1998 Concourse - Repairing the subfloor

[LadyBlue]

Is there any such thing as "repairing" the subfloor in a Chinook or do I have to gut the whole thing and start over? There's some rotten wood here and there and there is no way I can tear everything out and redo it all.

[JabberBox]

Some images of the damage would help determine the severity of the problem.

[LadyBlue]

[LadyBlue]

Damage in front of bathroom door.

IMG_6453.JPG (13.26 KiB) Viewed 6285 times

[LadyBlue]

Let me rephrase that: "There is some damage around the kitchen area."

[chin_k]

You can do it here and there if you find the right thickness for the material, but it may not be as strong as original due to the seams and lack of support under the patch. It is really up to you how much you want to fix, but definitely try to get the area in the "high traffic" area fixed (between the sofa and dinette down to the rear door) is most important due to the fact that you can feel it as you walk over the area.

If you do not really want to get too involved, see if you want to lay a new plywood over the existing subfloor (and lost a fraction of an inch in height) and cover up the area. It is still going to be a lot of work since it will be very noticeable if not done well around the cabinet and shelving. Good luck.

[LadyBlue]

Yeah, we've concluded we're going to have to take everything out around the kitchen and remove the rotten wood. It appears that we have one layer of plywood, then the styrofoam padding, then the fiberglass. Instead of using styrofoam for the insulation layer, we're thinking we'll go with cork, then plywood, then a top layer of cork (instead of carpet or vinyl planks).

[Chinnin-about]

My Chinook needed similar repairs. I gutted out the back behind the shower, behind the refrigerator and around the generator box, and then up the aisle to the cab.

The 1987 version, was quarter inch plywood bottom layer, one by four sleepers with batt insulation between them, and half inch plywood top layer. Fortunately the underside of the bottom layer was fiberglassed and undercoated, and survived.

Once i got the rot out, i glued (liquid nail) and screwed 3 layers of plywood, one at a time, eliminating the hollow core where the batt insulation was. I'm pretty sure i got most of the rot, although i didnt take anything out down the sides.

I did fiberglass the old and the new together, quite vigorously and with fibermesh.( see photo )

Then I through bolted the new floor into the frame. Would I do it again, taking on a coach that needed that much work? The answers no.

Click on the attachments to view in proper format.

[Chinnin-about]

Finished right corner at doorsay

[LadyBlue]

Wow! Chinnin-About! You did a great job with that closet. I would so love to do that, but I need that space for other things and just can't afford to give it up. That's some beautiful work you did there. We're still at the tearing out phase. We've gotten a lot done, but it's gonna take a while to finish. Thank you for your info!!

One last question, though. Aren't you a little worried about too much weight with 3 layers of plywood?