2012... The Year of Renewal

[lornaschinske]

Originally Posted by chev49

.... needs perfect underlayment if ya wanna have no cracks...

I installed it in a popup. The floor was bolted down from the inside. I removed the bolts and put the tile over, reinstalled the huge bolts that were countersunk into the floor. The 3 pc floor was far from perfect. I installed directly over the old vinyl flooring that was "securely" attached to the plywood decking. It was so secure I didn't want to chisel the stuff up.


I like the last stuff. I wanted that for our bus. David said he couldn't live with the pattern.

[chev49]

wait ten yrs and then see if ya got cracks...
i put that stuff in most of my apartments and eventually it cracks unless it is done right. but there is kids, and people breaking the doors, etc...

[TygerCub]

Originally Posted by lornaschinske

I like the last stuff. I wanted that for our bus. David said he couldn't live with the pattern.

I wondered if I would get sick of the pattern too. But If I do, throw rugs can hide the ugly.

Originally Posted by chev49

i put that stuff in most of my apartments and eventually it cracks unless it is done right. but there is kids, and people breaking the doors, etc...

Chev, what kind of environment was your floor installed in... humid, dry, heavy traffic with mud, normal traffic, etc? I'm curious how different your environment may be from mine, or if we're under the same conditions (humid, large dog, cat who eats mice on it, me who tracks mud in occasionally).

The first time I installed this stuff, it was in the hallway upstairs to cover a badly aged and scarred hardwood floor that was installed in the 30's and was finally showing its age. I loved how easy it was to work with. However, I also understand "ya git whatcha paid fer". This stuff is half as thick as the ultra (which wasn't that thick to begin with), and half as expensive too. But it did have a 25 year warranty, so we'll see...

I think the only thing that really recommends this stuff for now is how quick it is to install "right". I spent 2 days hassling with the "ultra" crap. I spent 3 hours last night laying down 3 rows of the regular stuff. It just kinda sells itself with that kind of recommendation.

[chev49]

i have apartments that the original building was made in 1930, and it is in Oregon where water and God knows only what else gets tracked in.. like rocks..The floors were uneven when i bought it, and had oak flooring on them, but the floor joist supports arent the greatest. Therefore the floor will move some. I have found that in order to get tile (esp ceramic) to stay, is to put a new sub floor on top. In the old floors which i have just installed the vynal tile over the linoleum (which is on the oal flooring) it will crack in the same places that the linoleum did.. but it takes a couple of years.
Another thing to consider is the load placed on the tile. For example people moving in an out with like piano, washers, and kids trikes, etc.

What i have found that really works super is to put a sub floor on and correctly install ceramic tile. One person on one of the bus bb's has done that in his bus. I would have done that instead of the pergo flooring stuff, but it is far more work.

if your tile is laid down correctly, i think it will work fine with most moisture conditions in a bus, with normal foot traffic.

[lornaschinske]

Originally Posted by chev49

wait ten yrs and then see if ya got cracks......

We did, it didn't (crack, that is). We sold the popup and bought the Class C otherwise I would show pics. It sure handled the abuse we gave it very well. We bounced that popup from NC to FL & back, NC to SC (lived in it in a campground for a month while we tried to rent a house), SC to Niagara Falls & back, SC to TN (fulltime for 1 1/2 years), TN to Virginia Beach & back, TN to Cordele Ga & back, plus hundreds of "short" trips of less than 200 miles (one way) over the years. The floor flexed when we walked on it. Of course I glued the crap out of it. There were no thin spots where there wasn't enough of the glue.

We put down "self stick" tiles in the food cart (1st floor) and it popped right back up in the summer heat (NC). I decided right then I liked the glue down tiles. Only down side I found was figuring out which side was the top side and making sure the "pattern" ran the same way thru out.. It got confusing after a few rows. I ended up making an arrow on the back (dull) side. Might of had something to do with the floor glue.

[TygerCub]

The flooring in the front of the bus is DONE! It's amazing how easy this stuff is to work with. There are a couple of minor imperfections in my line-up of the tiles, but I can live with it.


Cutting the details into this stuff was so easy! It was a little time consuming, but well worth the final effort.


Tomorrow I'll move everything out of the back of the bus and finish putting this stuff down. I'm hoping to get it done before I'm supposed to meet my Mother for lunch. There isn't as much detail to cut in the back, so I don't foresee any problems with getting it done.

If only the commercial stuff installed this easy...

[chev49]

looks great

[lornaschinske]

I still like the pattern but David still doesn't think he could live with it. So it's the plain vanilla floor for me. David says the floor combined with what all I want to do will be too much.

[edfrank]

Tygercub:

I really like your videos - I have the same issues with my BBS with some people not on fast internet. Post videos for the people who have a fast connection and text and stills for people who do not. You can do frame grabs from the video if you forget to take stills.

Ed

[TygerCub]

Today I covered the rear of the bus with flooring. Went to see "Battleship" with my Mother, which was fun in a mindless entertainment sort of way. Ate dinner with her, then came home and crawled under the bus to contemplate where the hell I'm going to put my waste tank for the umpteenth time. Gave up and came inside to put together the video below.

There is one more I haven't gotten the time to edit yet. But in the mean time, here is a long overdue explanation of how I created the template for my ceiling curvature:
[flash=640,360:r7st51cs]http://www.youtube.com/v/D5vxNguGdng?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0[/flash:r7st51cs]

Basically, the video shows me taping poster board to the wall and a corner post. I then hold a permanent marker against a measuring tape that has been expanded so the tip is against the ceiling and the body of the tape is by the pen. I hold the pen steady as I follow the curve of the ceiling, which naturally transfers the shape to the poster board. The board is trimmed along the line and test fitted. Any minor adjustments that need to be made are done and the final product is displayed.

