Flooring- how do I not mess this up again??

[DentedT6.1]

Hi all- we are partway through our conversion and the only major issue we've faced is getting the flooring right. I've relaid it twice and we're on the verge of doing it again for a third time- so any help is appreciated!

Firstly, we've insulated all over using Dodomat DEADN 2.0, and we have the oak look plywood flooring from Vanfurniture (VW T5/6 Ply Floor). We originally assumed that with the insulation covering both ridges and gaps in the floor, we would place some 9mm battens across the biggest gaps and simply lay the floor on +screw it into the ridges and battens.

Unfortunately, when we did that there was flex in some of the gaps, so we pulled it all up, and added more battens. We tried adding battens to the smaller gaps- but because of the insulation they were sitting too high, so we had some gaps left. Re-checking, we still have flex in multiple places across the floor.

I chatted with the guys at Seaside Campers (fantastic setup- thanks again!) and the recommendation was:

1. Pull up the floor, remove battens (currently not bonded to anything, were just placed down)
2. Cut with a stanley knife where the battens would go, and remove insulation
3. Bond the battens to the floor in the gaps
4. Place sikaflex on top of the battens, and relay the floor- weight down and leave it to bond
5. Screw in wherever is easy to hide/is covered anyway

So, I wanted to get a quick censor check and see what people think- is this way to dig our way out of the flooring mess? Is there anything else I should be considering? It's not a ton of flex but I appreciate it will niggle us forever when it could be fixed with a couple of extra days and some additional materials. That said, I'm not sure how many times I can face relaying this floor! Plus, once bonded we won't be able to get it up- so that commitment worry is probably what led me to use screws in the first place..

Second Q- is it worth buying the extremely expensive Batten kit you can find online for £100 ish, or should I just continue buying 9mm wood and cutting generally to size?

Thank you again and I have learned my lessons about half measures! On the bright side- our furniture from Seaside Campers has arrived and we collected today, so looking forward to putting it all together soon. U-Shaped Campervan Interior . If anyone is interested in our experience of fitting and using the VanFurniture U-Bed furniture and kit, I'll post a more comprehensive update of our build so far.

 

[middle-englander]

Do the units cover the join? You may find that all that heavy furniture sorts any flex you have! That said, the advice you've had seems sensible.
I didn't screw or bond the ply, it was a big enough lump that it sat pretty flat anyway, and again the furniture helped.
I wouldn't bother with the batton kit personally, assuming you're happy to cut your own.

 

[WoodthorpeT6]

If I were to do another DIY build I'd go with a single piece floor at 12mm thick with no battens, just bonded straight down. Is there anybody local that you could get a one piece floor from. I know a place in Nottingham that sell them, had my van van done there

 

[DXX]

My floor was done professionally without insulation, reason being that any condensation / spillage will find it’s way to the lowest point.
Maybe it’s the insulation that’s the problem?

 

[WoodthorpeT6]

@DXX Yeah agreed spot on. My pro conversion has no underfloor insulation either. The 12mm ply and vinyl covering is sufficient for insulating.

 

[Squiz]

Hiya, guessing this is an old thread and you have sorted it by now, but here's what I did...

Firstly glued down 9mm ply batons to the van floor in the gaps between the ridges to bring up to same height.

Then go over the whole lot with the deadn duo combined deadening and insulation.

Van furniture oak floor on top, as the floor all the same height it now sits completely flat.

Van furniture u shape furniture then fitted.

I also countersunk 6 tapered head stainless bolts through the floor into the 6 original lashing point holes to hold it down.

 

[NatMc24]

All trial and error...we over insulated our floor at 1st, put the Dodo sound deadening and the thermo insulation down..luckily we realised when about to put the ply down ready for the floor we ripped it out, put batons between the ridges and all good..wishing you the best of luck with it, we just got our kitchen this week delivered from VanFurniture too

 

[BizziT6]

We did it differently again lol. Dodo sound deadening and stick on insulation to the recessed areas only. We then used CT1 to bond a 12mm ply floor to the raised area’s. It was recommended to us by a professional builder in Bristol. We then used an oak effect vinyl to cover it.

 

[DentedT6.1]

Hi all- this is indeed an old thread but glad to know it's not just us! If anyone is interested- the full setup is here: The full journey

We did indeed buy the batten kit. I was sick of trying to cut corners and learning lessons, so the kit came, we spent a thoroughly miserable day cutting and scraping all the sections of the insulation where a batten needed to lay, and then bonding battens down. The floor went down on top and was bonded in place, and the whole thing left for a few days weighted down firstly by gym weights and then by the furniture kit resting on it all.

Floor feels solid now, I'm happy- but taking it up and down, screws in and out has done it's damage. I have filled in the holes that are visible (and so prone to water ingress) and then painted over them with osmo oil again, but if I'm honest I'd like to osmo oil the whole floor again just to feel comfortable.

When we come to do this again in the next van (hopefully a long time away!) we will go with the much more robust, professional approaches seen above!

 

[Jimbojones]

Hiya, guessing this is an old thread and you have sorted it by now, but here's what I did...

Firstly glued down 9mm ply batons to the van floor in the gaps between the ridges to bring up to same height.

Then go over the whole lot with the deadn duo combined deadening and insulation.

Van furniture oak floor on top, as the floor all the same height it now sits completely flat.

Van furniture u shape furniture then fitted.

I also countersunk 6 tapered head stainless bolts through the floor into the 6 original lashing point holes to hold it down.

hi @Squiz . Thanks for this. What aftermarket steps did you have to get to fit the new floor height please?

 

[Squiz]

I bought the van x 17mm higher step with the cubby hole thing, which also gives the van furniture side unit something to sit on as it protrudes over the step.I also bought the rear threshold trim as its a bit deeper than than the vw one so it sits over the wooden floor.