Getting moving on the interior of my van now. Yesterday I took up the chip board flooring installed by the previous owner. I'd been dreading this because in one corner there was a patch of mould and I thought it might be a rotting mess underneath. Turns out the PO fitted some felt under the chip board which held water like a sponge but luckily for me only surface rust was to be found. So a good rub down and repaint and she'll be good as new. Anyway the felt got me thinking, how did I it get wet? My best bet is condensation rather than leaky van as its quite tidy in that respect. I'm going to put some 18mm marine ply down as a floor which is quite water proof but I was also thinking of putting a water proof membrane down as well. Does any one have any experience with this. Don't want to put it down only to find I'm making matters worse?!?
So just put the ply down? My window currently do not leak as replaced all the rubbers last year. No kitchen fitted yet so can't account for that
Ive just got carpet over ordinary ply, no evidence of any problems when I took it up for a look when renewing the carpet. Felt under chipboard and sat on cold steel would be a perfect recipe for wicking up any condensation going, not a good idea.
Just searched the site for this type of info so answered my first question as whether to put a membrane down, which is a no as I suspected but I am probably laying engineered real wood flooring would I need a ply base under this or could I just fix the flooring down, any advice or opinions appreciated On a separate note mine also had felt under the ply and my floor was in pretty bad nick because it had trapped the moisture. Surely that's pretty obvious so y would a PO put this down before the ply what benefit would this have
I would have thought you needed a ply base, though I would have thought using real wood might not be a great idea as it needs to 'breath' expand etc. I'd perhaps go for some engineered real wood which gives you around 3mm real wood top layer and is engineered underneath giving a much more stable finish, look for some that say ideal for kitchens etc.
i'm putting underlay, then a 3mm insulation membrane, then the ply, why? underlay will deaden and reduce noise levels, insulation will hold in heat, this is also going in the cab lining and tailgate area, ive also put rockwool insulation and silver membrane behind cards and panels, its cold on the coast in Wales, and I wanna keep warm, ~
I have got engineered flooring^^ mentioned above only reason was gunna use this as I got it dirt cheap but wanted to keep the weight down as much as poss, think I will put some ply down first, but also fancied carpet for that cosy feeling just worried that it will get trashed quick whilst camping, although it can't cost a lot to replace a square metre of carpet I suppose
I have a pack of laminate underlay, i have used some on the sides then foil bubble insulation, i was planning to put the rest under the ply floor, not sure now?
you can use LD foam as an underlay with ply laid on top. like this Motorhome manufacturers will often silicone the edges of the floor/wall and doorstep area, then linoleum, then ply Water ingress is a feature of older vehicles regardless of what you do to stop it...IMHO
you want to avoid anything that will hold water, or isolate it from the metal floor of the bus if you can....shed loads of anti rust paint before you put it down
I'd be wary of putting anything down. These vans are not the best insulated and condensation in the winter is something to bear in mind. My van had some fitted under the floor and when I lifted it up there was rust all over that you'd never see till too late