Easy peasy!

Hope this helps someone. I'll post more later.

[SeanF]

Excellent way to scribe the ceiling curve!

[chev49]

Great video on wall curve. Not all skoolies have walls that are straight up and down. for example, my thomas walls angle in around1 1/2 in at the top on the sides.

An -well sorta hard - way to have bus floor level and square when one is starting off with the interior wall uprights near the bus center, is to block the bus up and use at least 4' levels to make sure the floor is level both ways. Then you can use a square against the floor and the upright to know that the board is in the right position and not too close or too far away from the exterior wall at the top. I have done this on a coach bus with one of my friends, and my current one. This is also necessary when you cut the top off the bus when raising the roof up.

[JA Savage]

chev49,

When you block up the bus and make everything square and level then build your interior wall, then you let the bus down on the tires and springs does that make things buckle or seperate when you drive down the road?

[TygerCub]

Today I started making the couch. It's going to double as a place to sleep for guests, so it is 6'6" long and the seat is 24" deep. The seat platform is attached to the frame, but the bottom will remain open so stuff can be slid underneath. However, the back is hinged to swing forward so TV-trays can be slid behind the seat.


There is 12" of clearance from the floor to the bottom of the frame. I hope to swap out the block legs tomorrow for these 15" fancy legs that will be cut to size:

This, plus the cushions, will make it a little too tall for me to sit comfortably for long periods of time. But I typically "lounge" or sit "indian style" on a couch this deep/tall, so I expect it will be comfortable enough.

Other upgrades planned:

• add a fancy chair-rail to the plain wooden frame in front;[/*:m:352m6wx2]
• custom cut a side panel on the left side that will partially cover the wheel well and create an arm-rest + keep stuff under the couch from sliding into the stairwell. ;[/*:m:352m6wx2]
• custom skirting around the bottom to hide the stuff under the couch;[/*:m:352m6wx2]
• add some kind of cushions to the seat and back to make it comfortable.[/*:m:352m6wx2]

Right now I'm debating whether to cut down the 4" twin mattress Walwart called 6" online, or to just clean the cushions that came with the bus and use them instead. I am leaning towards custom cushions via Walwart. Everything else is being customized, I may as well do that too.

[Accordion]

I sure like reading your posts. I feel the same excitement that I felt when I was doing the woodwork in my bus.

It is way cool that you can fund your project and that you are highly enthused.

Go Girl!

[bansil]

thought I would add this info:
We have had cats forever and for years we used tidy-cat and then arm an hammer etc.
We have been using this since it came out: a couple years now

It rocks!!
I highly recommend it,we have litter boxes in our sons room now ...ugh!..they were in the hall until he left for college..
this stuff is so could you don't smell the urine etc...he was even like
Give it a try it works great on cat ...ugh..feces..so should work on..ugh...human excrement's
If it sucks please post it,we have had the most excellent results
.
.
.
.I am not sure if this is exactly what you are trying to achieve...just thought I would throw it out there

[TygerCub]

Originally Posted by bansil

thought I would add this info...

Awesome. Thanks! I'll be sure to post results when I actually start using the, um, facilities.

[TygerCub]

Got a little more done tonight before I lost the light.

• Recut and reinstalled 2 of the white 'finished' walls tonight. Only 1 more section of 'white wall' to go. [/*:m:2f9lgd6d]
• Measured & traced the cut lines on the last board. I just couldn't see to run a saw over it with decent results.[/*:m:2f9lgd6d]
• Cut more foam insulation and shoved it into the space along the base board level. [/*:m:2f9lgd6d]
• And trimmed the foam mattress to fit the murphy bed box. I figured I'd go ahead and use it as a mattress instead of the couch to save some money right now. I can always change my mind again later. [/*:m:2f9lgd6d]

Tomorrow I'll cut that last wall section and start making my final decision about where to store the water tank so I can start plumbing stuff. Wherever I put the tank (in the back closest to the shower, or in the front under the sink), will determine what kind of countertops I install. If I have the tank by the sink, the countertop will have to be customized to fit both in one spot. If I put it by the shower, I'll lose some closet space. Honestly, I'm leaning towards losing the closet. I'd rather have better water pressure in the shower than at the sink.

[TygerCub]

Originally Posted by Moshart

I really like your floor choice! Ours is similar, but in the peel and stick variety =)

If I'd chosen a better grade of plywood for my subfloor, I may have been able to get away with peel-n-stick stuff. But alas, I was cheap and got what I paid for!

Tonight, I cut and installed the last "white wall" on the driver's side. YAY! Now I can buy the counter top and install it.

I also cut down the table legs and added them to the bottom of the couch. They look fabulous! Can't wait to add the fancy scrollwork face-board to the front and get this stained & upholstered. It's gonna be awesome!

Don't know why something as frivolous as fancy legs makes me so happy. But they just do!

I also made the final decision to install the water tank in the bottom half of the bedroom closet.

This weekend will be the beginning of my plumbing adventures. Not too sure how well I'll do with it, but I have to at least try.

[TygerCub]

... and for those that can watch the videos, here is a quick progress report for the end of May ...
(wow, it's already the END OF MAY! Only 3 months to go)

[flash=640,390:1ty252mv]http://www.youtube.com/v/yFYzz6ItLNY?version=3&feature=player_profilepage[/flash:1ty252mv]