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Old 02-24-2018, 02:55 PM   #1
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Floor plywood question?

Hey Everyone,

Just recently Cowlitz commented on a thread regarding a bus that had linoleum instead of rubber on the floor. Now I am having trouble finding the thread.

I got the impression that the linoleum was an upgrade and may mitigate the need to pull the plywood up.

As I am going to raise the roof, loss of 3/4" is no big deal.

I have drilled a handful of "inspection" holes in the floor and the plywood looks good.

Also, there is zero rust in the ceiling or walls. No mold in the insulation that I pulled out.

So far I have not seen any indication of moisture issues in the bus.

The question: How likely am I to hate myself later on if I don't pull the plywood?

Thanks

S.

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Old 02-24-2018, 03:04 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PNW_Steve View Post
Hey Everyone,

Just recently Cowlitz commented on a thread regarding a bus that had linoleum instead of rubber on the floor. Now I am having trouble finding the thread.

I got the impression that the linoleum was an upgrade and may mitigate the need to pull the plywood up.

As I am going to raise the roof, loss of 3/4" is no big deal.

I have drilled a handful of "inspection" holes in the floor and the plywood looks good.

Also, there is zero rust in the ceiling or walls. No mold in the insulation that I pulled out.

So far I have not seen any indication of moisture issues in the bus.

The question: How likely am I to hate myself later on if I don't pull the plywood?

Thanks

S.
The problem isn't the plywood, it's what might be under it. If you are planning to keep the finished bus, then you have to be sure the floor is in good shape before you put $20k+ on top of it.

So I am leaving my OEM ply in. It is 3/4" and was covered in heavy-duty vinyl flooring. The bus has no rust, and I removed the vinyl to see plywood with no damp patches, nothing that ever looked like it had been damp, and it has a very clean underbody. Critically, I also have a 77" ceiling height. SO my plan is to insulate, without framing out first, and cover that with 1/2" new ply.

However, we plan on keeping it and I examined what I could see minutely. Had I the slightest doubt the OEM ply would have come out.
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Old 02-24-2018, 03:09 PM   #3
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Originally Posted by Twigg View Post
The problem isn't the plywood, it's what might be under it. If you are planning to keep the finished bus, then you have to be sure the floor is in good shape before you put $20k+ on top of it.

So I am leaving my OEM ply in. It is 3/4" and was covered in heavy-duty vinyl flooring. The bus has no rust, and I removed the vinyl to see plywood with no damp patches, nothing that ever looked like it had been damp, and it has a very clean underbody. Critically, I also have a 77" ceiling height. SO my plan is to insulate, without framing out first, and cover that with 1/2" new ply.

However, we plan on keeping it and I examined what I could see minutely. Had I the slightest doubt the OEM ply would have come out.
Thanks Steve.

That is my thinking. I want to do it right but I don't want to spend the time and money to pull it out if I don't need to.

How did your linoleum come up?
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Old 02-24-2018, 03:11 PM   #4
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Thanks Steve.

How did your linoleum come up?
With a lot of effort. The glue holding it was stronger than the surface of the plywood. I was able to peel up enough to grab a corner and haul away. It took a while but came out in very large pieces.

The vinyl weighed over 300 lbs.

I'm thinking of flooring it in commercial vinyl tiling and rugs
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Old 02-24-2018, 03:16 PM   #5
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With a lot of effort. The glue holding it was stronger than the surface of the plywood. I was able to peel up enough to grab a corner and haul away. It took a while but came out in very large pieces.

The vinyl weighed over 300 lbs.

I'm thinking of flooring it in commercial vinyl tiling.
300 lbs! Holy cow!

I hauled the interior metal and insulation to the dump last week. It was 500 lbs.

I didn't weigh the seats but I am sure that was at least 1200 lbs.

By the time I finish demo I will have shed well over a ton.
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Old 02-24-2018, 03:24 PM   #6
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I estimate that I have removed around 1.75 tons of material so far.

It's mostly done with demo. I'm about ready to install the new floor.
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Old 02-24-2018, 06:03 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PNW_Steve View Post

I have drilled a handful of "inspection" holes in the floor and the plywood looks good.

Also, there is zero rust in the ceiling or walls. No mold in the insulation that I pulled out.

So far I have not seen any indication of moisture issues in the bus.

The question: How likely am I to hate myself later on if I don't pull the plywood?

Thanks

S.
My linoleum (about 90%) came up in 6 minutes, in 4 very large pcs.

My ceiling and walls are in pristine shape.....a little bit of mold in the lower wall insulation in a couple of sections, but not much. No rust on the exterior except the leaf springs.

The picture shows my floor. Luckily it was all surface rust, but it looked scary.

