Floored!

This is a view we’ve wanted to see for two years!

We still have a zillion bolts and screws to drive down (isn’t that what Sundays are for?), we have lots of other things to attend to (including the very dead battery in our tow vehicle) but our front end floor is in.

Ironically, it wasn’t until Wednesday that we realized why we’ve been having such a hard time getting this stuff in…the 3/4″ ply we used (we think it was that thickness, but remember–we bought it two years ago) was a little thicker than the old flooring material. If you notice, we’ve started planing edges to match. Well, we are still learning…

Our approach to installing the flooring was by partial sheet. Full sheets are a stronger option–but not always most practical for installation. For us, partial sheets were a necessary compromise: I cannot handle full sheets of plywood by myself–in this marine grade, it’s just too heavy–and finally, smaller pieces are just easier to fit.

We solidified the joints by battens, strips of wood screwed underneath, mating up the new pieces to the old flooring. It’s a technique we learned from other members of our unit of the Airstream club–and it seems to work. It has involved a whole lot of screw setting (and we still have a lot more to do). However, now that the new floor is down, it’s feeling really solid. That’s very, very nice.