Need some ceiling advice...

[thrifty1]

Well it finally happened. We ran into our first failed project. I tried to install revolution ply 5mm as a ceiling BOTH ways and with a jig and it just ain’t happening. So here’s what I think is going on. Since my bus has 78 inches of headroom AND it has the Thomas upper half slant, I think I will not be able to use any type of wood or sheet for the ceiling. I need yalls suggestions and experience here to help me out. Basically a whole day wasted...

 

[EastCoastCB]

Well it finally happened. We ran into our first failed project. I tried to install revolution ply 5mm as a ceiling BOTH ways and with a jig and it just ain’t happening. So here’s what I think is going on. Since my bus has 78 inches of headroom AND it has the Thomas upper half slant, I think I will not be able to use any type of wood or sheet for the ceiling. I need yalls suggestions and experience here to help me out. Basically a whole day wasted...

Guy on YouTube used Luan and wainscotting on his Thomas.

 

[Drew Bru]

Insteresting that you should mention ceilings. Just today we did a trial run on installing Luann ceiling panels. We got 4x8 sheet of underlayment from Home Depot (I believe it's 5mm) for about 14 bucks. We had them cut four 6" strips lengthwise. This left us with a 24" panel and the four 6" strips to put over the ribs with sheet metal screws (2 pieces per rib to act as a 1/2" thick furring strip). We filled in the gap with 1/2" insulation, then attached the 24" wide Luann to the furring strips with wood screws. We'll cover the seams at each rib with a trim piece.


I don't know how Revolution ply is different than the underlayment at HD (other than from a sustainability viewpoint) nor do I know how different a Thomas 78" ceiling is from an Amtran tall ceiling....but ours worked reasonably well. Maybe the difference is that we used 24" wide panels? Might be worth looking into, I dunno. You could always cut shallow kerfs on the backside of the plywood to get an easier bend.

 

[magnakansas]

cutting kerfs

I think two ways of doing this... cut the kerfs on the outside of the panel or cut the kerfs on the inside....

on the out side will look nicer, on the inside may result in more insulation properties.

so, the cuts go lenghtwise in relation to the bus.. I would cut a strip about 6" wide and make cuts every inch in the area of the bend and press in place. Look at the effect the cuts have. Make more cuts or less, deeper cuts or shallower as you think. Play with a several strips as see what you think conforms the best.

plywood that is 3mm and five layers thick tough, strong, light weight, and not cheap, but really good flexy bendy. Look for "Baltic Birch" I have in the past seen sizes up to 4' x 16' if you dont want seams
You will have to google/search where can be purchased near you.

WATCH.. some may be quoted at 3 layer and 3mm but the better stuff is 3mm and five layer.