Rotten Floor

[prncssgeek]

Any suggestions on replacing at least part of a floor that is rotten? This is on an 87 Coleman Sequoia. My husband has suggested replacing the whole floor since I've gutted it and will be repairing the roof and counter tops. You guessed it, water damage.

I've pulled the walls out, everything is out of the pup, but I can't figure out how the floor attaches to the frame.

I've seen others on this board that have replaced at least part of the floor and I'm hoping someone will take pity on a newbie and point me in the right direction.

Thanks!
Lori

[wavery]

Any suggestions on replacing at least part of a floor that is rotten? This is on an 87 Coleman Sequoia. My husband has suggested replacing the whole floor since I've gutted it and will be repairing the roof and counter tops. You guessed it, water damage.

I've pulled the walls out, everything is out of the pup, but I can't figure out how the floor attaches to the frame.

I've seen others on this board that have replaced at least part of the floor and I'm hoping someone will take pity on a newbie and point me in the right direction.

Thanks!
Lori

The floor is screwed & glued to the frame before the sides are installed. If the wood-rot doesn't extend all the way to the outer edge of the floor, you can simply cut out what is there and put in a new piece of floor.

It may not be necessary to replace the entire floor but it is extremely important to get out every little bit of rot. Wood-rot is a living organism and it will continue to spread if it is not completely removed.

If you use a skill saw (adjusted for depth) to cut out the old floor, try to make your hole perfectly square (use a carpenters square to draw straight lines). This will help in fitting the replacement floor with as little gap as possible.

Try to get the exact same thickness of flooring. It will make the job much easier. I would fill any joints with Liquid Nails and cover the entire floor with linoleum.

If you put 1/4 round moldings around the edges (and caulk them in), you may avoid any water getting under the lino.

Don't seal the bottom of whatever you decide to use for flooring. It's best to leave it un-treated so any moisture has an avenue of escape.


OH!! BTW


WELCOME TO PUT!!!

[prncssgeek]

Thanks for the warm welcome! And thanks for the great reply! I think that the worst of the mess is in the back door side corner. I've got most of the old flooring up and except for the back edge the rest of the floor looks pretty good.

Question -- when you say "Don't seal the bottom of whatever you decide to use for flooring. It's best to leave it un-treated so any moisture has an avenue of escape." I plan on using sheet vinyl, should I just glue the edges or the whole thing. I gather from what you said, I should just glue the edges.

I look forward to your answer.
Lori

[prncssgeek]

Well I went to cut the rotten part out today and figured out that the rest of the floor was dry rotted.

So using my saw I carefully cut and removed all the floor. If at any time it was glued, you couldn't tell, it came right up, no fuss no muss, no screws no glue. It was just a matter of getting a handhold on it to get it out.

So now I get to replace the whole floor.

Looks like we will soon replace the canvas and be done with it. Then the camper will be 95% new!

[ScouterMom]

Welcome to PUT - I'm so happy to see another DIY female here!

I had to smile when you said "I can't figure out how the floor attaches to the frame " - I couldn't either!

Check out my photos - I bought a 73 starcraft that had been neglected for years, and it's floor was rotted out in the back corners.  The roof posts literally dropped through the floor and cut the cables! When I bought the camper, the roof could not be raised at all.

http://community.webshots.com/user/TLauraT7

look at the album 'lift system and rotted rear corners' down toward the bottom of the page.

I couldn't figure out how it was attached, either.  what I did discover, is that everything in my camper seems to be holding something else together - I think that's how they keep them light and yet make them hold together while on the road. They're kind up 'built -up' in layers; cabinets are built in place, fastened to the floor, and help support the walls.  They're not 'installed' separately like in a house. Everything is interlocked -Nothing is independant.

I patched the rotted parts in roughly just to support the posts and re-do the lift system, so we could camp in it last summer.  but I didn't do a 'finish' job yet - I plan to put in an underlayment & replace the linoleum over the entire floor this spring. I want to pull out all the cabinets and have a solid layer - my BF is leaning toward working around the cabinets. (We'll do it right - I'll convince him.)

what wayne means about 'don't seal the floor so it can breathe' is to not paint or seal the wood with sealer UNDERNEATH the camper - leave it open to the air so that if it does get water on it, it can dry out.  You can glue the linoleum down INSIDE - you can even use treated lumber for the floor if you want - just don't paint the underside or put any coating on the underside of the camper.

  By the way - the price of membership on this board is PHOTOS!  (not really, but we can ask, right?) We LOVE to see photos of other people's problems, errrr..... projects !  So post photos somewhere of your work and mods - sounds like you have a great project going! I'm jealous - we still have snow & muck up here in Illinois and I can't get my camper out of storage to work on it for awhile yet.

