Basement Paint

[64MCI]

Hello all,

The plywood that my fresh and black water tanks were sitting on in a basement bay had become rotted, so I removed the tanks from my bus and then shoveled out the rotten plywood.  Now that that bay is mostly empty and accessible, I'd like to repaint it before I put things back together.

So, couple questions...

What paint is recommended for the bays?  In the marine world, Interlux makes a produce called Bilgekote that works pretty well.  It's fairly expensive though at about $100/gallon.  Anybody have thoughts on that product or something else that works better or is cheaper.

Do you paint the floor of the bay as well?  Currently, it's not painted, but has been covered by plywood.  I'll put new plywood back in as well, but wondered if painting the metal would be beneficial. 

Thanks,
Jed

[chessie4905]

I use a gloss latex floor paint in light or medium grey.

[richard5933]

If I had to redo the bay with our tanks I wouldn't use plywood. I would use 3/4" PVC sheeting. It's light weight, fairly strong, can be worked with wood tools, and isn't damaged by water or moisture. This is what I made our battery box from, and it seems like it would be much more up to the task than plywood.

But, if you already have the plywood installed, I would recommend porch & floor paint from Home Depot or Lowes. This stuff is pretty durable - designed for walking on and taking a beating. I had some left from doing our porch floor and used it in my bays on the plywood, and it's held up well. Much cheaper than the marine stuff.

[chessie4905]

My dry bays have close woven or deluxe indoor-outdoor carpeting, which has held up well. plywood may be better under the water and holding tanks for shock absorbtion. Maybe could use the treated variety to avoid rot.

[luvrbus]

Tractor Supply sells 3/4 in thick rubber mats that most people use under the tanks now,helps cutting down on the road noise too
   

[Lin]

I think those would be horse stall mats.  They look to be almost indestructible.  For our uses anyway

[richard5933]

Not sure if this was a GM thing or a Custom Coach thing, but the floor of all my bays are covered in 3/4" marine plywood painted in porch gray. I know that it was there at least since CC did the conversion, which was on a new shell. That's the kind of thing I thought we were talking about.

If it's just something to put under the tanks to keep them off the metal, then I like the idea of the horse mats.

I like having the plywood floor in all my bays, as it makes mounting other things really easy. Also makes laying carpet easier where I want it.

[TomC]

My basement was built by me in 1994 using 3/4 outside plywood. Primed with Kilz then painted with semi-gloss white from HD. Still good. Good Luck, TomC

[chessie4905]

The only issue I see with rubber mats is that moisture or liquid can be trapped and never dry. At least plywood can help in evaporation. Otherwise it should last forever and provide great shock absorption.

[64MCI]

Thanks everybody! 

I'll likely still use plywood, but I like the idea of the PVC sheets and horse stall mats.  I'll definitely check those out.  I wonder how well the horse stall mat would hold a screw.

Thanks for the paint suggestions as well.  I'll see what I can find for a floor paint.

Jed

[luvrbus]

Thanks everybody! 

I'll likely still use plywood, but I like the idea of the PVC sheets and horse stall mats.  I'll definitely check those out.  I wonder how well the horse stall mat would hold a screw.

Thanks for the paint suggestions as well.  I'll see what I can find for a floor paint.

Jed


Even when I used marine plywood on my Eagle I never used screws only adhesive ,any place you cut or pernitrate plywood with screws you are going to need to seal it because in high humidity areas it will rot in time lol even the 100 bucks a sheet marine plywood will BTDT   

[Ed Hackenbruch]

Don't need to screw down the thicker horse stall mats, they won't move around. If you have to piece parts together just use a silicone sealant between them, also do where they butt up against the bulkhead walls. If you cover the whole bay floor any water will go to the bay doors and out and won't get underneath if you seal those under those edges too.

[richard5933]

... I wonder how well the horse stall mat would hold a screw...

If you're asking about screwing them down, there is not much need. A bead of adhesive across the inside edge is all you need.

If you're asking about screwing other things to the rubber mat, they won't hold a screw well at all. You can use T nuts from the bottom if you need, but the mat is flexible and shouldn't be considered structural.

[buswarrior]

The good thing about that plywood, it communicated that maintenance was needed.

In designing the waterbay, a busnut will be well served to consider how leaked water is going to escape. Deciding right at the design phase, it WILL leak at some point is helpful. Sealing the bottoms often act in the other direction, they seal water in, not out.

Having the underside able to breath, putting the compressed air to the valleys of the bay floor periodically, and blowing thru to the far side, and watching what comes out can warn of issues, bay door seals, or water system failure.

Depending on your bus vintage, the edges of the bay/support may not be as resistant to corrosion as the floor panel itself. Any repairs made earlier in its life, the rivets may be at risk too.

There's no part of these beasts that aren't on some periodic inspection and maintenance list!

Happy coaching!
Buswarrior

[oltrunt]

Just a heads up on the horse stall mats. I used them for sound attenuation in my genny box (works great) but I discovered that while they looked like solid rubber they actually were made of ground up used tire rubber vulcanized into sheeting that has a crystalline composition that let water pass through.  That is not a problem with my usage but I don't think I'd use this particular material under my water tanks. I don't know if all horse stall mat is like this but it would be smart to check.  Jack