Floor Insulation/Materials

[PNWorBUST72]

So my subfloor is toast...good thing we planned to rib it down to studs and sheet metal anyway.

Once I get the old stuff out, clean it, fix any damage, rust treat it and then paint it, what have you guys done for insulation and flooring materials?

We are thinking about keeping the final floor product simple, peel and stick vinyl.  They appear easy to replace, durable as hell and easy to replace or re glue if they pop up.  Plus they take almost no space...

I wanted to put down a MLV soundproofing material but have heard that its not good to use sandwiched between two sheet of plywood.  Maybe just put it up from underneath in the bays and whatever area ends up being my genny spot?

Is there a reason NOT to use spray foam in the floor where you can?  I see alot of people stuff pieces of rigid and gill in the gap with canned spray foam.

For materials I am thinking of marine grade 1/2 plywood on the bottom, did anyone using furring strips to add more insulation on top of the first layer, is it worth it?  I am not raising this rood FYI...

Then maybe some of that underlayment, followed by another 1/2 plywood.


Thoughts?  Suggestions?  Details on how you did or would do it again? 

[Utahclaimjumper]

 The sorry part of "peel & stick" is dirt gets between the tiles and looks like crap, and quickly to.>>>Dan

[Geoff]

I used some product from Home Depot that was brown sheets.  It was sound deadening but also worked as insulation.  I replaced the bad parts of the original floor, put the sound board, then 3/4" regular plywood, with snap together Formica flooring.  Similar to the snap together wood simulated wood flooring you see at all the stores, which also uses thin foam. 

I started with a 6' 8" ceiling so putting all this stuff didn't matter.

[buswarrior]

Above the wheels and engine, some busnuts think really hard about their choice of materials in order to slow a fire.

You won't stop the bus burning down, but the earlier the poison smoke starts rolling from burning insulating materials, the less time you have to exit unscathed to type about it on here?

Double skins of plywood also double the weight of the install, and steal headroom.

Sometimes carpet style floor coverings for the cooler weather will suffice?


happy coaching!
buswarrior

[Geoff]

Carpet uses carpet pad, and is harder to clean.  Probably burns easier too, if that is your concern.

[eagle19952]

The sorry part of "peel & stick" is dirt gets between the tiles and looks like crap, and quickly to.>>>Dan

Depends, on the quality of the tile and who does the sweeping...ours shows no sign of "looks like crap", we have it in the kitchen/bath.it's been on the floor since 1998.
Not a single piece has come loose.

[PNWorBUST72]

Ok so lets take this in steps.

Do most of you just fill in the voids with rigid foam scraps or has anyone spray foamed the areas?

[chessie4905]

To keep the tiles tight, use a tile primer first. After done, coat all joints with liquid floor wax to seal dirt and moisture from getting down and under tiles.

[solardude]

I don't think there is one right way to insulate the floor, I'll share what I did and then you'll one more perspective.

I stripped the original floor down to the structural beams. I was nervous to do this because I'm sure the floor sheathing does stiffen the unibody. Ultimately I justified it because I wanted to insulate and run wiring and reroute the forward AC lines(and clean the NASTY AC return). I through bolted the 7/8 ply to the frame the best I could to help stiffen it all back up again. One thing I have learned is everything turns into a science project on the bus.

So - I did not want to fill the "engineering space" with foam because if/when I need to get to the air, fuel, AC, Heat, etc under the floor I think if it were filled with foam you might as well drive the bus of a cliff rather than dig it out. Therefore I laid down a layer of rigid foam and "glued" it all in with Greatstuff. Then had the Foam Man fill it all in on top. After that I bolted down the 7/8 ply and laid another layer of 1/2inch foil faced foam, then I put down poly sheeting that wrapped up the walls to window hight to prevent any NOX from coming through the floor. After that I laid down a sheet of 1/2 ply.

There was some concern about height as I'm 6' 2", but it does not become a problem till the very rear, and that does not matter so much as I don't plan to stand on the bed.

Good Luck
SolarDude

[Tom Y]

I stripped and foam over old plywood. I did fix some bad spots. I would think about lead sheets over engine a axle if doing again.

[Oonrahnjay]

I stripped and foam over old plywood. I did fix some bad spots. I would think about lead sheets over engine a axle if doing again.

    For noise protection, stability, fire proofing and/or others???   What's your thinking here, Tom?

[Jeremy]

You can buy composite flooring sheet that already has both lead and foam noise-deadening sheets built into them. This particular example is OSB rather than plywood, and I wouldn't personally use OSB anywhere in my bus - it's just inferior to plywood in every way in my opinion, but I know others have been pleased with the OSB floors they have installed



Jeremy

[windtrader]

That stuff looks like excellent material for lining the generator compartment. Not particularly light but effective. Looks expensive though

[DoubleEagle]

That sandwich panel looks like the equivalent of Columbus Custom Coach's (now gone) layers of plywood, cork, and lead sheet they used in super-expensive Entertainer coaches costing over a million. It isolated noise & vibration quite well, but it adds cost and weight.

[Tom Y]

Bruce, Just to keep noise down.  Tom