From Demolition to Renovation (Bamboo floor: Galley forward)

Topic: From Demolition to Renovation (Bamboo floor: Galley forward) (Read 1868 times) previous topic - next topic

From Demolition to Renovation (Bamboo floor: Galley forward)

August 30, 2013, 08:11:01 pm

I am at it again... As the escrow closing date on my house approaches, I am scurrying to finish up some projects that would be very difficult if we were living in or even traveling in the coach. Chief amongst them is doing the Bamboo floor from the bathroom forward to just behind the pilot and copilot's chairs. As most everybody well knows, this involves the demolition of the hardwood floor in the galley area. Now, though I had heard that this is a difficult process in other threads, I really did not believe that I would have that much trouble with it.

That was before I started this project... now it isn't so much the demolition itself (though that was a physically arduous task to say the least!), I accomplished that in less than a day. No, the more difficult part is remediating the damage done to the subfloor while demolishing the hardwood floor. It wasn't just glued to the plywood subfloor, it was glued to aluminum sheet metal that was in turn glued to the plywood subfloor with some staples thrown in! I have never seen anything like that... and still not sure what the reason for it might have been. One thing is clear, they never meant that floor to be easily removed! The remediation process involved first removing all the loose splinters, and then cutting pieces of fiberglass cloth to fit some of the larger areas where one or two plies of wood was missing. Then mixed epoxy with some filler and flooded those areas with several coats. Then I sanded all the high spots and leveled it. Finally, I used fiberglass reinforced Bondo to fill the low spots. Now I am finally ready to start laying out the cork underlayment for the bamboo floor. More pictures to follow...
Don

Re: Demolition Man...

Reply #1 – August 30, 2013, 08:28:00 pm

I remember that stage

Re: Demolition Man...

Reply #2 – August 30, 2013, 08:35:17 pm

You are a much better man than I will ever be... Dave F; replace my floor and call me when your are done (93 U225)...With my back I would be in bed for a month.. You are amazing....

Re: Demolition Man...

Reply #3 – August 30, 2013, 08:47:27 pm

Did you use self-leveling thin set to get a smooth surface? And were you putting tile over it or something else? Perhaps you managed to get the hardwood off without doing as much damage as I did to our subfloor. I considered using some thin set or the like to fill in the valleys, I was concerned that the wood might be compromised enough to create a spongy surface so I wanted to use the epoxy and fiberglass to glue the splinters together and add some reinforcement to the subfloor. After all, I never know when I might feel like dancing on it... LOL

Quote from: Wayne Macauley – August 30, 2013, 08:28:00 pm

I remember that stage

Re: Demolition Man...

Reply #4 – August 30, 2013, 09:03:20 pm

Nice job Don. You're doing it the right way, there are other way, but yours will hold up nicely.

What are your plans for the driver and step areas?

Re: Demolition Man... (Galley hardwood floor)

Reply #5 – August 30, 2013, 10:03:43 pm

don
I removed that pesky oak floor, one square inch at a time, with a hammer and chisel. I think removing the one billion underlay staples was just as bad.
I used floor leveling compound to fill bolt holes and level the floor. I then hired the best lino guy in the world to lay out the flooring. the floor required no glue and it will not change its shape. I was worried about potential road noise, but there was no increase. it still looks like the day it went in. I'm sure yours will turn out great. good luck.

Re: Demolition Man...

Reply #6 – August 30, 2013, 10:08:41 pm

Thanks Michael! For right now, I'm just going to leave the original carpet under the drivers and passengers chairs. Our steps have a vinyl covering of some sort and I have to repair the first step which is quite common on the Unicoaches. I will use a textured Starboard material that has a nice non-slip pattern on it for the first step and am considering using that on the subsequent steps as well. I would leave this material exposed sort of like Corian steps that I've seen in some later model coaches, that is provided I can find an appropriate color. For the risers, I plan on using Oak or Bamboo. Still in the "thinking about it" stage at the moment

Don

Quote from: Michael j – August 30, 2013, 09:03:20 pm

Nice job Don. You're doing it the right way, there are other way, but yours will hold up nicely.

What are your plans for the driver and step areas?

Re: Demolition Man...

Reply #7 – August 30, 2013, 10:58:06 pm

If Dave Flannigan was here in San Diego, I might have given him a call too...

Quote from: Jeff Savournin – August 30, 2013, 08:35:17 pm

You are a much better man than I will ever be... Dave F; replace my floor and call me when your are done (93 U225)...With my back I would be in bed for a month.. You are amazing....

Re: Demolition Man... (Galley hardwood floor)

Reply #8 – August 31, 2013, 01:46:09 am

I had the same problem with the hardwood and I attacked it after driving home from san Diego with the new to us coach. My hands hated me, but I used a big heavy 4' long pry bar. I then spread thinset over it all as I put in tile on top of a 3/8" glued and stapeled ply on top of the original ply. Not 1 crack in the grout so far.
John H

Re: Demolition Man... (Galley hardwood floor)

Reply #9 – August 31, 2013, 07:52:07 am

You can use Durhams' rock hard water putty to fill the places in the plywood that were damaged.

Re: Demolition Man... (Galley hardwood floor)

Reply #10 – August 31, 2013, 09:56:49 am

I member that stage, too. I rented a puller made to take up that kind of flooring and because we used 3/4 in hardwood I just let it bridge the gaps. If the rest of the coach is as strong as that floor was we're in good shape!

Re: Demolition Man... (Galley hardwood floor)

Reply #11 – August 31, 2013, 10:43:39 am

Imagine that factory oak floor FRONT to BACK. I won't be doing THAT removal!

Re: Demolition Man... (Galley hardwood floor)

Reply #12 – August 31, 2013, 11:55:55 am

Don, looks like another monumental undertaking. I wonder if the wood flooring wasn't glued to the aluminum sheet outside the coach and installed as a floor panel.