I'd recommend pulling it up. You never know what's hiding where.
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Old 02-24-2018, 06:09 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by plfking View Post
My linoleum (about 90%) came up in 6 minutes, in 4 very large pcs.

My ceiling and walls are in pristine shape.....a little bit of mold in the lower wall insulation in a couple of sections, but not much. No rust on the exterior except the leaf springs.

The picture shows my floor. Luckily it was all surface rust, but it looked scary.

I'd recommend pulling it up. You never know what's hiding where.
Thank you Don.

What part of the country did your bus come from?
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Old 02-24-2018, 06:45 PM   #9
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Thank you Don.

What part of the country did your bus come from?
The great state of Kentucky......about 10 miles from the TN border.

And mine didn't have any plywood, just linoleum directly atop the steel floor.

Just finished removing all the skins yesterday. Given how the floor looked, I was happily surprised at how clean the walls and ceiling are.
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Old 02-24-2018, 07:49 PM   #10
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Pulled the puke mat out of the Bluebird today pulled the edge trim and hose covers, nasty job. Pulled the edges up it surprised me because it looked like it was built and floored yesterday! But I noticed something gave a little when I walked through the bus so I pulled up the center walk strip floor has l&r sides and a center traction strip the seams in the traction strip were not sealed and leaked about three or four rows back and rusted out the floor in one spot
about 3" in dia. rest of floor is quite nice.But if I had not pulled the mat and found the rust out I would have insulated and covered the floor and that would eventually rusted larger and possibly ruined the flooring and other future work.
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Old 02-24-2018, 07:53 PM   #11
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Hey, save all the antique bubblegum you find.

How much change so far? Kids are really stingy and don't usually leave change.
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Old 02-25-2018, 02:22 PM   #12
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Hey, save all the antique bubblegum you find.

How much change so far? Kids are really stingy and don't usually leave change.
1,000 assorted gum wrappers suckersticks and 38 cents.
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Old 02-25-2018, 02:31 PM   #13
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1,000 assorted gum wrappers suckersticks and 38 cents.
Nebraska kids are either more careless or more generous.

I found a few dollars in change.
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Old 02-25-2018, 03:57 PM   #14
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Wow, these Oregon kids are really tight. I only found like two cents. Lots of gum, especially during heater disassembly. And I haven't found an errant rivet head for about a year now.
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Old 02-25-2018, 04:42 PM   #15
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And I haven't found an errant rivet head for about a year now.
If you're feeling nostalgic, I can send you a pound or two.
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Old 02-25-2018, 04:55 PM   #16
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[ATTACH]http://www.skoolie.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=19458&stc=1&d=15195989 44[/ATTACH]

Got my bus from Salem OR....no rust that I could see anywhere....pulled my floors and this is what I found.
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Old 02-25-2018, 05:00 PM   #17
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Got my bus from Salem OR....no rust that I could see anywhere....pulled my floors and this is what I found.
Hard to tell from the picture, but that looks no more than a little, light surface rusting. It would probably take 100 years to go through the metal.
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Old 02-25-2018, 05:09 PM   #18
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Mine is also from Salem. I have found one soft spot in the plywood on the floor about the size of a fist. I suspect there is a hole in the floor, but not from rust. I've chosen not to tear out my flooring.

I roll under this bus and still lay there and marvel at the condition of this 20 year old bus.
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Old 02-25-2018, 05:11 PM   #19
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Hard to tell from the picture, but that looks no more than a little, light surface rusting. It would probably take 100 years to go through the metal.
Yes just surface rust. My plywood came out in soggy splinters for the most part. Floor was quite wet underneath even though it was hot summer weather when they came out.
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Old 02-25-2018, 05:42 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PNW_Steve View Post
Hey Everyone,

Just recently Cowlitz commented on a thread regarding a bus that had linoleum instead of rubber on the floor. Now I am having trouble finding the thread.

I got the impression that the linoleum was an upgrade and may mitigate the need to pull the plywood up.

As I am going to raise the roof, loss of 3/4" is no big deal.

I have drilled a handful of "inspection" holes in the floor and the plywood looks good.

Also, there is zero rust in the ceiling or walls. No mold in the insulation that I pulled out.

So far I have not seen any indication of moisture issues in the bus.

The question: How likely am I to hate myself later on if I don't pull the plywood?

Thanks

S.
My ceiling and walls look like it could have rolled off the line yesterday. The floor was a different story. Guess I’m lucky as far as windows go, not one bit of evidence of water running down the walls. Wheel wells were the problem, the water got in under the plywood and ate the metal. 6-8 holes between the two sides all from the wheel wells forward. Flooring was in good shape plywood wasn’t bad. My floor isn’t like most I’ve seen on here, it’s not flat it’s like a pickup bed floor.i found .36 cents.
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