I need to fit a ply floor into my panel van conversion camper I know some people use a packer piece between the high points but im not going to do this as my floor isnt in the best condition and has a few patches which raise the floor in places as well as a few upward dents which raise it in places aswell At the moment ive a 1.5 cm thick piece of crumbling chipboard that doesent quite go the width of the bus Im useless with wood and struggle to even cut a straight line with a saw So what i want to do is drive to the local timber merchants in the van and have them cut the ply for me so i can drop it straight in and be done with it So what size and thickness of ply do i ask for and what should i roughly be paying as i dont want to get ripped off
Oh i forgot to mention i want it to cover the entire floor area so the cupboards and bed sit on top of it
Hi mate, So, if you want one piece of wood to cover the whole floor it will need to be cut from a 10' x 5' board, not a standard 8' x 4'. Not all places stock this size so worth checking. I think what most do, and I did, is patchwork it from an 8'x4'. If I remember rightly you can do it in three pieces. I'd say you want 9mm ply. Birch ply is best as its a much higher quality than Far Eastern and doesn't get as knackered by moisture. I have no idea how much you would get charged. I'd happily do it for you if you were a bit nearer! We order a lot of birch ply at work and I think it's about £40 for a sheet of 9mm. Oh, and don't worry if you can't cut a straight line, I haven't found a straight line anywhere on my bus yet Cheers Nick
I think it;s been mentioned before but you need to bring the recess in the cargo floor up to the edge. The difference is about 6mm. So we install a cut of 6mm ply into the recess then the ply thickness of your choice over that all the way to the edges. If you don't fill the recess it will bow.
I used 9mm, it went in in 2 pieces, if you buy a reasonable grade from a builder merchants, should cost about £30 for a couple of sheets AB grade which has one really good side and maybe a stain underside
Cheers for the replys guys Ive been out for a measure up and i reckon it can be done in two pieces from a 8 ft x 4ft piece For the rear piece under the bed it looks like im going to have to make a cardboard template and buy a jigsaw to cut the edges to fit the shape of the van otherwise theres going to be gaps round the edges This is looking like its going to be an expensive outlay to just get a flat floor down especially ive im going to have to fit a 6mm piece into the recess
I did mine in 2 bits for next to nothing, Went down my local large B&Q to the trade counter and found 2 offcuts big enough to get the sizes I wanted from (think someone had paid for a full sheet and just had the width of a shelf cut from it) cost me £12 all in from memory. Certainly always worth a look before you splash out on a full sheet for anyone like me that likes to save money if they can !
The 6mm is cheap. We do it from a single 8x4 sheet. One cut for the width of the van, the the offcut can be cut and fitted in 2 pieces under the bed.
Have you a link to your resto thread madfrankie dude i cant seem to find it I think ive got it clear in my head how to do it now,im just going to have to wait for these floor cuts off silver so i can get the cargo floor to more like its original shape and heights before i do it otherwise non of its going to sit correctly
Use marine ply. It's the green stuff. It's water proof (To a certain extent) and saves any problems later on with water ingress from above or below.
I used some super cheapy stuff on mine for the base layer - that stuff that looks like compressed shavings of wood? Then cheapest grade 3.6mm ply on top. Westy and others just used hardboard so don't over-spec - no need. I got the shaved stuff off a cruddy wood merchant on our site - he gave it me so it must be cheap as he's a tight-arse. The 3.6 ply was less than a tenner a sheet. Using thin on top makes it neater at the door edge strip too
http://thelatebay.com/index.php?topic=198.0 Ere you go, towards the bottom. I'm off to tinker in the van so I'll see if I can find those measurements.
I just put down slats for the 6mm bit (you could place these round your high bits) just laid on a bed if silicone, when the the rest goes on top it holds it firmly, just try to make sure that you get a slat under the joints in the top layer
Cheers major thats another option i hadent thought of Ive got the option of some more floor cuts off zed now so i may be able to get my floor close to the way its supposed to be after all If i dont fully manage it i may utilise your idea for the packing pieces You wouldent believe how much this has screwed my head over time
Hmm i wonder if i could lay down some closed cell foam as the packing piece instead of ply It would be lighter and insulate as well and ive a few closed cell foam camping mats spare i no longer use