Was the sub floor under the carpet and under the wood floor the same height (after all of your fixes, of course)?

We have been looking at many different flooring opportunities that we have seem folks do. One we haven't seen and are thinking about is Floor carpet tiles. We have them in part of our home kitchen and office and they are easy to install, maintain, repair and fit into any shape. And they are tough. Has anybody tried these?

Shop FLOR's categories of products

Roger

Re: Demolition Man... (Galley hardwood floor)

Reply #13 – August 31, 2013, 12:26:22 pm

I was thinking that it was installed as a floor panel already glued to the sheet-metal at first, but I could swear that there were a few staples that went through the aluminum sheet into the subfloor. Then again, by the time I was halfway through the demolition process, I may have been hallucinating... the subfloor underneath the hardwood is level with the rest of the coach thank God!
Don

Quote from: Home2fromHastings – August 31, 2013, 11:55:55 am

Don, looks like another monumental undertaking. I wonder if the wood looring wasn't glued to the aluminum sheet outside the coach and installed as a floor panel.

Was the subfloor under the carpet and under the wood floor the same height (after all of your fixes, of course)?
Shop FLOR's categories of products

Roger

Re: Demolition Man... (Galley hardwood floor)

Reply #14 – August 31, 2013, 12:27:56 pm

Dave, I think I would be quite happy with that flooring front to back... But if I needed something else on the floor knowing what I know now, I would just cover it!

Quote from: Dave Head – August 31, 2013, 10:43:39 am

Imagine that factory oak floor FRONT to BACK. I won't be doing THAT removal!

Re: Demolition Man... (Galley hardwood floor)

Reply #15 – August 31, 2013, 12:48:06 pm

I believe the kitchen floor was assembled and then glued in as a unit. Don, you've had the underside of your unit apart, was there still a small workman holding on to the bottom of the floor with tooth and nail?

Re: Demolition Man... (Galley hardwood floor)

Reply #16 – September 02, 2013, 03:18:19 pm

As much as you have done to your coach, why not go hog wild and have Epoxy Terrazzo installed. Talk about adding strength to the coach and it would last as long as some of your other work.

Re: Demolition Man... (Galley hardwood floor)

Reply #17 – September 02, 2013, 03:51:03 pm

Interesting idea... but I think I will stick with the bamboo! I like the looks of it, the fact that it grows like grass (it is grass), and that I can do it myself without learning a new skill set

and then there is the fact that escrow closes on my house in eight days (fingers crossed and... luckily, there is a lot of wood to knock on in our Foretravel

).
Don

Quote from: Kent Speers – September 02, 2013, 03:18:19 pm

As much as you have done to your coach, why not go hog wild and have Epoxy Terrazzo installed. Talk about adding strength to the coach and it would last as long as some of your other work.

Re: Demolition Man... (Galley hardwood floor)

Reply #18 – September 02, 2013, 03:56:29 pm

Then too bad that Mike (and MOT, FOT, Xtreme etc.) isn't in San Diego... too late to help me now, but I sure would like to know how he did that and if your floor was applied in the same way ours was. Maybe they use heat... but then they probably have the advantage of knowing what kind of glue was used when it was installed at the factory.

Quote from: Dave M – September 02, 2013, 02:45:16 pm

When the wood floor in kitchen area was removed, it came out in one section,done at MOT by Mike Weaver. Looked like he had sperience with it.

Re: Demolition Man... (Galley hardwood floor)

Reply #19 – September 02, 2013, 05:43:28 pm

Don I agree as my wood floor would not give up its hold. I also had to fill largish voids in the ply before putting on the top 3/8th sub floor before tiling. Maybe Dave's just had double sided tape holding it down

John H

Re: Demolition Man... (Galley hardwood floor)

Reply #20 – September 02, 2013, 07:59:45 pm

First, I did not do it, and I did not pay close attention to the event, but do recall they used large pry bars under the flooring and pried it up and loose, then took it out the door. That is the memory I have from about 3 or 4 years ago when had them install the ceramic tile floor. Yes the ceramic is heavy, would guess about 350 lb worth installed and they did not have to level/puddy/float the floor. Just installed the tile with silicone RTV type under it with the spacers, then did the grout, still is fine and much easier to clean than a greasy carpet

All the guys at MOT all came from FOT and would guess Mike Weaver might have built part of the coach. He is one of about four or five at MOT who know what is and care. A few are less concerned I feel.
MHO

Re: Demolition Man... (Galley hardwood floor)

Reply #21 – September 03, 2013, 01:56:03 pm

Don,

I read somewhere that the aluminum sheet under the galley floor is to protect the sub-floor from water damage. Just another example of Foretravel attention to detail.

Keith

Re: Renovation Man... (Galley Forward)

Reply #22 – September 03, 2013, 09:44:31 pm

Here are some pictures of the project in progress...
:Edit to add a couple more pictures. The one that shows the floor done up to the edge of the front most galley cabinet is where I drew my original reference line perpendicular to the side wall. This is helpful when starting the first course forward of the bathroom to set a reference point. Since this is a fully floating floor, I decided to put in that transition strip between the bathroom and the galley in order to create separate the expansion and contraction areas for the front and the back of the coach flooring areas. Also it will make it easier to do repairs if necessary somewhere in the middle.

Re: Demolition Man... (Galley hardwood floor)

Reply #23 – September 03, 2013, 09:48:24 pm

That looks sweet Don... Wish I could do that to ours. Maybe someday, keep up the good work and pictures.

Mark

Re: From Demolition to Renovation (Bamboo floor: Galley forward)

Reply #24 – September 04, 2013, 07:29:47 am

Looks beautiful. Outstanding work (as always)!

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