Lindy's Hillside Hide Away

[Elliot Naess]

Lindy: There is no right or wrong way to do your floor. (Nobody's supposed to live in a bus in the first place!) There is almost certainly a ton of moisture in the plywood. I recently cut a couple of "donuts" out of Millicent's floor, and they were soggy. I would be more concerned about the long term health effects of mold and mildew than about falling thru the floor one day.

Considering the brutal difficulty of removing the plywood -- and the high risk of getting infected by rotting splinters while doing it, I would probably be inclined to suggest that you lay down plastic and new flooring on top of the old. ...Then sleep like a baby without a worry in the world.

Just my 2 cents, of course, and worth even less, no doubt.

[wmah]

I big and long prybar/crowbar and a large hammer to pound under the plywood and lift up. Maybe a circular saw to cut the plywood down to easier to manage pieces. Stay away from battery ones they don't have as much power or last long on a charge. This is the best I can think of as I didn't have plywood on my floor to remove.

[Elliot Naess]

Skil saw, yes. That's how I took out the small amount of plywood that I removed where I made the "beaver tail" in my floor. To elaborate: Set the saw to cut not quite all the way thru the plywood (don't hit the steel!), cut the plywood into a checkerboard or any pattern that pleases you, and pry out one section at the time.

[lindy]

Thanks guys I'll keep you updated.

[lindy]

My question is in bold if you want to escape the yadda yadda yadda
I'm back! I have not accomplished much in my conversion but I have lived in the bus for nearly three years now!

My brother and I put a wood stove in the first fall after I moved in. A little Fischer Baby Bear and it heats things well but as you all may know it goes I have slept right next to the stove (safe distance) in the winters and stayed at my folk's when it was really really cold.

In the meantime life has enabled me to save some money and so I am ready for my conversion to commence! The thought is to "build" a "room" in the bus that is insulated ... starting with two walls in the bus and then doing the walls.

Floor needs to be first. I'm not going to have another winter with ice cube toes if I can help it I have put down roofing felt and then floated a piece of vinyl flooring on top of it. But my floors are COLD in the winter time.

I am thinking about putting down 2x4's flat on the floor and then putting Styrofoam board, plywood, perhaps more roofing felt and then more vinyl flooring. down. I'm not worried about losing any head room.

Will this help with the cold floor issue? How close will it come to curing it?

Thanks guys,
Icy toes Lindy

[lornaschinske]

Just for a little frame of reference: The floor in our Class C is 1 1/2" foam with 1/2" plywood over that. I got cold feet in TN/NC mountain winters (we fulltime). We did not have any wind barriers around the RV. But in NC, we weren't exposed to much wind and I still froze my toes off (and I'm rather fond of my toes... I like them to stay warm). You might want to get up underneath your bus and insulate with foam board sheathing and cans of spray foam from underneath.

[crazycal]

You might want to get up underneath your bus and insulate with foam board sheathing and cans of spray foam from underneath.

That's a great idea.

[Will]

Who cares what they're called? Cut them out and throw them in the pile to haul to the recyclers. My seat frames (I kept 6 though) weighed 600# back when scrap steel was valuable.

I like your plans. If someone asked me "Where do you see yourself in 10 years?" and I said "Living at Slab City in a skoolie," they would think I was nuts. I have 5 kids and 2 houses and maybe I'll never be free.