Laura

[prncssgeek]

Ah yes, another crazy female DIY'er! I am indeed the family handy person. I joke that the reason we got the pup was to get me to stop remodeling the house. I was just about to turn the garage into a playroom when we bought the camper.! Must be something in the name as mine is a version of yours!

Well now I can stop stressing about gluing the floor. I found a place locally that sells structurwood, it comes with a 50 year warranty. So I'll probably break down and get that. Its treated so I don't have to do anything to it except put new vinyl on it. I have no idea the cost though. I may change my mind about it.

As for pictures, I started out with a webshots account and one of the mailing lists I'm on kept asking for directions and such so I built a website for the restoration project. I have a photo gallery over there. But I'll add a pic or two here.

This is  a pic of the outside when I bought her.


This is the inside:


This was the damage:


This is now:

[Jim K in PA]

Hey Lori, welcome to PUT!

Great work on the camper.  If you have to put the new floor in piece by piece, try and make sure the seams fall on a frame or other support rail.  I would seal between the seams with silicone, rather than liquid nails, as the silicone will stay more flexible and maintain the integrity of the joint better.

I tow my PUP with a Jeep Wrangler also.  Make sure you have brakes on your PUP and a controller for the Jeep.  I towed a borrowed PUP with my Rubicon last year across the Blue Ridge Mountains without trailer brakes, and it was . . . uncomfortable.  Nothing really scary happened, but I did get my brakes real hot, and that was with compression braking in third gear coming down the mountain.  I added brakes to my Viking as soon as we got it, as it did not come with them from the factory.  It is not hard to do, either.

Keep us posted on your progress, and keep the pics coming too!

[wavery]

WOW!!!! What a project.. :yikes:

What's up with the roof??

Does that hole go clean through?

I hope you don't regret starting that project. It'll sure keep ya outta the bars... :sombraro:

You can glue the vinyl down completely. If you don't, it may wrinkle on you later. It's just best to leave the underside untreated so that any moisture that gets into the flooring can find it's way out. It's best to put the lino down before you install the cabinetry and cover the entire floor..

I hate to add to your work here but it sure would be a good time to sand the frame down & paint it.

The canvas will cost you around $800.
http://www.canvasreplacements.com/
http://www.bearcreekcanvas.com/

[prncssgeek]

Great work on the camper.  If you have to put the new floor in piece by piece, try and make sure the seams fall on a frame or other support rail.  I would seal between the seams with silicone, rather than liquid nails, as the silicone will stay more flexible and maintain the integrity of the joint better.

Thanks Jim!

It does look like I'll be doing the floor in more than one piece. Thanks for the tip on the silicone, I was planning on using liquid nails. Definitely will make sure the joints fall on a support. Don't want my rowdy kids jumping up and down and go through the floor! And like Laura says everything inside holds everything else together, so I figure I'll have added "braces" with the cabinets too.

I've been checking into the break situation. I only tow it with the jeep locally, longer trips will be with my daughters minivan. For some reason, GA has made it illegal to tow with a soft top. I don't understand it, but unless I'm going to the SP thats 5 miles away, we'll use the minivan. Don't want to start or end a camping trip with a ticket! I can't imagine going through the Blue Ridge Mountains without trailer brakes. You are brave or crazy....hmmm.

[prncssgeek]

WOW!!!! What a project.. :yikes:

Yes, it is a major project. And it is keeping me out of trouble. It's also saved the garage from being turned into a playroom. I'm having a blast with it. If it would stop raining for more than 3 days so I could really get serious with it. The hole does go all the way through. In fact, that hole is what started this project. The previous owner put on an aftermarket AC, didn't brace the roof, put the camper in the woods for a couple of years. Roof sagged, and split. What little rain we've had got inside the roof, rotting the roof. When the roof couldn't hold the water anymore it came straight in the pup. Since the pup was open all this time and apparently not level, the water dripped down onto the galley and they gaucho and then through to the floor.

I knew when I got it that it was going to be a major project. But I enjoy doing this kind of thing. Of course, my husband thought I was a little crazy when I started gutting it. And he really thought I had lost my mind when I told him I was going to change the floor plan.

My plan is now that its gutted.  Take off the roof (Sunday...no rain for 3 days) rebuild the roof, put it back on. Put the canvas back on the bunks. And then start on the inside. Sand and paint the frame, clean the lift system, lube it. Lay the floor, the vinyl, build the walls then build up the rest.

