Why remove the floor?

[TobinHagler]

I was wondering why people remove the plywood sub floor and vinyl flooring to then replace with plywood and "X"flooring?

Why not just leave the stock floor alone? Or toss down a couple of rugs?

Seems like less work, wondering what are the upsides?

Perhaps I'll remove the vinyl flooring, lay foam insulation board, then roll new vinyl down?

[mysty]

For me, there were several reasons. First, I wanted to see the condition of the metal underneath. In my bus, there were a few small areas where rust had eaten through and I was able to clean, treat with rust converter, patch with fiberglass, and paint to protect from any further damage. Second, I want to give my bus some good insulation. When driving it down from Ohio to Georgia, my daughter and I spent a night sleeping on the floor of the bus in Tennessee. Let me tell you, that floor was like ICE when we woke up in the morning. I plan to put down some good foam board insulation underneath my new subfloor. Thirdly, it's a matter of style. Since we plan to live in our bus full time for the next five years, I want it to look and feel like "home" on the inside. The vinyl planks we put down will make it look like a nice, wooden floor (while remaining light weight, flexible, and easy to clean and care for.)

Obviously, it's a matter of preference for the person who owns the bus. There are lots of skoolies that still have their original floors, with maybe something new laid over the top (and just as often not). You have to figure out what's important to you, and what works best for your situation.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by TobinHagler

I was wondering why people remove the plywood sub floor and vinyl flooring to then replace with plywood and "X"flooring?

Why not just leave the stock floor alone? Or toss down a couple of rugs?

Seems like less work, wondering what are the upsides?

Perhaps I'll remove the vinyl flooring, lay foam insulation board, then roll new vinyl down?

You never know whats under there, and the stuff that comes in the bus is GROSS. Then there's insulation, or the lack thereof.
Just my 2 cents, to each their own.

Rubber/vinyl over foam isn't gonna have very much strength. The insulation needs to be under the wood.

[Rameses]

To add to what's already been said, all of which are very valid...

I also didn't want 11ty billion nails poking through the steel floor. With those gone, it's a lot easier to work under the bus (hanging tanks, routing wiring and plumbing, etc.)

The rubber flooring also has a very distinct smell. I found that the plywood had absorbed that rubber smell. I'd rather have new wood to completely eliminate that smell.

[TobinHagler]

Thanks for the input, I'm thinking I'll take it out, with this bus I'm thinking rust isn't an issue, but, I'll strip the floor to the metal, do some liquid males to seal the holes, and I was thinking this DRIcore for the floor. Seems like a great combo of insulation, subfloor, and air flow all in one. Any thoughts using this?

I will most likely use Brazilian hardwood decking for the floor it self. I suppose TEK screw the planks all the way to the steal.


DRIcore® Subfloor R+ | What is DRIcore Subfloor R+?

[Tango]

Can't even begin to count the number of buses that looked pristine on the inside and out only to reveal complete rust through somewhere on the floor once the mat & ply was pulled up. Especially around the wheel wells and doors.

Skoolies are notorious for their leaks, plus many were routinely hosed out to clean up behind the little buggers and the messes they made. And...that ply just soaks up and holds water.

Best to know what you are dealing with before you go building walls and such on top of it.

[spenceronehalf]

My flooring wood was rotten and saturated with water and diesel


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[EastCoastCB]

My bus didn't even come with wood floors. Just a thick rubber laid on the heavily galvanized steel floor. My rubber flooring literally just rolled right up and out with not much effort.

[Dog Rescuer]

This was my floor under the rubber flooring. I found some soft spots and I am really glad I pulled up the plywood.




There was a little rust - but mostly wet wood - and some mold - so replacing the floor seemed to work best.

Plus I added a sound barrier and some light insulation.

Originally Posted by TobinHagler

I was wondering why people remove the plywood sub floor and vinyl flooring to then replace with plywood and "X"flooring?

Why not just leave the stock floor alone? Or toss down a couple of rugs?

Seems like less work, wondering what are the upsides?

Perhaps I'll remove the vinyl flooring, lay foam insulation board, then roll new vinyl down?

[EastCoastCB]

What did you do about the rust?

[Dog Rescuer]

Most of it was surface rust - the picture looks a lot worse than it was - so I put a rust block / retarder. It worked well. I only had to sand a little bit. Then I primed it with a RUSTOLEUM primer - filled the holes with silicone and some flxseal on the edges.

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

What did you do about the rust?

[PigPen]

We were in the same boat. Our bus had no rust underneath and only minor surface rust on the front and back bumpers. We were both sure that the floors would be completely fine...

Then we found all this:





Speaking of, any opinions on how thick the replacement metal should be? Don't mean to hijack this thread, but we tried asking in our thread but haven't got any responses to that question...

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by PigPen

We were in the same boat. Our bus had no rust underneath and only minor surface rust on the front and back bumpers. We were both sure that the floors would be completely fine...

Then we found all this:





Speaking of, any opinions on how thick the replacement metal should be? Don't mean to hijack this thread, but we tried asking in our thread but haven't got any responses to that question...

14 ga should do just fine. I think that's what my floor is made of.

[MelodyMachine]

This is why you remove the floor. I was able to treat all the rust and patch holes. Almost good as new!

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by MelodyMachine

This is why you remove the floor. I was able to treat all the rust and patch holes. Almost good as new!

THat's BEAUTIFUL!!!!!
I'm right behind you, hoping to be done with my floors and side panels this coming month.
I love that fresh paint feeling!

[PigPen]

Agreed, that looks great.

[BowserJournal]

what did you do to get to that painted surface? Did you use any solutions to arrest the rust?

[meabus]

Originally Posted by Tango

Can't even begin to count the number of buses that looked pristine on the inside and out only to reveal complete rust through somewhere on the floor once the mat & ply was pulled up. Especially around the wheel wells and doors.

Skoolies are notorious for their leaks, plus many were routinely hosed out to clean up behind the little buggers and the messes they made. And...that ply just soaks up and holds water.

Best to know what you are dealing with before you go building walls and such on top of it.

Q: wondering is it possible to see rust on the floor before removing flooring , from underneath the bus??

[mysty]

Originally Posted by meabus

Q: wondering is it possible to see rust on the floor before removing flooring , from underneath the bus??

You can see some rust when you crawl under the bus, but it's nearly impossible to tell how bad it really is. Once the floor is out, you can see daylight in the places where the floor has rusted through, but with the flooring still in, the rust sort of sticks to it, making it look more intact than it really is. I also found that even after removing the floor, I didn't have a true idea of the damage until I started using the wirebrush on my grinder to knock the loose stuff off.

[Dog Rescuer]

It is hard to tell - sometimes underneath the bus is coated with something - and that holds the floor in. I would always recommend replacing the floor just to be safe and have peace of mind.
Some will disagree - and many have just left that floor or built over.

Originally Posted by meabus

Q: wondering is it possible to see rust on the floor before removing flooring , from underneath the bus??