A lot of building steps rely on having other parts built already, at least for the ease of construction. Now that I had my door and large window in, I was ready to pull down the roll-up door permanently. Instead I thought about how the big open wall would make it much easier to get the large OSB sheets in, so I decided to do the flooring first.
As the first step I added my flooring studs directly unto the wood decking of the truck, and then covered it in my waterproof barrier.
In this case, I faced the printed side down so any moisture from the underside decking wouldn't condense into my insulation and hardwood flooring. I had a can of clear sealant laying around, so I also sprayed the wood area behind my wheels as well under the truck as an extra seal.
I was worried about the floor creaking when you walked around, and my flooring bowing over time, so I put my flooring studs 12 inches apart on center instead of the normal 16. (Some of them are closer to 10 when they didn't run the entire width.)
This ended up working perfectly in the end, although I wish I had added fireblocking between the studs for an easier time screwing down my OSB. Insulation was also a little tricky, but it fit in there well enough. I used a normal R13 fiberglass insulation for the floor - the same for my walls as well.
I used 15/32 PS2-10 OSB 4ft x 8ft sheathing for my flooring (pretty heavy duty). I'm glad I went with the heavier stuff - after I put it down on the studs and insulation, it didn't sound like you were walking around in a truck at all.
So after using my circular saw to cut the edge of each OSB (so I could just drop it in place), I screwed them down into the wood flooring studs and tried to make sure the osb was as level as possible.
I started screwing them in from one vertical side, and then one horizontal side at a time. My insulation padded the bottom so they stood up a bit; Once you screw in the sides, it will press down and level out. My insulation has worked great so far, but insulation board would have worked well I think.
The trickiest part was cutting the correct size cutout of multiple OSB pieces for my bathroom. (that little square there). Other than some muscle power - the OSB was easy enough to use.
I'm ready to add in my hardwood flooring now that i've leveled all the OSB.
Adding in the Flooring
At this point, my chop saw broke. Right at the exciting part!
So I ended up getting this Porter and Cable miter saw for about $90 (luckily they had them on sale at Lowes- and I had just bought a new 40 teeth blade.) I wasn't expecting that expense, but that's what happens when you get used tools I suppose. I got my use out of it though!
So to start off, I was originally planning to have two different levels in the truck so I could have floor storage in my kitchen. This design was the plan when I bought the flooring, even though the design ended up being changed. (I have had the flooring for about... 9 months or so at this point when I actually got to put it in.)
I really wanted hardwood/solid wood flooring in the truck for longevity (and style), but the price for the red wood I wanted was crazy! So I jumped unto google and looked up hardwood flooring stores in my area, and called around until I found one that keeps their inventory on site. I asked the guy if he had a "make-me-a-deal" pile of extra flooring in the back, and coincidentally they did, so I decided to drop by to see what they had.
I ended up getting beautiful hardwood for 1/3rd of the price of retail, and these clever entrepreneurs got rid of that extra inventory in the back. I walked away with about 90sqft of Caribbean Rosewood and 60 sqft of Hickory for $300. (I paid a little less than $3 a sqft, when it's somewhere around a $1300 value)
It was more than I planned to pay originally, but I'm so glad I did. The flooring is gorgeous and very versatile. So if you're willing to look around and talk to people, you might be able to luck out like I did!
Both types of flooring are tongue and groove floating, which made the installation very easy. I started with the hickory in the kitchen, and butted it against the wall and hammered them together. Most of these towards the roll-up door are going to be underneath my cabinets, so I actually screwed these down into place so they wouldn't move when I put down the rest of them.
As you can see, I did not add underlayment underneath my floor. If I had gone with laminate I would have, but the more I talked to people and looked around it seemed underlayment was more or less just a vapor barrier with minimal padding- so I decided to go without it. I don't think it would have hurt to add it though.
Once my hickory was in, I started to put down the rosewood. I decided to switch the board direction for the different types to really differentiate the areas.
I actually got all of the rosewood in on one day - but I have since gone back and re-hammered some back into place and pre-drilled through the planks on the side to keep them in place. (they haven't moved since)
Thank you for reading - if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to leave a comment. Till next time!
Sincerely,
Kelli
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