New Super Floor

The last and most important thing to be installed was the floor. There had been concerns about putting in insulation. It was a great idea to prevent heat from coming in, but we had read about others having problems with squeaking from the insulation rubbing against parts. Our remedy .... GAPS! Not just for the insulation but for the wood frame. We left about 1/4" between the plywood, lumber, insulation and bus frame.

One thing we give gaps was the paper we layed on the entire bus floor's metal frame. For that we used roofing paper and made it overlap the walls by about 2".

Here was our floor construction:

• 1st layer = 30# felt roofing paperSdf

• 2nd layer = 1/4" plywood

• 3^rd layer = 1x3 lumber framing with ¾” insulation board sandwiched inbetween

• 4^th layer = 5/8” plywood

We layed all the paper and 1/4" ply first. Sometimes we had to cut off as little as 1/2" from the plywood so that the edges would end up in the middle of the bus's metal frame below. If Michael hadn't had the foresight to mark up the frames' location along the wall panels, we would have had a hell of a time trying to guess where the pieces were. Thank goodness for his genius!

We started at the front of the bus, which is the hardest, most intricate part. In addition to cutting around the wheel wells, we had little notches for frame pieces to consider. We actually had to redo this first piece because it just wasn't fitting well and fitting straight. We hated to waste material, but we were getting frustrated jiggling and wiggling the thing in. I'm glad we saved our sanity at the cost of another sheet of ply.

After those first 2 layers were complete from the front to to the end of the bus, came in with the laborious 3rd layer and 4th layers that required a lot of measuring and cutting.

Once we had a section cut and tested, we glued it onto the 1/4" ply with construction adhesive. There were two types, one for the wood and one for the insulation. Who knew they needed their own glue!

Simone liked to supervise periodically.  "You missed a spot, Daddy!"

Immediately after the 3rd layer was glued down, we put more glue on top of the pieces and laid a (precut and pre-tested) layer of 5/8" ply on top. The rain barrels (recycled 5 gallon buckets) Uncle Frankie had left out for the chickens came in handy as they were placed on top the entire sandwich of wood and insulation so that the adhesive would dry with the pieces in the correct place. Don't worry PETA, we left some barrels of water out for the chickens to stay hydrated.

Click to play V I D E O: New Floor - Layout

You might notice that Michael and were not talking at all in this video. We were T I R E D! And it was hot at this point. Minnesota had reached record temperatures at this point. Day after day of 90 degrees that were only exacerbated with the humidity, thus giving a feel of 100 degree days. I remember one day getting into the car and the temperature gauge reading 105!

Right after we put the buckets down, Michael set out to really fasten the floor to the bus's frame. He used 2" and 2 1/2" Tek Screws that self-tapped. 

Click to Play V I D E O: Fastening to Frame

The floor took about 2-1/2 days. At this point we were ready to pack up and leave! I had gotten a little ambitious though and wondered if we should install the ceiling. Michael predicted it would take 3 days to complete. I promptly said to nevermind. "Let's get on the road!"