I have had a big week in the bus. Worked solidly most days and am pleased to say that I have finally got the new floor installed. There were a few design challenges due to the fact that I decided to use 18mm marine ply and the original floor was only 12mm thick, so had to find ways to accommodate the hatches that are in the floor so they still sealed up nicely. Had to re-cut some pieces and I also learned to use a router for the first time.

Even though this floor is only half the size of the floor in the big bus, it was so much more difficult to do. So many odd shapes, and curves had to be cut, and there are two different floor heights to contend with as well. And when it came time to screw it all down, I had to be very careful where I put the screws as directly underneath this floor is a fuel tank, and a whole host of cables, wires and other important stuff.

Anyway, I managed to get it in and I think once everything is built in and the vinyl floor covering is on, it will look fine.

Once I had all the pieces cut to fit, I painted the underside with bitumen paint to protect the ply from dirt and water that would get splashed up from the road.

I then applied sika adhesive (I used 221) to the frame and screwed the plywood down into it using good quality countersunk self-drilling metal screws.

I was glad I’d taken the time to draw a map of the underfloor frame before I reinstalled the floor, as it made knowing where to put the screws much easier

I am just so glad to have this part of the build completed. It is so nice to be able to walk around inside the bus again without having to bunny hop around the framework. And despite the complications that arose from my decision to use thicker ply, I’m really glad I did because the floor feels very solid and strong – actually much better than the original floor did.