Saggy floor - rear door 24

[Janet H]

We (that would be the royal we) have started rehab on a rear door argosy. Initially we thought we might have some floor rot as the floor in the rear (center) and the front (again center section) are both soggy feeling.

So.... assuming we had rot, we pulled out the bathroom and bathroom walls. No Rot! Yippee.... but....

There is no frame support in either of these areas - the floor (1/2" ply) really sags when you put weight on it in these areas - right in front of potty and in the front, right in the aisle - just behind the fresh water tank. So here's the question/s:

Do we

1. leave it the way it is and re-carpet
2. sheath entire floor with 1/4" something and then recover
3. leave sub floor and cover with prefinished hardwood floor - thinking bamboo...
4. sheath entire trailer with 1/2" vertical grain bamboo ply (think bamboo cutting board) and finish ply as final floor

Is this unsupported springy floor OK? This is uncharted territory for us -we've only had aluminum floor to date.

[overlander63]

Janet, your new coach has managed to survive without problems in those spots for 30 years. Argosy floors tend to flex more than Airstreams, the plywood is a bit thinner. If it bothers you, you can always get Gary to weld a stringer in between the frame rails from underneath, just drop the belly pan.

[LI Pets]

If you want to eliminate the softness in the floor just fiberglass it, don't put another layer of wood to acomplish that. It is much heavier than glass.

It will take about 3 hours and the soggy floor will be gone and waterproof.

If you need more info just ask.

[azflycaster]

Originally Posted by Janet

3. leave sub floor and cover with prefinished hardwood floor - thinking bamboo...

I like option #3. This should take the spring out and look great too.

[bhayden]

I really like the looks of bamboo. If you think that's something you want to do anyway the a floating floor layed corsswise or the bamboo ply should eliminate most if not all the sag. It would be pretty easy to lay a scrap in and give it a squish test . Sounds like mostly a matter of "comfort" since it's been 30 years and nobody's fallen through yet!

BTW, what was the verdict on paint?

-Bernie

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by overlander63

If it bothers you, you can always get Gary to weld a stringer in between the frame rails from underneath, just drop the belly pan.

I have a pretty fair "soft" spot in front of the galley on my 75 Sovereign, it is caused by the lack of support....over the water tank. No way you can weld a support in there and it has the 3/4" flooring.

Aaron

[LI Pets]

Maybe I didn't make my last post clear.

Use the glass then the wood over it.

the floors need to be strengthened; I used epoxy resin and one layer of 6 Oz fiberglass cloth, just like a boat.

It only added 15 lbs, cost about $140 in materials. No odor or special equipment.

The results are amazing I can walk anyplace and the flex is gone, rock solid.

When the wood is installed it will be even stronger.

[Over59]

If you are not going to take it all apart I would go with the epoxy. I would however use a grinder to take out 1/16 of the floor in that area to get a good fresh bit on the wood. Clean out the dust and do the fabric and epoxy as suggested, flaring into the sanded near by area. Sand smoother before covering with other flooring.
Recently I've been seeing bamboo plywood. A 1/4 of that to cover the floor would sure look great, add little weight or height, and alot easier than cutting that snap together stuff.
The original ply is just worn from flexing. Think micro tears.

[Janet H]

These are some good suggestions. Keep em coming.

At this point we are seriosuly contemplating pulling everything out and so the floor would be easy to work on. We have to replace most systems and the furnace so it's probably easier.

We have also toyed with the idea of using bamboo ply to replace the partiion walls - it might be easier than stripping off the peeling plastic wall covering (cool flower power stuff - bletch!).

[3Ms75Argosy]

I love that bamboo ply stuff. Also, the Environmental Home Center has some neat wood that also looks like bamboo, but a bit different. The only problem I see is that all the sources I've looked at are EXPENSIVE for bamboo ply or the like. Do you have a better source?
http://www.environmentalhomecenter.c...de=KIREI_BOARD
I hope the pictuer turns out ok... it really is stunning in real life.
Marc