I decided to put down a vinyl floor now, as we intend to use the van as the build continues. Originally I wanted to wait until the interior buildout is finished, and then put the vinyl down on the remaining exposed floor. It will probably be a long time before the build is finished, so the vinyl will help to keep the floor clean in the meantime.
One step back: First I had to belt sand the oil based paint off the subfloor to ensure good adhesion of the vinyl to the wood. Oh Well.
I used the old van floor mat to make a template on the vinyl. I made all cuts about an inch larger than the actual mat and then trimmed to fit once inside the van.
After that, I troweled on the vinyl flooring glue (Mapei brand ). I used 2/3 of the container which I think was a gallon.
Then I rolled out the vinyl from the rear. I used a 2' wide by 18" diameter lawn roller filled halfway with water to press the vinyl down and roll the glue bubbles and air bubbles out. Roller was probably near 100 pounds. I also used a rolling pin from the kitchen to get into some of the tight spaces. It was stressful for a while as there were a lot of bubbles and imperfections at first. It took a while to get these all squished out. It came out pretty well, but there are some visible imperfections. Not a problem at all, but there is definitely a knack to putting down this type of product. Better practice in a camper van than in a kitchen I suppose.
It is a red oak look. I guess I had a moment of weakness in the flooring store. I normally don't care for products that try to look like something they are not.
Side entry shot with the plastic foot well resting in place. Not sure yet if I will re-use this piece or use the aluminum trim pieces like I used at the rear.
...and can't wait to see those 34's on there!
And spot welding goes quick too.
Linear Mode
