A Firm Floor for Feet

This camper update was no surprise. When we first saw the craft, we immediately noticed the give and sag of the vinyl flooring. It was still supportive under our weight and wasn't as if you would fall through to the ground, Flintstones style but we knew it was in certain need of repair. The firsts step involved box cutting the well worn vinyl 'tile' out and tossing that mess to the scrap heap. Once removed, we were hit with the realization that once again, we were in the thick of a large scale project.

Original Early 80's tile flooring

The floor was another pancake style build with a top layer of wood underlain by Styrofoam underlain by another piece of wood; all of which was screwed down through the aluminum water barrier on top of the metal frame. We cut out all the flooring down to the aluminum sheeting (which was a lovely turf green) and removed all the scary rusty screws we could. Some had to be dremeled and destroyed beyond recognition. We also pulled all the vinyl out of the cabinets where multiple spots were still wet and soft. Those locations were squirted with some GreatStuff Foam in a can (watch out, it expands alot!) and added wood fillers if it was needed. That should hold for a while, Right?

We laid out planks which were supported by the horizontal running framework. We also marked up with spray paint/tape/marker where these supports were. Numerous times, we almost took the plunge right through the aluminum due to missed steps.

Everyone working Hard to get the flooring Out

For the repairs, we didn't skip steps. We went straight to the plywood boards overlain by a thin sheet of Luan wood. The plywood was cut to replace the center walk way and the entrance area including the interior/exterior accessed cubby (aka the door side kitchen bench). Other spots were deemed ok to stay.

We waiting till after painting the cabinets to install the new flooring. This way, there was no chance to make a mess on our beautiful new floor. And no tape either! (Well at least less tape since the tabletops were to remain original) For the cabinet body color, we used paint from the hardware store that was a mismatched batch for reduced price. It also was a special type of paint to reduce chips when bumped or knocked. We got primer and paint in place and let dry for a week.

When we came back, the floor was fit for install. We used remnants of the flooring from the cabin that Mark was more than willing to give up and get out the door. The tongue-in-groove fitment was a little tricky at first to operate with but after some pushing, and cutting and wedging, we put the majority of the panels in place. All in all, we had ONLY one whole plank and a couple small scraps left. AMAZING

We have yet to do the trim pieces along the edge which will seal any gaps and give a nice finish. Until then, here's some pictures of what it looks like. We got some of the cabinets (drawers) in last weekend with new home made dividers and will be putting the rest of them on hopefully this weekend.

Not bad huh. Well we are getting there piece by piece and hopefully can sum up the major stuff before it gets too darn cold to be outside in the weather.