Plywood floor removal

[chromaglow]

Greetings and salutations everyone

This weekend I'm removing the plywood floor.
Any tips or tricks I should know?
Anything to make it easier than using a screwdriver, crowbar, and a hammer to get all that up and out?

Many thanks in advance!!

[Simplicity]

I suggest you determine the thickness of the plywood. Then set your skill saw to just less than that thickness. Score the wood into sections that are easier to remove and handle.

For screws, use the appropriate screw head bit in a cordless drill. For those that won't come out easily, use a grinder to remove the heads of the screws. You can go back afterwards with vice grips and remove the remainder of the screw.

For bolts, if you don't have anyone to help under the bus, use vice grips on the bottom and a socket up top. If you have air tools or electric, especially an impact driver, that will make life easier.

Be very careful of what happens to the sharp fasteners you remove. They can end up in your tires. I use a magnet to sweep around my bus when doing work like that.

[musigenesis]

I second what Simplicity says about cutting the plywood into smaller sections first with a circular saw. I also recommend this beast for getting the squares up: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Truper-Tru-...ng-Bar/3055437.

[chromaglow]

Thanks for the heads up both of you! Skill saw is a great idea and I just gotta grab a crowbar.

[chromaglow]

This was the best advice. I cut the floor in about 35 min and it only took another 45 minutes to take it out a piece at a time with the crowbar!!

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by chromaglow

This was the best advice. I cut the floor in about 35 min and it only took another 45 minutes to take it out a piece at a time with the crowbar!!

Nice work! I usually say it would take "an afternoon" this way - that is one short afternoon.

[chromaglow]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

I second what Simplicity says about cutting the plywood into smaller sections first with a circular saw. I also recommend this beast for getting the squares up: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Truper-Tru-...ng-Bar/3055437.

With the floor out now I move on to rust removal. I read some of your other posts and I am interested in what you think of my plan. Any ideas you have to make things quicker or more efficient would be great.

I was first planning on sanding the rougher areas that have some scale on them. Not sure if I should use a sander or some kind of tool with a wire brush? Ideally, I would rent this for a couple hours and be done quickly with the main area and use a hand held for the corners.
https://www.millersrentall.com/equip...key=SANDOSCILL

Next was going to sweep it and cover it in 2 thick coats of corroseal, wiping it down in between coats before finishing it up with Rustoleum oil paint.

Any thoughts or ideas? I wanted to ask here before I asked in the main chat.

Thank you for the previous advice and any future help you might have.

[musigenesis]

What does your floor look like after the plywood was up? The big rented sander might be unnecessary.

Otherwise your plan sounds good (you might want to put a coat of Rusto's rusty metal primer down before the enamel). I haven't used Corroseal but many people here consider it better than Ospho (which is what I used). You may also need more (or less) than two coats of the stuff. I kept applying Ospho to my floor, letting it dry and then scraping it with a screwdriver; as long as I kept seeing brown rust underneath the scrape mark, I kept going. I think I did four or five coats in some places (or maybe ten! it's a bit of a blur now).

[chromaglow]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

What does your floor look like after the plywood was up? The big rented sander might be unnecessary.

Otherwise your plan sounds good (you might want to put a coat of Rusto's rusty metal primer down before the enamel). I haven't used Corroseal but many people here consider it better than Ospho (which is what I used). You may also need more (or less) than two coats of the stuff. I kept applying Ospho to my floor, letting it dry and then scraping it with a screwdriver; as long as I kept seeing brown rust underneath the scrape mark, I kept going. I think I did four or five coats in some places (or maybe ten! it's a bit of a blur now).

Here is where I am at floor wise, i don't think its bad at all.
https://www.skoolie.net/forums/membe...cture26185.jpg

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by chromaglow

Here is where I am at floor wise, i don't think its bad at all.
https://www.skoolie.net/forums/membe...cture26185.jpg

Wow, I'd almost call that rust-free! Yeah, forget the big sander, let the chemicals do the work for you.

I know people like to do up their floors proper, but if that were my bus I might just put primer down and paint it and be done with it. As long as you've stopped all your leaks and prevented further water incursion, it won't continue rusting.

[chromaglow]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

Wow, I'd almost call that rust-free! Yeah, forget the big sander, let the chemicals do the work for you.

