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58BUBBLE · 03-17-2005, 10:01 AM

I am ready to purchase my plywood for the floor but have a couple questions. Originally I was only going to repair the bad areas so I bought Rot Doctor. After more careful examination I decided to go with a complete floor replacement. From what I've read in the forums it sounds like marine grade plywood is the way to go. Since I have the Rot Doc. I will be using that to seal the wood before installation. Is it still necessary to use marine grade if I'm treating with the Rot Doc anyway? It would be nice to save a little on the wood since I spent alot on the Rot Doc.

thenewkid64 · 03-17-2005, 11:17 AM

The marine grade wood offers 2 advantages over "regular" plywood.

It uses glues that are designed to withstand water, and it normally has no voids so it is a stronger sheet. Those are the things I am aware of. There may be more to it that just that.

The rot doctor will help to prevent a problem from starting on either type, but if you go with a less expensive wood you need to be sure you stay with an exterior grade or it will delaminate on you pretty quick if exposed to high moisture.

Being that you have a Bubble, you are looking a what, 3 sheets? I would do it with the marine grade if it were me. The extra cost means it will not need to be done again for a long time.

Ken J · 03-17-2005, 11:45 AM

Marine plywood and ACX use the exact same glue. Marine plywood uses a bit better core than ACX. Marine will cost about 2x what ACX does. FWIW, most of us that have done floor replacements are using ACX, few have used marine. In addition to using epoxy on the edges, I used Varathane to coat/seal the plywood top and bottom - thats why if you look at my floor it looks a bit dark.

Ken J

Bob Thompson · 03-17-2005, 06:17 PM

In addition to using marine grade plywood, you should consider the species of wood. Heartwood douglas fir (the red part of the log) is naturally rot resistant as is white oak. Heartwood douglas fir would be my first choice. If you can't find either, you can always treat the marine plywood with Olympic Stain wood preservative. As for Rot Doctor, I've tried to use it in the past with poor results. Usually the poor results are because the wood is too far gone. The only thing I would ever use it on is wood that is near impossible to access for rebuilding. Just my .02 .

TomW · 03-17-2005, 06:31 PM

Keep in mind that if you do at least a yearly check of your exterior aluminum seams, and a detailed interior perimeter check of the floor's general condition, you can keep abreast of any water problems that could rot out whatever floor you either have, or end up installing.

An ounce of prevention...

Tom

58BUBBLE · 03-17-2005, 09:08 PM

Thanks for all the info guys, I'm thinking the ADX with Rot Doc around the edges. While my shell is off I will be resealing all the seams with Parbond and seals with Vulkem. Today while inspecting my frame I found some more things I'm concerned about. Fortunately I know a good welder and my company owns 2 arc welders. I am hoping to lift the shell this weekend so that I can get started on the frame. Are there specefic things I should do to beef up the frame, or is it enough just to make sure all the original welds are good? Also, can I set my shell on the grass or do I need to build a frame for it to sit on? What would I do without this forum??

58BUBBLE · 03-20-2005, 03:50 PM

Major progress! Yeterday I got my shell off and it is now sitting on saw horses that I constructed. Tomorrow I will be taking the frame to be repaired. I am planning on sealing it with spray on bedliner after the welding. ( I have about 10 cans of this left over from a job my company did.) Is there any problem with using this? BTW it is petroleum based.
Next question: When I removed the U channel I noticed that airstream mounted this on top of the original linoleum which acted like a gasket between the subfloor and U channel. I am planning on doing my floor with Pergo-like laminate. It doesn't make sense to run the pergo under the U channel the way the original floor was. Should I just screw the U channel directly to the subfloor and run the pergo up to it? Do I need to put some type of gasket in between the U channel and floor? If I pergo the entire floor are there any height issues I'll have reinstalling my interior? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. TIA

Ken J · 03-20-2005, 09:07 PM

Congradulations. Not so sure about the bedliner stuff, though I have to say I don't know why I think that. Most of us have used either something like POR15 or good ol rustoleum.

Should be no problem bolting U channel directly to the floor (no need for a gasket) - thats what most of us have done. In my case I did epoxy the edges and Varathane the rest of the floor top and bottom. For sure would not run the Pergo under the U channel - in fact, I would (plan to do myself) to only put the Pergo in after the Cabinets are in and put the Pergo only on the areas around - not inside the cabinets - Pergo is pretty heavy stuff - you want to try to keep things as lite as possible on those old 50's frames - unless you beef up the frame.

Yes you will have problems putting the interior back in if you Pergo the whole floor - it will raise the cabinets up 1/2 inch or so - so you could have to trim the bottom of the cabinets - as I said much better to work around the cabinets -

Now pictures pictures - we all want to see pictures of your progress!

Ken

58BUBBLE · 03-20-2005, 10:12 PM

What are you planning on using in the cabinet areas? Will you put the cabinets directly on the plywood floor and then just vinyl inside? Trimming the cabs would not be that big a deal but I would be concerned about the weight issue. (Thanks for bringing that up.) What if I covered the entire floor in vinyl, install cabs, and then pergo just the main area. That way I would have vinyl in the cabs and under the bed, etc. Kind of a waste of vinyl I guess. What do you think? My camera is having some problems but I am going to see if I can borrow one to get some pictures posted. Thanks for the info so far!

Ken J · 03-21-2005, 06:46 AM

In the cabinet areas I will either leave the plywood, if that doesn't look good, I'll trim pieces of vinyl or carpet largely depending on whats in there (carpet so things don't slid around) You could do the vinyl on the entire floor then pergo, but I think that would not be necessary.

Ken

Paul Mayeux · 03-21-2005, 08:05 AM

On my Overlander I installed the Pergo and had to trim 3/8" off the bottoms of most of the cabinets. It made for a clean looking installation, but if I were to do it over again I would have run the pergo around the cabinets and used a small trim piece. Trimming the cabinets was a pain. On the Caravel, I used the Forbo Marmoleum and covered almost the entire floor before installing the cabinets. The area under the shower and the black water tank and the fresh water tank I didn't cover. Before I laid the linoleum, I belt sanded and thoroughly soaked the plywood with Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer, though I think they call it something else now. It all made for a clean looking installation.