the bus, therefore all my furniture and storage will be to the outside, this means I will have stuff holding down the part of the floor that has a natural tendency to lift. But secondly I intended to skin the lower part of the wall for ease of fastening short cable runs, water lines, etc. this permitted me to use my lower wall skin as a jam or pressure wedge.
So my floor was glued and weighted down, then I used my quick clamps as spreader clamps and pushed the floor down from the chair rail as I removed the weight, I put PL in the gap between the ply and the wall, smooth it out


then pushed my wall skins in and tapped them home with my dead blow mallet and 3# mallet.



After that I zipped them in with my short tek screws, this should....in theory...... prevent any squeaking due flexing of the frame over rougher roads.
Once I clean the floor and get ready for my hardwood install I will seal the edges of the plywood, this way if I end up with any sort of internal water spillage. it wont get below my floor. I intend to have internal fresh water.

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Old 04-15-2019, 10:55 AM   #42
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@Yukon Cornelius, that's looking very good. What will you seal the edges of the plywood with?
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Old 04-15-2019, 09:51 PM   #43
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@Yukon Cornelius, that's looking very good. What will you seal the edges of the plywood with?
Undecided yet... likely RTV, PL or whatever else I have on the go...
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Old 04-15-2019, 11:30 PM   #44
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Out of curiosity...how tall are you? The interior height of your rig? And what's your intended sub ply thickness and finish flooring? Going to be a warm floor with 3" joists and insulation, but at a serious cost to the headroom.

Not trying to poke holes (see what I did there ) I just like to understand where people are coming from and what their intended goal is.
I'm 6' and the ceiling is like 6'5" down the center. I'm (maybe) going to do a weird "sunken" floor section around the wheel wells where the sheet metal will be on the bottom (resting on the chassis rails) and then the 3" joists will be on top of this. So with 3/4" ply and vinyl sheeting I'll only be about an inch above the original (metal) factory floor, in this section at least. For the rest I'm going to have a skylight that will extend the headspace forward to the front exit hatch, and the rear exit hatch will extend it backwards, so other than a short area in the front and the bed in the back, I'll be able to stand upright the length of the bus (without doing a roof raise).

I'm only doing the sunken floor thing because the floor around the wheel wells is severely rusted and I need to replace it anyway. It would not be terribly sane to do this with a healthy floor section (probably not terribly sane as it is).
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Old 04-16-2019, 02:31 AM   #45
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@musigenesis, My stock ceiling is the same height as I am without shoes. Your skylight idea sounds interesting, but quite possibly a lot easier said than done. I would really like to hear more.
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Old 04-16-2019, 05:57 AM   #46
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@musigenesis, My stock ceiling is the same height as I am without shoes. Your skylight idea sounds interesting, but quite possibly a lot easier said than done. I would really like to hear more.
I hope skylights aren't easier said than done, but I dunno. I was planning on something like this: https://www.icondirect.com/rv-skylight-sl2649/ To make an opening for this I would only need to cut a 30" section out of one hat channel and then weld a couple of transverse supports between the two adjacent panels, then screw this skylight in and sealantify the edges (it won't be openable, just there for light and to fit my head in). This skylight would be half over my sunken floor and half over the adjacent non-sunken part (there'll be a 3" step-up here) and would allow me to step up without banging my head into the ceiling.

I'm honestly not sure how to deal with the curvature of the roof, since I don't think this particular skylight can bend, so the attachment frame would have to be built up and leveled in some way. I'm also thinking I might just use a piece of Lexan glass and have it flush with the roof - this would still give me sufficient headroom to stand up (because of the cut channel) and could obviously curve with the roof.
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Old 04-16-2019, 06:11 AM   #47
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I hope skylights aren't easier said than done, but I dunno. I was planning on something like this: https://www.icondirect.com/rv-skylight-sl2649/ To make an opening for this I would only need to cut a 30" section out of one hat channel and then weld a couple of transverse supports between the two adjacent panels, then screw this skylight in and sealantify the edges (it won't be openable, just there for light and to fit my head in). This skylight would be half over my sunken floor and half over the adjacent non-sunken part (there'll be a 3" step-up here) and would allow me to step up without banging my head into the ceiling.

