Building on top of existing floor

[Carrier6]

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

Nope, don't know either of them. Just using common sense. When you buy a used house or car did you gut each on of those also? Ya I didn't think so. Even tho the odds of what you are complaining about are higher in those situations.
Good luck with life

 

[tguy1241]

If the subfloor is rotted, and you put new subfloor on top of it, what do you think will happen to the new subfloor?

 

[tguy1241]

If you buy a house which is rotten from the ground up, and then you put up new wallpaper over everything, do you think that eliminates the problems? Eventually the truth will emerge and the house will fall. You can only lie to yourself for so long.

 

[tguy1241]

Insulting me only illustrates how desperately you grasp at straws. I wasn’t trying to hurt you. Why would you demean yourself by insulting me? You don’t even know me well enough to form a meaningful insult. I thought the idea here was to help the O.P. find answers.

 

[tguy1241]

According to Quora, this isn’t true. Check it out: https://www.quora.com/If-steel-is-s...estroy-it-completely?top_ans=1477743717046718

 

[DeMac]

Clean Slate

My personal experience & bearing witness differs from the information I have read or heard as hearsay. For me, removing the flooring materials was a simple and straightforward task. I worked alone & completed the floor demo in one day. I'm old, but I'm not lazy.

The floor screws are aligned & spaced in a pattern. I cut strips into the floor rubber with a razor to expose the screw-heads, then removed each (and every) screw with an impact driver. I didn't cut or break any of the plywood nor did I pry against the steel. It all came up in whole pieces, using only a claw hammer & a flathead. I did have to dry out the plywood, as most of it was soggy underneath but I still reused the large sections to build a decent chicken coop.

Although our floor was not all that rusty (yet), the plywood, wall steel & insulation made it difficult to track down the origin of the incoming moisture. Once the interior side of the floor steel was exposed, we quickly discovered the sources of water intrusion & several large air leaks.


Air Quality

Underneath the insulation and the plywood, the inside of the interior steel is coated with soot. The moisture seemed to be constantly washing the ceiling and walls into a diesel exhaust particulate soup, which puddled up under the plywood. The air inside sometimes choked me so we cleaned all of the hidden surfaces we had exposed with degreaser & 409. We can honestly breath much better, the air inside is fresh & clean.

Some builders rightfully paint the interior side of the roof & walls in the same manner which most of us seal the floors, thereby encapsulating any undesirable particles. Doesn't matter to me, as long as it's perfect.

 

[tguy1241]

Thank you for illustrating that this kind of challenge requires honesty. I get worried when some of the more enthusiastic but less mindful bus converters are so eager to leap over one of the most important—and difficult—steps in the conversion. But instead of taking a deep breath & facing the monster head-on, they fabricate some baloney excuse for not doing the floors (and walls and ceiling) right. Imagine if your bus with the soot under the floor was going to be occupied by little children. Breathing in sooty air is/ was the cause of Black Lung Disease among miners, and while your particular kind of soot isn’t from coal dust, it sounds risky and might cause nasty lung irritations or infections. However, the damp conditions in an older bus’s floor and insulation are perfect for harboring Black Mold, which is a plague all by itself. Good for you for standing up to the difficult task of thoroughly gutting that floor. Post more photos so we can share the fun. ��

 

[Jesussaves-SKO]

I thought this forum would be different. But looks like it’s not there is always someone who gets hung up on things.

 

[Kentucky Dreaming]

Breathing in sooty air is/ was the cause of Black Lung Disease among miners, and while your particular kind of soot isn’t from coal dust, it sounds risky and might cause nasty lung irritations or infections. ��

Black lung is not caused by soot. It is caused by coal dust laden with silica. It killed one of my uncles.

https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/black-lung/learn-about-black-lung

 

[Kentucky Dreaming]

I thought this forum would be different. But looks like it’s not there is always someone who gets hung up on things.

Stay with us. There are people here who are knowledgeable and share their knowledge freely.

Be patient with the others.

