Building on top of existing floor

[sethao]

Hi there,

I've read through the forum and understand when doing a conversion, the best way to do the floor is to take out the existing stock rubber finish and plywood subfloor to see what's underneath and fix up any rust spots.

However, we just purchased this bus (I didn't read the forums until after) and it's already been mostly built out on the inside. Which means we'd have to take the whole thing apart to pull up the floor.

That's not something we want to do at this time.

But the stock rubber flooring is pretty gross and we'd prefer to cover it up.

Assuming we can make it as flat as possible by removing any of the metal stripping that's raised, do you see any issue with putting plywood on top of it and laying down whatever we choose on top of that?

Ideally, we'd use the thinnest plywood possible, maybe 3/8, and 1/4 laminate or something like that as I have just about 1 inch to spare height-wise.

I understand we run the risk of not knowing what's under the floor but we're ok with that for the time being. I assume it'd be relatively easy to remove what we put on top in the future if needed.

Thanks!

 

[magnakansas]

On top of the floor

Kinda sounds like an opening line to a country western song…..

But, I am building on top of the floor. Many, many, many busses of years long past were built on top of the rubber and wood floor. My 1954 was done that way.

I do, at some point plan on taking everything out and build it a second time. Right now I drive this bus daily and work on outfitting at least once a week. Seats for nine and still have one more to mount.

William

 

[musigenesis]

Whatever condition your underlying metal floor is in, so long as you've sealed all the leaks and don't have any more water coming into your bus, the metal floor isn't going to get any worse. So you should be able to lay down flooring on top of the rubber with no real problem.

1/4" or 3/8" plywood is probably not going to lay flat on its own, though (even 3/4" will likely curl up at the seams somewhat), so you'd probably want to screw it down into the factory plywood layer underneath the rubber (assuming it's there - some buses are just rubber on metal). If I wanted a quick-and-dirty floor, I'd just put some loose carpet down.

 

[sethao]

Thanks for the responses.

Just realized I didn't add it does indeed have a 3/4" plywood subfloor under the rubber.

So my thought was just to screw the new plywood through the rubber and into the existing plywood below.

The person I bought it from, who did the existing conversion, does a lot of metal work and rebuilds cars and he said when he drilled through the floor for the shower and water tank drains it felt real solid to him so he wasn't worried about it.

 

[musigenesis]

The person I bought it from, who did the existing conversion, does a lot of metal work and rebuilds cars and he said when he drilled through the floor for the shower and water tank drains it felt real solid to him so he wasn't worried about it.

You can crawl under your bus and find out for yourself what shape the metal floor is in. Just poke around with a screwdriver and if it doesn't go all the way through, you're good.

Hopefully you don't have something like this.

 

[nikitis]

That rubber actually cuts very easily. What I'd do is just take a work razor blade, and cut right around the edges of all of your cabinets etc. Basically any place visible, and pull it up. It comes up pretty easy once cut Leave the rubber under the cabinets, this will give you like half a centimeter at least for a slightly thicker plywood.

 

[sethao]

You can crawl under your bus and find out for yourself what shape the metal floor is in. Just poke around with a screwdriver and if it doesn't go all the way through, you're good.

Hopefully you don't have something like this.

Hahah hopefully it's not like that. Will definitely take a look down there.

 

[sethao]

That rubber actually cuts very easily. What I'd do is just take a work razor blade, and cut right around the edges of all of your cabinets etc. Basically any place visible, and pull it up. It comes up pretty easy once cut Leave the rubber under the cabinets, this will give you like half a centimeter at least for a slightly thicker plywood.

Yeah, that's a good idea. I had read that it can be a beast trying to rip up the rubber. But if it's relatively easy it'd be nice to do that and just use the plywood below it as the subfloor, assuming it's in good shape. Which would ultimately end up saving height.

 

[nikitis]

It's relatively easy. Just take a razor knife, and cut around the edges, and then buy one of these prybars, then put the not so bent end under the rubber and use a hammer or rubber hammer on the bent end, and it'll roll up an inch at a time, At some points you may even be able to get enough up to just pull it up. I did my whole floor in 3 hours this way. For you it'll probably take 1 hour, maybe 2

https://www.amazon.com/STEELHEAD-Heavy-Duty-Ultra-Durable-Heat-Treated-SH-PB-B1-15-1/dp/B07TSG977Y/ref=sr_1_7?crid=29B2KTK24L4XC&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.HrFLyvMIemqsywhfHoqOCpPCBpxmwnrisIJibi4mDEgkevtxMv46u5fQEFjGtaLIe5Df4dR32NV2UPL4wvzzbQJAiebh-n3_ZhbxJOuMwVuSKiMPrJxk8FSZa49Kg1HJ9L5IxWnlY6gsGKdmF2RSUDGS2t1loJ7MirCn9Sp9GlPM_sXRWO9uiRi1qXC5_5SPhnXIxL_DKHPASn8jqUe8662e8HnNGbkis2_4HSUlZcHTgCln-60W0r7_ZUqU9B8s8qO9VWmYa0up1PUkElCGNNf8tF8GXqIk7QhjaEFuFZU.nI0yGI8n1Jc7Q9dTlc0xDb7nCzEl1SMRCR4f2oyYmhg&dib_tag=se&keywords=flat+pry+bar&qid=1711740922&sprefix=flat+pry+bar%2Caps%2C98&sr=8-7

