bus floor

[crown]

 are we talking about roofing felt tar paper ?

[cody]

no roofing felt is just a paper with a coating, what you want is genuine felt.

[crown]

cody the only other felt i known of my wife uses sewing or the felt on my pool table
dont mean to act supid just dont understand what is this felt used for other then bus
floor i looked on e bay but did not see anything that would work sorry john

[Just Dallas]

Removed

[crown]

thanks dallas now i known what we are talking about  heck hear in costa rica they dont use any weaterstrips
mid 70 year round but will try and find some or order it from usa thanks again

[luvrbus]

JohnEd, I don't know what the older Prevost uses but the newer H series and XL use a noiseless metal between the subframe and the plywood and there is no gap on the floor between the walls or plywood any where.  here is how it is laid down

1 metal

2  1/2 inch Poplar plywood

3  sound deadening material ( lead for VIP and Entertainer shell)

4   another sheet of 1/2 inch Poplar plywood

5    flooring   




good luck

[belfert]

cody the only other felt i known of my wife uses sewing or the felt on my pool table
dont mean to act supid just dont understand what is this felt used for other then bus
floor i looked on e bay but did not see anything that would work sorry john

Can't you buy felt at a local store of some sort?  I have no idea how rural your area is.  I know some areas of Mexico and Central America as almost as urbanized as the USA.

[BillC]

   I would think any type of material would hold moisture and enhance rusting.    1/8 inch gap is standard for any plywood to allow expansion and contraction.

[robertglines1]

From the book on 89 prevost....The floor is made of 2 layers of 1/2 plywood separated by 1/8 inch insulation to reduce power train and road noise....there is a metal sheet below the floor outside of bay areas.appears to be the same insulating material between the cross members and bottom sheet. From a laymans opinion it does a good job on the noise..

[JohnEd]

Clifford,

Thank you.  And thereby hangs another tale.  Materials!  Poplar that I have seen is many more plys than "regular" plywood.  It was also much lighter and way stronger.  Cabinet maker doing a Pre remodel showed it to me tears ago.  I had never heard of it and was impressed....it was pretty, as well.  Maybe some of the flooring material needs spacing and some doesn't?? If you put two layers down you will be locking them together somehow so they should act as one for expansion prediction.  I can't doubt you for a second Clefford, truly.  Cody, on the other hand is a wood worker/cabinet maker at heart if not by profession.  And, Robert is looking at his floor and it HAS gaps.  This is one of those situations where when the truth is known then all were right and correct.  Now all we need is that "truth" to sort it all out.  I don't have it and that's for sure.

Thanks again, Clifford and all.

John

[belfert]

My bus has aluminum pans under the floor except over the bays and the fuel tank.  The pans are filled with spray foam insulation to deaden noise.  No material between the plywood and the metal structure.

[crown]

 hi when i gutted the monico that had cheap plastic sheets layed on frame no glue then 1/2 ply running front to back and another
1/2 ply running side to side over the first ply they put tar paper over it that to me was a big no no as it traped water and was full of
mildow john

[bryanhes]

I know the question here pertains to laying a new floor but are there any steps that are taken when the plywood subfloor is in good condition and you are simply going to put down wood flooring. This would be on a 4905.

Thanks and hope I am not hijacking your post crown,

Bryan

[JohnEd]

None of the plywood floors are left uncovered so I don't see what is wrong with your question.  I am assuming you are talking about the Pergo type floors.  Some of that stuff comes with the foam sheting attached to the underside of the "planks".  Usually, yo lay down a 1/8 sheet of their special foam first and then put the floor on top of that.  It is a slight insulator but it mainly keeps the flooring from having a hollow sound when you walk on it.  Expansion gaps are needed at the 'side" of the room where the ends are located and there is a max run where you must also install a gap in the other axis perpendicular to the plank.  30 feet comes to mind on one I looked at.  The floor floats over the sub floor so you can't bolt stuff thru it with out taking special pains.

The absolutely critical part is that your floor needs to be level.  Any way you can do that, it is a must.  If there is a "dip" in your floor you will find that you cannot get the planks to lock together.  Even if it is a little dip....one that you would not normally think you should address with floor leveling compound.  My wife laid Pergo in the back bedroom before my arrival.  The floor is a mess.  it has 15 or so unlocked planks and the gaps are obvious and ugly.  She went back to the store for help three times and got no solution.  Yes, the floor is well stained with her tears.  It took me a few minutes but I figured out that there were many slight dips in the floor.  24 foot long room?  I filed it away as the room would have to be disassembled and emptied of every tool I own to fix it.  I attended a seminar on installing the floating floors long after my epiphany and watched the factory rep instructor struggle with a section of floor that would not allow the planks to lock.  He was dumbfounded and he was the "expert".  His demo floor underlayment was without bracing in the middle and all went well till he knelt on the floor to attach the planks in the middle.  He is better at his job now.

HTH,

John

[bryanhes]

I was thinking about laying the flooring down first before adding cabinets but now that you mention it the wood floor would need room to expand and contract so fastening anything thru the wood flooring into the subfloor may not be a good idea?  I was just thinking it may be easier to lay the wood floor first instead of having to cut around everything.

Bryan