Depending on the weather, I should be done within a month. Some days its easier to work than others because I have a 2 year old. When I break out the saws, he runs and screams.

[wavery]

Yes, it is a major project. And it is keeping me out of trouble. It's also saved the garage from being turned into a playroom. I'm having a blast with it. If it would stop raining for more than 3 days so I could really get serious with it. The hole does go all the way through. In fact, that hole is what started this project. The previous owner put on an aftermarket AC, didn't brace the roof, put the camper in the woods for a couple of years. Roof sagged, and split. What little rain we've had got inside the roof, rotting the roof. When the roof couldn't hold the water anymore it came straight in the pup. Since the pup was open all this time and apparently not level, the water dripped down onto the galley and they gaucho and then through to the floor.

I knew when I got it that it was going to be a major project. But I enjoy doing this kind of thing. Of course, my husband thought I was a little crazy when I started gutting it. And he really thought I had lost my mind when I told him I was going to change the floor plan.

My plan is now that its gutted.  Take off the roof (Sunday...no rain for 3 days) rebuild the roof, put it back on. Put the canvas back on the bunks. And then start on the inside. Sand and paint the frame, clean the lift system, lube it. Lay the floor, the vinyl, build the walls then build up the rest.

Depending on the weather, I should be done within a month. Some days its easier to work than others because I have a 2 year old. When I break out the saws, he runs and screams.

All I can say is...............WOW!!!!!

I'm impressed................ :sombraro:

I've also gotta ask you one question.......are you just a tad hyper-active?

You need to find a hobby that pays better than this one....you'd be rich. :-()

[prncssgeek]

All I can say is...............WOW!!!!!

I'm impressed................ :sombraro:

I've also gotta ask you one question.......are you just a tad hyper-active?

You need to find a hobby that pays better than this one....you'd be rich. :-()

Funny you mention that...I am in fact ADHD. Of course I burst out laughing when I read that. But see this project will pay off in the end....just think of all the wonderful peaceful days and nights I'll have in the camper with my crew! Nothing in the  world can compete with 1 adult with ADHD, 1 little girl who is ADHD and 1 little boy who is showing signs all cooped up in a pup while its pouring down outside and we can't go out and play!

Plus, once I get it done if my family gets tired of all my projects around the house I can go live in the pup!

You reminded me of a doc I saw recently when you said that. I was installing an outside light for my sister. Dropped the light, sliced my hand wide open, wrapped a towel around it, when to the hospital. While the doc was stitching me up, I'm asking how soon I can get back to work. He said what do you do. I said, well right now I'm designing 3 websites, writing a technical manual, remodeling my two bathrooms and getting ready to put new countertops in the kitchen. He stopped what he was doing and said "Are you ADHD?"

Just one little question.....what gives it away?

[wavery]

Just one little question.....what gives it away?

The joy that you get out of taking on the impossible with such glee...... :sombraro:

You have the ability to look past the time that it will take to complete such a task and see only the finished product. I have no doubt that you will complete this thing in record time when most of us would have, long ago, towed it to a junk yard.  :p

[robpoe]

He stopped what he was doing and said "Are you ADHD?"

Just one little question.....what gives it away?

Was at DS's ADD appointment, I told the doctor a joke .. She burst out laughing ..

How many kids with ADD does it take to change a light bulb?

Let's go ride our bikes!!!

[prncssgeek]

Was at DS's ADD appointment, I told the doctor a joke .. She burst out laughing ..

How many kids with ADD does it take to change a light bulb?

Let's go ride our bikes!!!

That is so true! I have to have several projects going at once so I can flip between them when I get bored. My Granddaughter though, totally different story, she flips out if she can't finish 1 project in one sitting. I guess thats the difference between medicated and not.

The joy that you get out of taking on the impossible with such glee......

You have the ability to look past the time that it will take to complete such a task and see only the finished product. I have no doubt that you will complete this thing in record time when most of us would have, long ago, towed it to a junk yard.

I really am having a blast with this. And yes, I agree, maybe this thing should have been hauled to the dump. Or the camper removed from the trailer and turn the trailer into something else. Thats what the last guy who owned thought about doing when he ran into trouble with the roof.  Now that the rain has stopped for a few days I've made great progress. I actually got the frame of the roof done today and I've attached the luan to it. Tomorrow, I'll flip it over, add the insulation, glue it to the luan, and then start adding the aluminum back. I'm hoping to have the roof ready to put back on before Monday when we get rain again. At least with the roof back on, I'll be able to work in the rain. I'm uploading new pics tonight my website.

And "Thanks to both of you for making me laugh!" It has kept me from wondering if I was insane!