I’m on a submarine mission for you baby…
Getting the subfloor installed was really a big step in transitioning from the demo phase to the building phase. All of the old subfloor is out, I used an angle grinder with wire brush wheel to clean the frame and Shannon helped me trace down all of the wiring and plumbing that needed to be torn out.
Ready for the new floor.
One issue I’ve found is with the wheel wells. The “outside” wall of the wheel well is open and was loosely sealed against the fiberglass and insulation that I tore out. Loosely being the key, cause there is water damage on the lower part of the frame. I want to seal this and decided to make a barrier from PVC sheet.
Gap of doom.
The trick is getting an exact curve of the underside of the wheel well to make a tight seal and have a strong attachment point to handle the abuse it will get from driving. The outside of the truck provided the radius of the curve to trace onto a template with a Sharpie and cut out on the bandsaw.
Plywood template
Once you have the template you can trace that onto the PVC sheet and rough cut it on the bandsaw and use a flush trim router bit to then get the exact shape.
Tracing template onto PVC
Cutting out on bandsaw
Dry fit the piece and trace the upper portion of the wheel well to be cut out.
Done!
I used silicon to attach and left a 3/4” lip on the top that will connect with the framing for the floor insulation. They fit great!
The next step was to treat the metal frame with some rust proofing. It was in good shape and I cleaned it with the angle grinder to remove any old adhesive or surface rust. I used a spray on rust treatment and then a automotive frame paint/rust remover.
For the subfloor I used marine grade plywood that I cut to size and shape to fit the frame and interior of the van. I used Waterlox to seal the underside. Great product but the overall process was a pain in the ass. It requires two coats of sealant then two coast of finish, with 24 hours of dry time between each step. Needless to say there was a lot moving plywood back and forth from driveway to shop. Shan’s arms are strong…
With the sealing process completed the installation was pretty easy, besides the area by the rear door. I needed to prepare this for the upcoming wall build and it was tedious. I used construction adhesive and screws to secure each piece.
It is so nice to have a floor again. I’m thankful no squirrels, raccoons or hornets took up shop while it lived floorless. Of course it still has two huge holes in the side…