Wood flooring

[Up north mi]

I have a sunrader it has spongy floor I know I could try to reinforce the floor underneath my question? has anybody put down wood flooring 3/4 inch the real stuff? Glued and screwed? Any  suggestions?

Edited March 1, 2016 by Up north mi

[linda s]

Laying down plywood on the top and screwing it down is what most of us do. I think 3/4 inch is overkill and adds more weight than needed. 1/2 inch seems to be enough. Karen also mentioned that predrilling a slightly larger hole than the shaft of your screw brings the floor up tighter than not doing it. I know I didn't do that and I did have some problems making a tight fit. I think using construction glue is a good idea too but of course I didn't do that either. The bottom of the floor there is nothing to grab. Thin metal sheet, very thin plywood and a thick layer of foam. All you end up doing is compressing the foam. Yeah I made that mistake too.

Linda S

[Up north mi]

Hay Linda I was thinking of 3\4 inch tongue and groove hard wood flooring glued and screwed have you heard of any body doing this?

[jjrbus]

I was recently in a Sea Breeze owned by an elderly gentleman,  (I'm 68 and calling someone elderly so really old)  He was concerned about the softness of his floor and was contemplating replacing/repairing it. 

When considering the makeup of the floor being some really thin OSB, foam and thin sheet metal, I told him if it was mine I would not replace it.  His and mine has some give to it and feels soft, not solid like 3/4" oak over 3/4" plywood supported by 2X10 joists. It is not mushy or ready to give way, simply feels not solid.

IMO 3/4" wood flooring adds too much weight and is overkill.           Jim

Edited March 1, 2016 by jjrbus

[linda s]

Yes and Sunrader floors had some flex when new. Kept things from being jarring when driven down the road and flexed with the fiberglass shell. I was told this by a gentleman who owned 5 Sunraders over the years all purchased new from the factory in Vallejo. He was good friends' with Dean and Antonio factory manager and foreman.

Linda S

[jjrbus]

Unfortunately the term's soft,give or flex are subjective.   But something that should be taken into consideration before replacing floor.     Jim

[Totem]

I would advise getting the bamboo hardwoods (not the engineered bamboo but the full solid thickness)* got mine from home depot. they are bulletproof, and so hard that they will have no flex; would not require additional weight of another layer of plywood and can just be cut and glued; no screws needed though I did put a few anchor screws in on the edges where I knew what was behind it every 12 boards or so. What's more they are waterproof, sand proof and wont scratch and buff right out. they are the granite of hardwood flooring.

Note, put a higher number tooth carbide tipped saw on your miter saw and cut SLOWLY....

I love mine, I went with the tiger.

Edited March 1, 2016 by Totem

[zero]

13 hours ago, Up north mi said:

 

I don't see anybody talking about what type of plywood.  BIG differences.  3/8" thick marine-grade plywood made from Birch or Fir with four-plies has more strength then 1/2" pine or poplar plywood with 3 plies like often found at places like Home Depot.  If strength and weight is important (it IS to me in an RV) - good plywood makes a big difference.   And 1/2" marine-grade plywood is often as strong as cheap pine 3/4" plywood.   Most RV builders - at least in the past - used plywood made from Douglas Fir or equiv. that was marine-grade or close.  I'm talking about structural support areas like floors. Not walls.

[Up north mi]

Totem that is what the question was have any body applied on top of the existing floor the just flooring.after reading my post it didn't sound what I was trying to say.anyway that is what I won't to do bamboo sound great you just glued it down? I am new at forms first time on any , thank for all the ideas

[Totem]

yup, just measured each, cut and ran a light bead down the tongue, pressed in and went on to the next. I would pilot hole then put a short screw in the outside edges every few boards. bamboo has 0 flex and I guarantee shy of ripping apart your camper to replace the subflooring its the next best structural thing you can do right overtop the factory floor.

btw LOVE that tongue and groove cedar you put in there . that's a sharp looking rig.

I did tongue and groove naughty pine in mine right over the factory paneling; just used short 3/4 inch brads right into it. wish I would have also glued in retrospect on that as I did horizontal.

Edited March 1, 2016 by Totem

[Up north mi]

I just started the bench walls because I wanted to up grade the inverter, it has a different size than the old one ,it was easer to build a new one on the bench than in the mh.when I took the old walls out their was some rot,and I want to put down new flooring ,the list goes on and on