 

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

I thought this forum would be different. But looks like it’s not there is always someone who gets hung up on things.

kc1kdm.
this forum is different.
i dont do alot on the computer so havent been on any other forum related to school buses or there destruction/construction.
i built my first one as a family camper before i even knew this site existed.
and yes i tore the rubber flooring up and grinded and treated rust on the interior sheetmetal floor for several weekends.
someone here already says it? armageddon and the smell of airborne rust.
that is definitely mask territory.
i am on bus 2 now and both have had metal flooring problems under the factory flooring.
everyone build how they want and thats there choice.
weekend camper that you can throwaway in 10 years build on the rubber something you want to last awhile? tear everything out and start with a clean slate then you know exactly what you have.
was a mechanic before the marine corps. but was a grunt when there now an industrial/commercial HVAC welder and supervisor of almost 30 years.
RUST DOES NOT STOP.
truth is the people on THIS forum share there true advice from there experience with there builds. if you do not like our advice or opinion you dont have to accept it. but do not bash someone elses opinion because it doest align with yours.
you came here looking for an opinion and looking for a better forum?
what has been said between your other school bus forums and this one that make you question our opinion's?
daniel ml usmc dont want it but you can thank me if this helped your opinion*

 

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

tguy1241?
what bus do you have?

 

[Jesussaves-SKO]

Stay with us. There are people here who are knowledgeable and share their knowledge freely.

Be patient with the others.

Thank for the positive feedback. Time will tell. The out of the box ideas and creativity is what got me interested.

 

[Albatross]

The out of the box ideas and creativity is what got me interested.

This is actually why I keep coming back to this forum.


Most places are full of "oh just buy this commercial-off-the-shelf solution" and while that's great and all a lot of the time, when it comes to building something that I live in, or something that runs and moves, frankly, most commercial solutions these days are just absolute crap until you get to the price point where they stop listing the prices because "if you have to ask, you can't afford it." But as an engineer and from working in and running a machine shop, many times the COTS solutions are not satisfactory or up to my standards. And sometimes I just want to make it myself because I can make it how I like, or paint it the color that I want.


But I am also the kind of guy that took a dremel to my PC tower and put a window in the side using plexiglass from Lowe's using generic window gasket from O'Reillys after painting the box black back when the only kind of computers you could buy came in bland office beige. I also put a cigarette lighter in the blank space underneath the CD drive because I could make it work.


The Skoolie.net forum is full of that kind of people--who are willing to do their own work and figure something out, and mostly don't care what "the industry" is doing, especially since we were putting up solar panels on our roofs long before I'd ever seen anything like that on a regular RV. And some people build theirs out like a yacht, some like a prevost, some like an IKEA store, and some build theirs out like an antique Airstream. I've even met at least one of ya'll in person that... <gasp> kept it like a bus, seats and all.


This is why I keep coming back, the creativity and the out-of-the-box engineering that gets the job done.

 

[Jesussaves-SKO]

kc1kdm.
this forum is different.

truth is the people on THIS forum share there true advice from there experience with there builds. if you do not like our advice or opinion you dont have to accept it. but do not bash someone elses opinion because it doest align with yours.

what has been said between your other school bus forums and this one that make you question our opinion's?
*

You misunderstood me. The experience and creativity is what caught my attention to this forum. I love constructive advice and opinion even if I don’t agree that doesn’t bother me at all. That’s how we learn thru civil discussions. I’m all for that.

I don’t care much for personal derogatory comments made to others.

Can you tell quote where I was “bashing someone else’s opinion because it doesn’t align with mine?” I would like to know.

How can you make a judgement about what I have encountered on other forums when you don’t know any of the forums I am on or what I read. This is the first interaction I’ve had with you I have no idea of you history. How can I judge you based on that. Also I never questioned any opinions. Can you also send the quote where I questioned someone’s opinion?

I thank you for your insight and helpful advice.
I thank you for your service.
I wish you well

 

[Jesussaves-SKO]

This is actually why I keep coming back to this forum.


Most places are full of "oh just buy this commercial-off-the-shelf solution" and while that's great and all a lot of the time, when it comes to building something that I live in, or something that runs and moves, frankly, most commercial solutions these days are just absolute crap until you get to the price point where they stop listing the prices because "if you have to ask, you can't afford it." But as an engineer and from working in and running a machine shop, many times the COTS solutions are not satisfactory or up to my standards. And sometimes I just want to make it myself because I can make it how I like, or paint it the color that I want.


