3 layers flooring concept & replacement

[VeggieBullet]

Hi guys
Working on the Avion we know that eventually will get to remove the sub-floor in the livingroom, Bathroom and basement area.
We are aware that the floors were the 3layer style (plywood/styrofoam insulation/plywood).
At that point we are not sure if we should stick to the original concept (kind of love the idea of insulation) or just 1 solid plywood airstream Style.
Any inputs will be appreciated.

[perryg114]

How much you going to have to replace? Is it all rotten?

Perry

[VeggieBullet]

Originally Posted by perryg114

How much you going to have to replace? Is it all rotten?

Perry

Hi Perry
Not 100 % how much will need to be replaced but we will remove the floor in the livingroom and bathroom for sure.
We now for a fact that the area under the slide out is rotten and we can see from the basement are that a lot of the lower layer of the bathroom is also gone.
But we are still far from give an accurate % of the floor damaged due the water.
Never saw the 3 layer floor concept before

[perryg114]

If both layers are rotten then replace the whole thing. If just the top layer is bad then patch. How thick is each layer?

Perry

[VeggieBullet]

according to here:
SILVERAVION :: Maintenance

The Avion floor is fabricated in three layers. The bottom layer appears to be 3/4" thick plywood. The center section is Styrofoam and the top section is 1/2" plywood.

That is not the case on ours, we have 1/4 plywood+1 1/2 Styrofoam +1/4 plywood, now that is 2"sub-floor and with a big insulation, I bet that winter camping on this unit wouldn't be that bad!

[VeggieBullet]

Hey Perry just noticed that the last post just made us RivetMaster is there a ceremony? or we should just consider our godfather in our revited initiation?

[TouringDan]

VB

I would leave it the same unless you can think of a good reason to change it. "if it is not necessary to change then it is necessary not to change". The older I get the more I use some old sayings. I like the sandwich concept personally. Did they use any adhesive between the insulation and the 1/4" plywood?

Dan

[VeggieBullet]

Originally Posted by TouringDan

VB

..."if it is not necessary to change then it is necessary not to change"...

Dan

Hi Dan it is good to "see" you!
Totally agree with you on the unnecessary changes, but this is a kind of mandatory.
A lot of parts of the wood of the 3layer floor are gone!
The worse so far is under the slide out area, not sure for how long this trailer was neglected, but is a very sad scenario.
Will try to post some pics of the most know affected areas in few mins.

[VeggieBullet]

under slide out subfloor pics

[VeggieBullet]

more pics

[VeggieBullet]

more bad floor

[perryg114]

Yeah that looks like a mess. It is hard to get an idea how all that fits together. I don't know how you are going to splice in new subfloor with the way it is constructed. If it is 1.5" of foam you maybe able to use a 2x4 to splice in new pieces by putting it where the foam core was a glue and screw it to a new piece of subfloor. You should be able to make a sandwich with new foam and plywood.

Perry

[VeggieBullet]

Yes it does looks messy, but is not that bad. We saw worse floors in some threads before
Well, at this point we are getting to the conclusion to do a total subfloor removal.
Anyone familiar with Avion flooring? We understand that the Avion's shell is bolted to the frame and not to the subfloor, so subfloor removal shouldn't be that bad?
Any one that has removed floors on an Avion around

[perryg114]

Do all three layers sit on top of the frame?

Perry

[VeggieBullet]

Indeed

[Melody Ranch]

Are you familiar with SIP's? They are insulated panels, I won't get into it more than that....which are built like your describing here. You can have a SIP manufacturer make up the thickness you want...they will even put in runs for wiring and plumbing, tanks...whatever. Best of all they use specialized wood, glues and foams.

[VeggieBullet]

Originally Posted by Melody Ranch

Are you familiar with SIP's? They are insulated panels, I won't get into it more than that....which are built like your describing here. You can have a SIP manufacturer make up the thickness you want...they will even put in runs for wiring and plumbing, tanks...whatever. Best of all they use specialized wood, glues and foams.

Thanks for the input, we are looking into it right now, unfortunately the smallest thickness that we can find is 4 1/2 and we will need to stay at 2" to be able to slide it under the walls.
They look pretty similar to what the Refrigerated Trailers use on their construction, but we couldn't find that much info on it.
Will be interested on finding a place or to get a quote for 2" thickness and if we redo the whole area up to the bathroom that is 8wx30L...wow that is a lot of subfloor

[VeggieBullet]

Hi guys,
Found a lumber supplier that has the has 3/8 CDX plywood and luan 1/8. Lowes has rigid insulation 1 1/2 thick, so it seems like we should be able to match the 2" sandwich floor.
We were reading a lot about sealing the plywood with either Spar Varnish or Epoxy resin and we have 2 questions regarding them:
1) what will be better in terms of flexibility since the floor flexes while traveling?
2) the insulation supposed to be glued to the plywood and according to our understanding with either products nothing will glue on, so wouldn't that affect the floor installation?
Thanks again guys

[perryg114]

Most of that rigid foam has a membrane that can be removed that would make it possible to glue to it. I would try some non-solvent based adhesives like Silicone and Polyurethane. Liquid nails will melt the foam. The latex based tile flooring adhesive might work well and you can trowel it on with a notched trowel. I would experiment first. If the floor is not adhered to the foam it will flex like mad.

Perry

[Mixter]

I believe Liquid Nails or PL has a Foam Insulation adhesive. I used it in a home renovation.