Advice needed please .I am now at the point of putting a new flooring into my bus and things have moved on since it was built in the 70s.I have new ply cut to the old shape and new orange carpet but would it be worth putting in a membrane to stop damp or any type of underlay . I have two young kids that will no doubt spill drinks etc etc .If it would help i also have some surplus sound deadening pads that I could use ! Thank you for any replies .
We have vinyl on top of board - so it's waterproof - then a couple of mats on top for comfort - easily shaken out to remove the bits when camping - carpet fixed in place is asking for trouble with kids (or a dog in our case)
Hi , Thanks for reply back but I do like carpet and it a industrial hard wearing type used in corridors . Bus will be closely monitored for damp but i would just like to start off with doing as much as I can .
There is a thin silver sheet (can't remember the name) but, it's as thin as paper, acts as a damp proof and heat retainer.... Might be worth it.
I’ve been told not to use anything for risk of trapping moisture. Others will know more as you could fit most of my bus knowledge on this full stop. Edit: nothing under the ply for clarity.
I ended up with Flotex - as it is a waterproof carpet-like flooring which is comfortable in bare feet, but is basically flocked vinyl. Used in shops and bathrooms. I would put a waterproof layer under your carpet, and make it possible to easily remove the carpet when you do have a disaster. Make it into a removable mat. Otherwise unless you have varnished or sealed the ply you will end up with a soggy carpet and plywood on a wet day or spilled drink day, with mud worked through the fibres of the carpet into the smelly layer between the carpet and the wood. Under the ply, the normal thing is a layer of some flooring insulation, at least away from the edges, as otherwise the ply bows down in the middle.
I look at it this way. I have gone through 5 daily drivers since I got my bus in 1990. The bus is a keeper, so I don’t try to insulate it the way modern cars are.Every couple of years or so, depending on how much I drive it, I take out whatever flooring arrangement I have and check the bare floor for water incursions, rust, etc. Usually whatever flooring I have is ratty enough that it’s not worth keeping. Even expensive stuff ends up being cheap for the quantity required. I prefer not to use any kind of sound deadening that sticks to bare metal. I think you get the idea.
Love this site ! Take a snippet from everyone's replies and things become a lot more clearer . I have now decided my route and with all of your directions I stand a good chance getting there . I was overthinking the whole process and trying to go the modern route with sound deadening and insulation but if anyone has had a water leak in a modern car the underlay never really dries under the carpet (unless removed and dried) and the car takes on rainforests humidity in the summertime . Thanks
Mate who got me my engine, had a rat splitty. He just painted the bare metal floor with Santex outdoor house paint, for a bit of grip, then chucked an old rug in for comfort.
