Subflooring question!

[timbuk]

that looks good what does it feel like to walk on? where are all the empties?

[KC10Chief]

Originally Posted by timbuk

that looks good what does it feel like to walk on? where are all the empties?

It feels real good to walk on. Nice and solid. I'm looking forward to driving it and seeing if there is a sound difference. My wife makes me recycle all of the empties! But there are probably a few on the couch that you can't see in that photo!

[timbuk]

i saw a show on tv and they were installing a sub floor onto a cement floor they were using a osb panel that had rubber mat with pads on it these panels were tunge and groove and looked to be between 3 to 4 feet square they also allowed air to pass through anybody seen this?

[timbuk]

ok i found the product it is called dricore and they have a website these panels are 24x24 inches i think i will try these if they are not too pricey plus im working around existing walls and cabinets so the size will be good i do not know how to post the link but googling dricore will work

[dentarthurdent]

timbuk:
Have you tried the Dricore yet? I'd be very interested if you did, or what you found out.

[Demonknight]

HAH..bet that show was Holmes on homes.... a great show for seeing what not to do, then how to do it right.. man if ever one of the contractors would show up after he has started to fix things it would be a R rated show for sure.

[timbuk]

oh yes i would like to see that show there would be tools flying everywhere we used the dricore in a basement with a cement floor and they worked great level locked together good quality the only thing is the price which was 7 to 8 bucks for a 24x24 inch panel so its kinda pricey, but good im thinking thats a little pricey of course thats a canuk buk! you can check out usa prices on home depot as i get canuk prices4x8 osb and pink may be less tim

[timbuk]

ovrx is another product i saw on home depot 280 bucks for 35 pieces looks close to the same.HEY IM A MEMBER NOW

[the_experience03]

Canuck Buck or Greenback...it's all about the same now unfortunately.

[timbuk]

well from the other side of the line its great prices have come down on everything cars trucks auto parts tools the only thing that hasnt had a price break is BEER! and yes i have also been to ireland for a beamish! so the dricore works out to be about 2 bucks a square foot about how much for osb and foamboard? kc10chief?

[KC10Chief]

I paid almost $10 each for my pink 3/4" thick 4'x8' sheets of insulation. I used 7 of them in my bus. That did everything from the back of the bus, to the firewall. 10 window bus.

[timbuk]

today i threw the towel in the wind and floored the front half of our bus we cleaned the scale off with a wire wheel,layed down the thin foam backing i had left over from my house and put down70 square feet of inter locking laminate it looks good and fit ok and no holes or nailing but must of been 150to 175 pounds oh well i must have took out 200 pounds of carpet... good to use left over materials!

[timbuk]

shorty cut that foam with a long thin blade like a olfa type knife sharp and thin 2 inches eh? i could not afford to lose 2inches in my bus. a galvy screw with a tek head that sinks into te osb would be best robbys are the best! if you can get them most all teks will do the trick,id ckeck the rooof height cause you will lose roof clearance are you short? timbuk

[paul iossi]

long thin blade like a fillet or boning knife, makem it sharp and keep it sharp, I use a diamond hone from harbor freight. try home depot for the tek screws or go to mcfeely's online the square drive screws are easiest to use imo.

[Rod]

For insulation under the subfloor why not go with the insulation meant for floating floor? It comes in rolls, is fairly cheap, and works fine to reduce squeaks.

[the_experience03]

I know I'm going to sound lazy, but I found that it worked rather well to cut the insulation with power tools. Yep, power tools through foam. I used a circular saw with a fence clamped on, but it would work just as well, if not better, with a table saw. Just turn the blade around backwards. This way it doesn't make big chips and cuts very straight which can be difficult with a knife or other blade. This technique also works well for other materials. Just don't expect it to cut through harder materials as fast or have blades last as long if you run them backwards. On the foam I really don't think I did much to degrade the life of my blades.

[timbuk]

yea that height can dissapear by the time you add sheating and carpet i used the stuff rod said but its just vaper block i unsuled underneath check the height like jimmy said he has cool impalas timbuk

[timbuk]

you can shim the 1 by 4s on the ends with another one running the opposite direction then your floor will be level stick extra foam in there then use a l type metal around the stairs to hide it its a secret

[Billsman]

Just found this thread, I'm spreading the rustoleum over the bus metal flooring then I'm going with 30# felt paper, firring strips (1x4's), 1" insulation and then my top OSB or T&G plywood. I'd like my plywood or OSB to be water resistant so if I do track water/snow or spill on the floor it doesn't go down to the insulation and metal. I bought liquid nails and have long self tapping TEK screws with a bugle heads.

[KC10Chief]

Sorry it took me so long to reply! I've been extremely busy with work and what not. I haven't had time to work on my bus in weeks. I did use it to pull a stump though! Anyways, on my sub flooring, I used 1x2 firring strips, which are actually 3/4" thick. I laid them around the edges of the foam and one strip right down the middle of the bus. After doing all of that, I would think you could totally go without the firring strips, but it's still not a bad idea. I didn't lay down any felt paper or anything either. I DID seal up all of the holes in the metal where the seat bolts were. I used liquid nails. I cut the foam with a big box cutter knife. It wasn't perfect, but nobody will ever know once you lay the sub flooring down! Also, I used TEK screws for EVERYTHING! I used TEK's to screw the firring strips to the floor. I would pre-drill holes in the wood first so that the screw would just fit through the hole in the wood. I found that if I tried to use the TEK screw to drill through the wood AND the metal, it would dull quickly and not get through the metal. These things are meant for drilling ONE hole. It wasn't too big of a deal. I used two drills. One to drill the holes in the wood, and one with a bit in it to drill the screw into the metal. After I had the firring strips down, I'd put big globs of liquid nails over the seat bolt holes, and then lay the sub flooring sheets on top of that. To attach the sub flooring sheets, I'd again use my drill to drill holes in the wood all the way to the metal. I'd go back and use the other drill to attach the sub flooring to the metal floor. For the sub flooring sheets, I used counter sunk TEK screws. They look like dry wall screws, but with the drill bit ends. It worked out great! I used quite a few screws too. I'd go around the edges of the sub flooring sheets, and right through the middle too. About one screw for every 10" or so. That is probably overkill, but I have a VERY solid floor. I found that around here, Lowe's has the best selection and prices on TEK screws. You could do the entire floor with the counter sunk screws. I was careful to not get screws that were a whole lot longer than I needed. Maybe 1/2" sticks out on the bottom in most places. I spent a LOT of money on screws trying to find what worked the best. Just get the black, counter sunk screws. I think I paid around $8 for a box of 500 screws. Not bad.