my floor (help me)

[roadtrip07]

my mom just acquired a 1963 16' bambi, and we have no experience with trailers or airstreams, and i only have limited knowledge about electrical wiring/plumbing/ etc. anyway, the floor appears to be in good condition...by that i mean there are no obvious soft spots or rotting areas. however, i don't trust myself because i dont really know what i'm doing. the original linoleum tiling is mostly deteriorated, abd we plan to put in new linoleum. however, new linoleum obviously requires a level surface, which is not what we have at the moment due to the patchy remaining tiles, but we dont want to just chip them off because of the asbestos content in the tiling. we thought that we could use floor leveler to fill up the gaps and cover the old tiles, and put new linoleum over that. i think i should make sure the floor is good before we do this...what specifically should i look for, and what precautions should i take? i've heard a but about west systems epoxy....does this stuff work? how do i use it, and what exactly is it supposed to do? thanks...

[smily]

You can use a sharp instrument to check for soft spots.
Check below windows and around the door frame.

As for refurbing floor.
If I were overly concerned with asbesto removal, I would cover the entire floor with 1/4' plywood or a flooring laminate rather than linoleum. I promise you you will be sorry you used linoleum. It is difficult to work with and for the cost, the laminate flooring will look much richer than linoleum.

I have done both, I will never do Linoleum again.

Good luck

[nickcrowhurst]

Originally Posted by roadtrip07

i've heard a but about west systems epoxy....does this stuff work? how do i use it, and what exactly is it supposed to do? thanks...

"WEST" stands for Wood Epoxy Saturation Technique. It is a registered trade mark of the Gougeon Brothers, Inc., Bay City, Michigan. WEST (and any other brand epoxy) comes as two plastic bottles of syrupy liquid. One is the resin, and the other is a hardener. If these two liquids are mixed together in the correct proportions, the mixture will set hard within a few minutes or hours, dependant on air temperature. It is used to build and repair wooden structures, particularly boats. It can be used as a varnish, and a variety of filler powders can be added to the liquids to create thicker glues or fillers.In an Airstream, it can be used to restore the strength of partly rotted wood or plywood. The mixed fluids (usually thinned with a solvent for extra penetration), are injected with a syringe into a series of small holes, drilled part way into the weakened (dry) timber. One brand formulated for this purpose is called "Git-Rot". Epoxy resin is a wonderful material, but like any material, it has its limitations. It is weakened by ultra-violet light, so epoxy varnish should be protected by a top coat of polyeurathene varnish. Epoxies will soften if heat is applied, e.g a soldering iron. This stuff really works, but you need to study the procedure manuals to get the best out of it. Nick.