 

[Carrier6]

Leave the rubber in and just add to the top of it. Worst case you have to pull everything out later and rebuild from the bottom up. Which is what you would be doing now. Just look at it this way, the rubber is another layer of insulation and sound deadening.

 

[DanFrazoo]

I left mine in. There are good and legitimate reasons to take it down to metal also.
When I put mine in I experimented a bit with the first piece of 1.5 in insulation and plywood on top. I cut my seat legs as low as I could to the existing rubber flooring leaving the bolts and mounting collar from the seat legs in place (found out on the first one what a bear they were to remove).
I placed the insulation panels right overtop everything and put the plywood on top and started fastening everything down through the floor. The insulation compressed enough around the protrusions to lay flat and firm. No reason to go through all the extra work and time, unless that is what you want to do on yours.
I’m not concerned about some future buyer, when I’m done , the bus is done (although I have had 3 offers to buy as-is.

 

[Jesussaves-SKO]

Hi there,

I've read through the forum and understand when doing a conversion, the best way to do the floor is to take out the existing stock rubber finish and plywood subfloor to see what's underneath and fix up any rust spots.

However, we just purchased this bus (I didn't read the forums until after) and it's already been mostly built out on the inside. Which means we'd have to take the whole thing apart to pull up the floor.

That's not something we want to do at this time.

But the stock rubber flooring is pretty gross and we'd prefer to cover it up.

Assuming we can make it as flat as possible by removing any of the metal stripping that's raised, do you see any issue with putting plywood on top of it and laying down whatever we choose on top of that?

Ideally, we'd use the thinnest plywood possible, maybe 3/8, and 1/4 laminate or something like that as I have just about 1 inch to spare height-wise.

I understand we run the risk of not knowing what's under the floor but we're ok with that for the time being. I assume it'd be relatively easy to remove what we put on top in the future if needed.

Thanks!

At this point if you look underneath and see no holes in the frame or the channel for the floor I would just undercoat it. They are various ways of undercoating, which is a lot easier than ripping up your floor and putting a new floor in. provided your existing floor has no soft spots.

 

[tguy1241]

Who in the world told you that the old rubber (and everything under it) is just another layer of insulation??!!

 

[tguy1241]

Did you already pay for the bus, and will you be paying the guy who is helping to convert the bus? Is he the same guy who is selling the bus to you? Take a look at some of the floors in buses that have been stripped down to the metal shell and then ask yourself if you really do need to see what’s under the floors, ceiling, and walls in your bus. Besides rust, there are nasty little critters that can invade a bus and cause you some trouble, such as Black Mold, Carpenter Ants, Termites, Centipedes, Wood Worms, and the list goes on. Ask yourself how many tries and how much money you will need to get this right. Best of luck!

 

[tguy1241]

If you don’t pull up the old subfloor, how will you know if the underside is damaged, or infested with Black Mold or nasty bugs? Do you have any children or other loved ones who will be living on the bus?

 

[Carrier6]

Who in the world told you that the old rubber (and everything under it) is just another layer of insulation??!!

Because it is. Everything on that floor has an R value and a sound deadening level. Might not be a lot but it is still there. The point was that it's already built. No reason to gut everything now just to put a new floor down for cosmetic reasons if the floor is still solid.

 

[tguy1241]

Just another shot of reality here: None of the builders on the YouTube videos talk about how easy converting a bus can be. Mostly, they talk about blood, sweat & tears, money, frustration, more money, huge chunks of time devoted to this one project, even more money, and 6 months after moving in to live full time in the bus, they refer to the regrets they are experiencing from not having done the job right to begin with. Hoping your bus turns out to be everything you want.

 

[tguy1241]

Who mentioned “cosmetic reasons”? No, my wish is that you live in a healthy bus, and not be plagued with doubts and worries that you might have left out an important step. However, if you don’t care, why should anyone else? Best wishes to you and your loved ones.

 

[tguy1241]

Hey, you might be right, but we’ll never know. If you bought a bus that was already finished, and if you don’t care to gut it and do it right, then you’ve got no worries. Please post some videos after the wood rot, water damage, Black Mold and bug infestations have destroyed your hoped for R values.

 

[tguy1241]

Are you the guy who sold this bus to Sethao?? Hmmmmm. . . .