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Old 12-15-2011, 12:07 PM   #1
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Progression questions

I understand that no one does a project the same. I have been reading and reading ad gleaned quite a bit. Have not yet purchased my bus.
Once i get started i will:
1. First make sure i have a good floor. Remove rubber mat or more as needed. What size plywood? Type? Do you put insulation under it? What type?
2. Layout floor plan with duct tape.
3. After floor plan is confirmed. Build walls etc. Next i cut holes for drains etc? This will then tell me where to add the fittings for the ABS Valterra tanks?
4. At the same time i will be doing the wiring.
Any tips appreciated.
Thanks for looking.

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Old 12-15-2011, 01:13 PM   #2
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Re: Progression questions

Quote:
Originally Posted by Versatile
I understand that no one does a project the same. I have been reading and reading ad gleaned quite a bit. Have not yet purchased my bus.
Once i get started i will:
1. First make sure i have a good floor. Remove rubber mat or more as needed. What size plywood? Type? Do you put insulation under it? What type?
2. Layout floor plan with duct tape.
climb under the bus to make sure your holes that you cut for the plumbing will not land in the middle of a floor rib. Then move half of your floor plan around because your previous plan wasn't working out.
Quote:
3. After floor plan is confirmed. Build walls etc. Next i cut holes for drains etc? This will then tell me where to add the fittings for the ABS Valterra tanks?
4. At the same time i will be doing the wiring.
Any tips appreciated.
Thanks for looking.
You also forgot, "change your floor plans at least 6 times."

PS,.. since we are IN the bus, we have discovered that we need to "tweak" the floor plans again. My cedar chest is taking up more room than I thought it would. That changes EVERYTHING! Darn.
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Old 12-15-2011, 07:36 PM   #3
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Re: Progression questions

I stripped the floor to metal, wire brushed, then painted. Next was 1" pink foam board, then 3/4 " tongue-in groove plywood. I put sleepers in the foamboard where I was going to put tanks and heavy stuff (but my plans changed, are changing, and continue to change; so that plan didn't work.) That was about $10 a linear foot. On your layout you have to beware of the underfloor structure, as Lorna said, but also window placement, and roof ribs (if you're goint to run vents through the roof.) I would place my transverse partions between blanked windows (not what I did.) Most important--be ready for the long haul. It's a lot of work.
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Old 12-19-2011, 10:30 AM   #4
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Re: Progression questions

Lornaschenske: Rib problem. Thanks for the heads up. I had a 1969 F600 Ford Skooolie (partial conversion)once and ran into that same problem

Wouldn't it be eaiser to install all my tanks and then cut floor holes and then install insulation on floor and plywood?
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Old 12-19-2011, 11:53 AM   #5
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Re: Progression questions

Quote:
Originally Posted by Versatile
Wouldn't it be eaiser to install all my tanks and then cut floor holes and then install insulation on floor and plywood?
Don't know why tank->holes->floor is any easier than floor->tank->holes, but I guess with enough thinking on it you could come up with something.
If you're still noodling over a floor plan you could put the floor down while you're working it out. The new floor's the same no matter what the floorplan will ultimately turn out to be, save a little time.

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Old 12-19-2011, 01:04 PM   #6
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Re: Progression questions

The ribs in the floor shifted our toilet by an inch or so. Turned out to be a slightly tighter fit than we had planned to the partition wall. The ribs in the floor messed with the tie downs for the freezer and refrigerators more. Moved the eyebolts slightly. SO FAR it hasn't been too much work around. But putting the toilet in made David realize he could tighten up the bathroom. So the vanity got pushed closer to the toilet by about 18". Putting the bed in with the cedar chest made us realize that it was very tight off the corners of the cedar chest to the cabinets which were to house the washer and dryer. So now the washing machine will be next to the shower stall sitting on the floor and the dryer will sit on top of the wheel well next to the washer. This was where closets were to be. I will rework my cabinet design. I've pretty much decided to put my computer setup on "my" side over the wheel well and a well lit mirrored "dressing area" on "David's" side. They will be somewhat "L" shaped so that we don't hit our shoulders/arms on the edge of a cabinet. We have been in the unfinished bus for about a week now and we have made some minor adjustments to our floor plan. Of course with us, It's a race between getting it all installed before we come up with a major change!
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Old 12-22-2011, 01:19 AM   #7
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Re: Progression questions

