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Bus Discussion => Bus Topics ( click here for quick start! ) => Topic started by: Scott & Heather on May 01, 2016, 04:59:17 AM

Title: How to floor 102" wide coach??
Post by: Scott & Heather on May 01, 2016, 04:59:17 AM
Just realized that a 4X8 sheet of plywood won't stretch across my 8' 1" floor width...now what? The wood needs to reach to the very edges so it can be bolted and screwed to the lip above the luggage bay areas....


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Title: Re:
Post by: thomasinnv on May 01, 2016, 05:59:00 AM
If you go to a building supply  (not a big box like home depot, but a lumber supply yard) you can usually get plywood in 4 x 10 or 4 x 12 sheets. Might have to order it though.
Title: Re: How to floor 102" wide coach??
Post by: sledhead on May 01, 2016, 06:02:53 AM
cut it at a seam and use another sheet . you will use it somewhere
Title: Re: How to floor 102" wide coach??
Post by: luvrbus on May 01, 2016, 06:25:23 AM
OSB floor decking is easy to buy in 9 ft sheets it would be fine if you are over laying on a existing floor
Title: Re:
Post by: thomasinnv on May 01, 2016, 08:01:42 AM
What cliff said. I overlaid an existing floor so I left a 1/2" gap on either side  (it was actually less than that). Since I furred the walls out 3/4 " on either side the small gap was not an issue anyway.
Title: Re: How to floor 102" wide coach??
Post by: Seangie on May 01, 2016, 09:30:00 AM
Scott,

Make sure you leave a good sized gap, at least 1/2" to  3/4 (or more)between the outside bus skin and the plywood sub floor.  That wood will shrink and expand more than you think.  That gap also leaves a channel to run wiring and if you have leaks from the outside (old rivets, roof heat and cooling expansion gaps, windows) it gives a place for the water to run off under the coach instead of pooling on the floor there at the wall.

When you do the finish work for the inside wall it will cover up any of the gap.

-Sean
Title: Re: How to floor 102" wide coach??
Post by: jav9956 on May 01, 2016, 09:58:23 AM
I ran the plywood length wise up and down the bus. I was able to put one 4 ft sheet down the middle full sized. Then I put 2ft wide sheets on either side. You can see it in my pictures and if you want more let me know. Doing it this way I was able to split the two gaps you would have on either side into for smaller gaps. I had some space on the edge that I filled with Great Stuff foam and was really happy with how tight it sealed and that I had a barrier between the edge of the plywood on the wall of the bus. On the cracks in the center I just filled with a little construction glue though they are small enough to leave alone (or silicone could have worked). I am very satisfied with the way the floor turned out and everything lined up the way it was supposed to with the studs.
Title: Re: How to floor 102" wide coach??
Post by: DoubleEagle on May 01, 2016, 10:51:46 AM
It sounds like you stripped the old floor out completely like on the previous MCI, and you want a solid deck from flange to flange. It looks like you either get longer sheets, which would be wasteful and more expensive per sheet, or figure a way to extend the flange with metal.
Title: Re: How to floor 102" wide coach??
Post by: Scott & Heather on May 01, 2016, 12:25:51 PM
Quote from: DoubleEagle on May 01, 2016, 10:51:46 AM
It sounds like you stripped the old floor out completely like on the previous MCI, and you want a solid deck from flange to flange. It looks like you either get longer sheets, which would be wasteful and more expensive per sheet, or figure a way to extend the flange with metal.

Correct.... Ok I'll have to buy long sheets. Using advantech