I'm honestly not sure how to deal with the curvature of the roof, since I don't think this particular skylight can bend, so the attachment frame would have to be built up and leveled in some way. I'm also thinking I might just use a piece of Lexan glass and have it flush with the roof - this would still give me sufficient headroom to stand up (because of the cut channel) and could obviously curve with the roof.
I know you've probably already considered this, but why not just do a small roof raise? Say- 6 inches... It really opens it up in there.
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Old 04-16-2019, 06:20 AM   #48
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I know you've probably already considered this, but why not just do a small roof raise? Say- 6 inches... It really opens it up in there.
My roof raise budget is basically going towards rebuilding the floor, which was an unanticipated expense. But if the rebuilt floor gives me adequate headroom (and I had only been planning a partial roof raise anyway) then it's a net gain since I think the floor will cost me less than $2000. As my grandpappy used to say, "when Life gives you lemons, jam them up Life's tailpipe."
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Old 04-16-2019, 06:51 AM   #49
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My roof raise budget is basically going towards rebuilding the floor, which was an unanticipated expense. But if the rebuilt floor gives me adequate headroom (and I had only been planning a partial roof raise anyway) then it's a net gain since I think the floor will cost me less than $2000. As my grandpappy used to say, "when Life gives you lemons, jam them up Life's tailpipe."
FWIW there really isn't a lot of cost involved in raising a roof if you do it yourself. Read through "roll your own". I got my materials free but even if I'd bought them it would have been maybe $500.
Not trying to be pushy or anything... But raising a roof is nowhere near as hard as it seems and frankly its shocking what folks charge to do one. THe less you raise the easier it is to get good looking results.
Either way- make that lemonade man... I always use the old saying "you have to crack a few eggs to make an omelette."
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Old 04-16-2019, 10:15 AM   #50
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I think most 1/2 sheathing made in Canada after the mid-70s is four ply. I was working in Prince George then and we started making a lot of of 4 and 6 ply around 1976 or 77. I'm convinced that the 5 and 7 ply that got replaced were stronger, and less likely to delaminate.

And I also think you are 100% correct about Canadian glue being more water resistant.
With skylights that long you will have ribs showing in the middle, or how are you dressing the ribs in the skylight.
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Old 04-16-2019, 10:17 AM   #51
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I can live with my ceiling height the way it is. I was born here in the US, but I've spent most of my life in Canada, so I have dual-citzenship. If I decide to return to Canada, I can take a vehicle with me, duty-free as long as I've owned it for more than a year before, and don't sell it for more than a year after. Unless that vehicle has been "modified".

I'll have to check this out more, because my knowledge of these regulations is a bit out of date and the regs may have been changed, but I don't see why just converting the use of a vehicle should be considered modification.

I am pretty sure, however, that they will consider a roof-raise to be a modification, and probably cutting holes in the roof for skylights too. I do know that they don't like woodstoves, but I think I'd rather have one of these: http://dickinsonmarine.com/product/n...p12000-heater/

The price given is in Canadian dollars.
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Old 04-16-2019, 04:04 PM   #52
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With skylights that long you will have ribs showing in the middle, or how are you dressing the ribs in the skylight.
I think maybe you were replying to me? My one skylight is going to be 48" long (-ish) so I will only cut one rib to create the roof opening for it.
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Old 04-16-2019, 04:11 PM   #53
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I think maybe you were replying to me? My one skylight is going to be 48" long (-ish) so I will only cut one rib to create the roof opening for it.
Yep, quoted the wrong reply. You said you were adding 2 skylight, one front and one rear? One rib front and rear for 2 ribs? It sounded like your plan was for longer skylights and it would concern me cutting ribs away.
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Old 04-16-2019, 04:23 PM   #54
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Yep, quoted the wrong reply. You said you were adding 2 skylight, one front and one rear? One rib front and rear for 2 ribs? It sounded like your plan was for longer skylights and it would concern me cutting ribs away.
No, only one skylight, positioned just aft of the forward escape hatch, so only one rib would be cut. So the headroom will be continuous most of the length of my bus thanks to the forward hatch, the skylight, the "sunken" section around the wheel wells, and the after escape hatch.

A skylight that ran this whole span and cut all those ribs would indeed be a problem, but I don't think one cut rib is a big deal.
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Old 04-26-2019, 10:28 AM   #55
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To bring this question back around to sub floor fastening, I trust that rigid foam and ply glued to the metal floor without fasteners will withstand compression forces of walking and furniture/cabinets. What I am concerned about are the forces unique to a vehicle’s subfloor. If cabinets are attached to the subfloor, breaking and acceleration will put sheering forces on the foam/subfloor. Obviously attaching cabinets to the walls will help, but I’d imagine most fasten to the plywood or t@g wall material and furring strips, not the metal ribs (stronger, but thermal bridging). So what happens if I stop reaaaly fast or, goddess forbid, get in an accident. Will and inch of screw into 3/4 t&g and a 1/2” ply furring strip, and pink foam resist the shearing forces of a rapidly decelerating kitchen cabinet? Wood stove?

Seams to me like a quality subfloor material is worth the extra cost, and a few bolts per a sheet coming through the old seat holes into t-nuts in the subfloor, with lots of sealant around the hole would give me peace of mind for the rare, peak forces unique to a highway vehicle.
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Old 04-26-2019, 10:32 AM   #56
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I used 1x3 then filled the boxes with foiled iso.
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