But I am also the kind of guy that took a dremel to my PC tower and put a window in the side using plexiglass from Lowe's using generic window gasket from O'Reillys after painting the box black back when the only kind of computers you could buy came in bland office beige. I also put a cigarette lighter in the blank space underneath the CD drive because I could make it work.


The Skoolie.net forum is full of that kind of people--who are willing to do their own work and figure something out, and mostly don't care what "the industry" is doing, especially since we were putting up solar panels on our roofs long before I'd ever seen anything like that on a regular RV. And some people build theirs out like a yacht, some like a prevost, some like an IKEA store, and some build theirs out like an antique Airstream. I've even met at least one of ya'll in person that... <gasp> kept it like a bus, seats and all.


This is why I keep coming back, the creativity and the out-of-the-box engineering that gets the job done.

Thank you I like this forum to.

 

[cadillackid]

building on top of the original floor to me depends on how tight the bus is and whether you have reason to suspect mold forming in between the layers.. if you take the bus into heavy rain and notice alot of water getting in from the windows or roof hatch etc.. then id be concerned about mold in the layers underneath... esp if the bus is parked outside all the time..



if the bus seems tight and you dont smell mold or "musty" odor.. then id say build away... your use case is also importabt here too.. if its a weekend warrior you camp in for a few weeks a year its also different than if you plan to live in it full time where even a small amount of mold / mildew can become a big issue..



I would be inclined if the rubber floor is decent to not pull it up but to just pull the metal strips and build on top of it.. sometimes its glued down and will be a mess to remove...

 

[-TC-]

Noob Schoolin' Skoolies

Just another shot of reality here: ....

Yo, Tguy.

Most of our members own one or more buses. You do not, have not and likely will not, own a bus.

After reading your previous posts, I believe that you have no skoolie experience, no applicable knowledge nor any craftsmanship talents.

A 12 year old boy explaining the Stork to pregnant mothers. You are full of testimony, but it's all False Witness.

Furthermore, your comments read of an author who is butt-hurt towards the builders who have that which she desires. Angry Jealousy.

 

[tguy1241]

Check out Quora on your statement about what is “coal soot” and what is “coal dust.” BTW, coal dust/soot contains more than one carcinogen…. As far as the death of your uncle, and far too many others, it was to protect future miners that any headway was made to improve the working conditions for them. It is rather curious that my efforts to shed light on another environmental health risk should be so repugnant to you… if you would bother to read my remarks to the O.P., you will see that my main concern was for the health of any residents of that bus which might be harboring mold inside the hidden subfloor. Strange that this should be so unimportant and insignificant to you. Clearly, this is not YOUR concern. So you made your point…I made mine. And to answer your little boy observation about ‘who owns the better bus’—why must some little boys always devolve to the pissing contest level?—I am only now looking for a bus because my husband of 50+ years is now dying of cancer and I have lost our home because of the cost to pay for his care. Even so, I still have the good sense & self preservation to know that where I come from, a person doesn’t bust their ass over a huge project unless they are willing to do it right, from the ground up….sort of like a marriage…. So when you look down your nose at me, that’s the kind of woman who is looking right back into your eyes. My life and the lives of my sons are worth far more than a person like you might ever be able to understand….pity on you.

 

[tguy1241]

Check out Quora on your statement about what is “coal soot” and what is “coal dust.” BTW, coal dust/soot contains more than one carcinogen…. As far as the death of your uncle, and far too many others, it was to protect future miners that any headway was made to improve the working conditions for them. It is rather curious that my efforts to shed light on another environmental health risk should be so repugnant to you… if you would bother to read my remarks to the O.P., you will see that my main concern was for the health of any residents of that bus which might be harboring mold inside the hidden subfloor. Strange that this should be so unimportant and insignificant to you. Clearly, this is not YOUR concern. So you made your point…I made mine. And to answer your little boy observation about ‘who owns the better bus’—why must some little boys always devolve to the pissing contest level?—I am only now looking for a bus because my husband of 50+ years is now dying of cancer and I have lost our home because of the cost to pay for his care. Even so, I still have the good sense & self preservation to know that where I come from, a person doesn’t bust their ass over a huge project unless they are willing to do it right, from the ground up….sort of like a marriage…. So when you look down your nose at me, that’s the kind of woman who is looking right back into your eyes. My life and the lives of my sons are worth far more than a person like you might ever be able to understand….pity on you.