installing wood floors... help!

[forgets]

so since i've got my westy down to the bare metal, i've been wanting to install wood floors in it.. i've got a GL which means it's got the ridged floor.. do i have to reattach the metal runners and original plywood floor, then stick the pergo flooring on top of it? or can i just buy a new piece of wood and attatch that to the floor? if so, how thick does this piece of plywood need to be? i know i'd probably have to buy longer bolts so that i'd be able to bolt the plywood down.. also, i know i have to put some vapor barrier down before the wood floor, is there anything i'm supposed to do to put the floor down?

i'm semi lost, and i'd like a walkthrough on how the install goes if anyone's got enough time to type out some help.

any responses are much appreciated, thanks!

[hiram6]

I removed all of the layers of stuff that my Westy GL had on the floor. I originally had the fiberboard panels and seat trays for the optional middle seat. All of that came out, so I was down to the painted metal.

I then put down two layers of a thin foam underlayment designed for floating wood floors. It's maybe 1/8 inch thick, times two. No gluing on anything, just measure, cut and lay it down.

Then I measured and cut the flooring ( I used bamboo, but what type of wood doesn't matter) to fit leaving a small gap for expansion at each end. The flooring I used didn't "snap" together like I think Pergo does, so I used a small amount of glue in the tongue and groove.

Basically I wound up with a somewhat solid glued together floor "floating" on a padded underlayment. Mine is running front to back, but others have installed theirs crossways with no problems.

I would think you would want to stay away from bolting a floor down too rigidly. Wood needs to be able to expand/contract a little.

Here's how mine turned out.

_________________
1985 Westy, 1.9L automatic (Daisy)
1996 Mazda Miata
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9 Limited

You can't lie around on the beach and drink rum all day.................unless you start first thing in the morning.

[need2boat]

I replaced the parquet wood floor in my advernturwagen a few years ago and glued it down to 1/8 in brown board then glued it down to the van in a few spots. I used a caulk glue that could be pulled up later if need be. I got everything at the lumber store.

Floor before installed

Floor in the van. this is the only one I could find.

JFF

[Perales]

Wow, seriously nice kitchen. Nicer than what I have at home. Sure hope my wife doesn't see that picture.
_________________
-- 1987 Westfalia automatic (Captain Vino)

[kevinbassplayer]

I layed my "wood" floor down on top of the stock plywood, which is attached with sheet metal screws. I would lay down new plywood, screw it down in a few places, no need to go crazy, lay down the foam underlayment and put the floor on top. No need to glue anything down, in fact you want the pego or whatever you're using to be able to expand and contract. Lot's of us on here have done this, if you search you should be able to find out everything you need. You will love your new floor, this is one of the best mod's you can do!