Quote:
Originally Posted by lornaschinske
We have been in the unfinished bus for about a week now and we have made some minor adjustments to our floor plan. Of course with us, It's a race between getting it all installed before we come up with a major change!
Have you posted your floor plan yet Lorna? Just curious...I would like to take a gander anyhow...
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Old 12-22-2011, 11:16 AM   #8
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Re: Progression questions

Not posted. I didn't bring my scanner with me. All my drawings are by hand since I used to be a K&B designer and that is how I learned to do layouts. I'm not sure I brought my layouts either. We have our basic areas locked in. It's the details that I am fiddling with.

The bed is in. It was a "must have" section. I needed to get my 4 poster bed in (cut it down to a full size... still needs painting). I also need to have my cedar chest in the bus. It's at the foot of the bed sitting on top of the (future)air return for the heater. Another return will be cut in under the bed for the AC unit .

The toilet area with sink is in there is no moving it since we installed the black tank under the bus and had to run the plumbing. The shower pan is sitting in it's spot. Not hooked it up at all. Good spot to hold the cans of paint and tools.

The kitchen area is set up with the gas range, micro, refrigerators and freezer. (the range has ended up being shifted about 6" from my original plan.. it "works" better)
The living area is set up with the chairs bolted in place and the Mantle/TV in place and hooked up.

Now I need to fill in the spaces with insulation, wiring and cabinetry.

And add 4" of insulation to the center aisle floor under the bus! My feet are freezing!!! Have to make some $$ first.
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Old 12-22-2011, 11:33 AM   #9
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Re: Progression questions

Quote:
Originally Posted by Versatile
Wouldn't it be easier to install all my tanks and then cut floor holes and then install insulation on floor and plywood?

You risk popping a hole in your tanks from drilling thru the floor. The tank install and the pluming install will sorta overlap. Our black tank was put in, taken out, put in, taken out, put in, SECURED... while installing the vanity sink and toilet. It was all getting the measurements for the connections exactly right and getting the tank in the right position (had to trim part of the side braces on the skirting of the bus) and tight to the floor. and we are still tight on the exterior sewer connections. It will work but we haven't got but a couple inches to play with. The ball valve set up used a lot of space. We had to reduce down from the tank opening to the ball valve we bought. Of course the store didn't have the one we originally found in stock and we didn't have the time to sit around waiting on them to get it in (tried that.. ran out of time). We're not putting plywood down on our floors. We will glue down flooring on top of the original floor (same stuff I used in our popup... durable and really holds up well to life in dirt/gravel campgrounds). Insulation will be put on the exterior side of the floor and secured/protected with oil painted plywood (same as the popup and it had 30 yo solid floors when we finally sold it). All our bays will be insulated and heated. We don't want to loose that heat in the winter. We figure the heat from the bays will rise thru the uninsulated parts of the floors.
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Old 12-22-2011, 03:22 PM   #10
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Re: Progression questions

Quote:
Originally Posted by lornaschinske
You risk popping a hole in your tanks from drilling thru the floor
Not much of a risk actually - if your tank is so close to the floor that you might hit it, simply drill the hole for the w/c (or other pipes) and once through the floor just keep on going and cut the hole in the tank as well. I plumbed my tank this way, never had to measure a thing and the tank only went in once.

If your tank's so far down from the floor that your hole saw won't reach, then there's no way to accidently hole your tank. If this is the case, just use a long pilot bit, 1/4" or something like that, drill the centers of your pipes, keep going and hole the tank as well, remove the tank, use the pilot hole for the holesaw center, cut the holes and put the tank back in. Still no measuring and only one extra 'in and out'.

Tom
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Old 12-22-2011, 03:57 PM   #11
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Re: Progression questions

We were dealing with a tank with holes already in it. So much fun.
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