I know people like to do up their floors proper, but if that were my bus I might just put primer down and paint it and be done with it. As long as you've stopped all your leaks and prevented further water incursion, it won't continue rusting.

I'm going to take your word for it and do enough quick wire brush to remove the parts with scale and then seal and paint it.
Thanks a Bunch!!

Any hints on removing the metal baseboards in the images below. There are a lot of large blind rivets and I am hoping they are holding one sheet of baseboard to the next, not the baseboards to walls.

https://www.skoolie.net/forums/membe...cture26186.jpg

next up is removing the baseboards, aluminum walls above them.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by chromaglow

Any hints on removing the metal baseboards in the images below.

Yeah ... don't! That's the "chair rail", which is the part of the structure that connects the walls to the floor. Fortunately, you would have to dismantle the bus entirely to get it out.

Those aren't blind rivets, BTW, they're thick, short sheet metal screws that are driven in by friction (you wouldn't want the kiddies to be able to disassemble the bus, after all).

[Simplicity]

I cleaned up my metal floor with wire brushing and scraping off large scale pieces. Then I used a rust conversion product, Rust-Oleum metal primer and then Rust-Oleum oil-based enamel. I'm very impressed with how will the Rust-Oleum oil enamel has stood up to all the abuse I've given it during the conversion.

I treated that baseboard area as part of the floor. It would just be too much work for I think very little payback to take all those rivets out.

[Kevin1]

Good day,

Little late on this post, but better late than never.
Yesterday I ripped up the plywood floor in our bus.
I cut a few wedges with some old 2x4's. Two were cut at roughly 2ft long, and another cut at 4ft. I hammered the 2ft wedges in to get the floor up. Once I did that, I used the 4ft 2x4 and hammered it in with a sledgehammer until I got the floor up a bit. Once I got the floor up a bit, I removed the wheels from a floor jack I found at the landfill and placed it under the plywood. Gave it some pumps, and up came the floor. Worked really well. Saved my back as well. Took around 3 hours this way (could do it in less time if I was prepared...next time).
If I can figure out how to post pictures, I will upload them.

-Kevin K.

[chromaglow]

Has anyone used Simple Green as a degreaser? I have a bunch of if and would like to use it to prep the floor before doing rust conversion. The other thought was using denatured alcohol.

[chromaglow]

Has anyone used Simple Green as a degreaser? I have a bunch of if and would like to use it to prep the floor before doing rust conversion. The other thought was using denatured alcohol.

[Mountain Gnome]

Originally Posted by chromaglow

Has anyone used Simple Green as a degreaser? I have a bunch of if and would like to use it to prep the floor before doing rust conversion. The other thought was using denatured alcohol.

It is a wonderful degreaser. But it leaves a soap residue. I would use it if it is really nasty, then rinse with water and/or rubbing alcohol and/or paint thinner. How much grease is on your rusty floor? Doesn't sound good from here.....

[chromaglow]

Originally Posted by Mountain Gnome

It is a wonderful degreaser. But it leaves a soap residue. I would use it if it is really nasty, then rinse with water and/or rubbing alcohol and/or paint thinner. How much grease is on your rusty floor? Doesn't sound good from here.....

Uhhhhhh none that I can see, I had just read to make sure after you descale to sweep/ vacuum well and wash things with a degreaser or denatured alcohol before doing rust conversion. thoughts?

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by chromaglow

Uhhhhhh none that I can see, I had just read to make sure after you descale to sweep/ vacuum well and wash things with a degreaser or denatured alcohol before doing rust conversion. thoughts?

I didn't do anything like that, just swept with a broom (I think) and applied the Ospho. Maybe if you got down and painted grease directly onto the rust, it might somewhat block the rust converter from doing its job, but in normal circumstances whatever minor bit of grease or dirt happened to get on your floor is going to come up with the scale anyway.

[chromaglow]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

I didn't do anything like that, just swept with a broom (I think) and applied the Ospho. Maybe if you got down and painted grease directly onto the rust, it might somewhat block the rust converter from doing its job, but in normal circumstances whatever minor bit of grease or dirt happened to get on your floor is going to come up with the scale anyway.

Will the Rustoleum go over the 212 hole sealer or should I seal holes after I paint?