squishey floor - Fiberglass RV
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Old 02-01-2009, 08:58 AM   #1
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My floor in my 1700 is sagging, instead of replacing it I want to add a layer of plywood or other material, What should I use and what thickness ? glue?
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Old 02-01-2009, 07:25 PM   #2
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If it's sagging because it is rotting, then putting good plywood on top won't help much for long.
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Old 02-01-2009, 07:28 PM   #3
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And I would worry about mold, even dried mold.
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Old 02-01-2009, 08:24 PM   #4
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As Pete and Donna are alluding to, we need to know a lot more about why it's sagging to be able to give any considered advice.

Pictures would help a lot too.

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Old 02-01-2009, 09:16 PM   #5
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The floor is sagging between the floor joists where you walk in front of the counter the plywood is 30 years old and was only 5/8" thick I can't see any evidence of rot on top or under the trailer. I don't think a picture would help in this case because its more a matter of feel when you walk there.
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Old 02-01-2009, 11:08 PM   #6
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I don't know if the boler has fiberglass on the wood, but the wood could be rotten on the inside. We took a wooden hatch off our boat and it looked perfectly good. No indication of any rot, but it turned out to be rotten on the inside. Water got in the holes holding it together. If it has fiberglass, I would say that it has delaminated which is why you lost the strength. I have a Casita, so I am not sure how your floor is made.
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Old 02-01-2009, 11:29 PM   #7
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If the original ply is is good shape, and if there is nothing suggesting the the floor "joists" (framing) are inadequate, then I guess you could add a new piece of ply to stiffen it. It's just that you were asking how thick and about installation details, and it's so hard to give those without seeing or hearing more about it.

For example, is the trailer gutted, so that you can put in one or more large pieces, full width? Or is there furniture on top of the original floor so you can only re-cover part of it? Would the new flooring's seams be able to land on the original supports and be fastened to them, or would you be fastening the new flooring only to the old flooring?

These are the kinds of questions (for me at least) that make it hard to specify what you should do with any accuracy. Maybe if you told more about your floor, and perhaps floated a plan that we could critique, it would help get some information flowing.

In a general sense, yes, if you glue a new layer to the old layer, the result will be stronger than just placing the new layer on the old layer. The lamination makes it stronger (why plywood is stronger than just thin sheets of wood piled up). Construction adhesive would be one way.

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Old 02-02-2009, 12:28 AM   #8
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About 20 years ago, my parents Coleman tent trailer got a squishey floor (they had a very heavy visitor). I got some aluminum angle from Ace Hardware and made cross braces. They were installed underneath the trailer. They ran between the metal floor "joists", centered on the walking area. This firmed up the floor.

20 years were not kind to my memory, I'll try to dredge up some details.

Used aluminum angle instead of steel angle, for weight considerations and ease of use (did not have many power tools then).

Used the thicker material, in a 2 inch x 2 inch angle (maybe it was 1.5 inch x 1.5 inch - don't remember).

Made end brackets from the same material and pop riveted them to the ends of the brace (Note: Bracket goes under the brace, rivets install from the top, so the brace is flat on the face that goes against the floor).

Placed brace in position, lightly tensioned the brace with a jack (you want to press it into the bulge, but not rip the floor off of the joists). Then drill and fasten the end brackets into the floor joists (I used bolts, nuts and lock washers).

No more floor bounce.

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Old 02-02-2009, 09:41 AM   #9
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I am going to install this plywood only in the exposed parts I am not going to remove anything like the counter or bathroom, I checked for rot under everywhere and in all corners, everything looks good, as I was going to install new flooring I thought stiffening up the floor would be a good Idea, that heavy visitor someone mentioned is me in this case. I was going to go over the old lino it seems to be still firmly glued down there is no lifting or cracking going on, after I install the new subfloor I will put down the flooring from Home depot you score with a knife and then snap, I can't remember the name off hand.
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Old 02-07-2009, 10:31 AM   #10
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I am going to install this plywood only in the exposed parts I am not going to remove anything like the counter or bathroom, I checked for rot under everywhere and in all corners, everything looks good, as I was going to install new flooring I thought stiffening up the floor would be a good Idea, that heavy visitor someone mentioned is me in this case. I was going to go over the old lino it seems to be still firmly glued down there is no lifting or cracking going on, after I install the new subfloor I will put down the flooring from Home depot you score with a knife and then snap, I can't remember the name off hand.
Hi Rick;
I had the same problem in my 17' Boler,I was going to install a new floor so I removed an area of the old lino and discovered the plywood used on the subfloor was not a tongue and groove but a simple butt joint and they had used metal wafers to support the joint and they had worked loose and allowed the subloor to sag at the joint.This joint was in front of the bathroom door just to the left of the entry door,approx 4' from the front of the trailer (4' x 8' plywood sheets) I installed a 1/4 plywood over top of the old subfloor using polyeurathane glue and floor screws to suck the two together,go slowly with screwgun.It worked out really well and gave a nice base for the flooring and baseboards.Hope this helps.
Happy Camping ;Gord
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Old 02-08-2009, 08:20 AM   #11
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Thanks for the reply, no tongue and groove plywood would explain the sagging issue, 1/4" plywood and glue sounds like a good answer as I didn't want to add too much weight.
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