Necessary to patch floor bolt holes?

[mtunderwood]

I've been troubled by this question; Is it necessary to patch all of the seat bolt holes in the floor? Moisture needs to go somewhere... so in the case that rain or other moisture works it's way down into the walls and onto the floor then wouldn't it be better for it to drain out of some holes? I feel like this sounds good in theory, but since this is a moving bus we're talking about I would also be worried about rain splashing up from the wheels up into these areas.

[cschlessman]

I plugged them.

chuck

[EastCoastCB]

I'd say plug em. I'm gonna use little squares of scrap steel and an adhesive.
If you get a really wet situation on your hands, open the back door and park uphill.

And if you ever need a piece of steel custom cut on a plasma table, let me know.

[bansil]

I still have rubber floors and factory windows that leak when not level.....the holes don't let water out...to small and with a lip from rubber....I have slowly been squirting with left over silicon

Can still see the ground about 112 times while walking through bus....it let's the bus "breath"

So no useful in from me...just post padding

[jazty]

I'd say plugging the holes is a must. If the subfloor is plywood then the plywood will sop up the spray on a rainy driving day. If the subfloor is rigid foam or rubber then capillary action will pull that water all over the place.

[mtunderwood]

I had always planned on patching all the holes it just made me wonder about what happens to floor moisture. Any other advice on this before I consider this issue closed?

[timbrass]

I patched mine with small squares of glass cloth soaked in epoxy resin. Seems to work fine.

[Stu & Filo. T]

My plan is to put the bolts back in but mine were all nutplates

[jazty]

If you have access to even a small MIG welder, it's quite trivial to fill the holes. Hit them all quick with a grinder to knock of rust. It only takes a couple seconds per hole to weld 'em shut.

[mtunderwood]

Thanks for everyone's feedback so far. I guess I wasn't clear with my original post though, as I don't need to know HOW to fill the holes. I can read the forums and figure that out thanks to all the advice posted on the topic. I'm just wondering, what solutions are there to deal with moisture that finds its way under your floor. It seems like everyone just plugs up all the holes and leaks and crosses their fingers, but I feel like moisture intrusion WILL happen at some point. So, to reiterate:

What can be done about moisture that gets to the floor? Is there a way to allow the moisture to escape so there is less chance of rot or mold?

[jazty]

Originally Posted by mtunderwood

What can be done about moisture that gets to the floor? Is there a way to allow the moisture to escape so there is less chance of rot or mold?

I had thought about this before putting in the subfloor and I don't think holes in the floor are a good idea. Not unless you feel like providing some sort of drainage space so the water can freely flow to the holes (say, lift the whole subfloor 1/4" an inch and leave dead air). Otherwise capillary action will keep the moisture trapped between the metal floor and the subfloor. With a tight fit between metal floor and subfloor the holes will _add_ to the moisture, not subtract from it. Luckily, rigid foam isn't entirely water proof. With that in mind, as long as the moisture isn't routinely going into the floor, my guess is that it will slowly wick it up and hopefully it will evaporate into the living space.

Now, if the bus is never to be driven I'd say it'd be worth leaving the holes. Otherwise, stop all leaks and seal it up the best you can. I would NOT put plastic vapour barrier between any layers in the bus since you DO want water to wick away from the metal and into your living space. The metal is a vapour barrier, after all. Two vapour barriers back-to-back seems like a bad idea. Hopefully the interior will never be wet enough for moisture to wick the opposite direction. Maybe if you drove off a boat launch...

My thoughts. I'm no engineer, but this is how I see it.