Basement Floor Construction

[CRM]

Since I purchased my Ollie about a year ago, I've had an odd odor that seemed to come and go even though she's always spotless inside and I run a large home sized dehumidifier set below 50%.  Well, today I found the source... wet plywood sandwiched between sheets of fiberglass installed in the basement floor. I was under the impression that no plywood was used in construction so I was a little surprised to find this. I'm now wondering if this something from the factory, or if one of the prior owners modified the basement floor? In the end, no big deal since it's not structural, and I wanted to install new vinyl sheet flooring in the basement anyway. Will probably just lay in a 1/2 sheet of PVC now prior to the vinyl.

[topgun2]

My money would be on a modification by a prior owner.

The insulation is also interesting.

Bill

[CRM]

36 minutes ago, topgun2 said:

The insulation is also interesting.

Bill

Pretty sure that the insulation is original as it goes under the tanks. Looks like fiberglass in the pic but I'm fairly certain that it isn't. Looks and feels more like wool.  Edit- It also has the lizard skin spray-on insulation which seems to be everywhere else other than the basement. Plan on adding some Reflectix once I'm finished with the flooring.

[bhncb]

I suspect the initial model years were pretty much one-offs, as construction materials and techniques evolved. That massive aluminum framework in the picture is certainly impressive.  Oliver likely used encapsulated plywood for the basement floor because of its superior strength. Ultimately, the virtues of expand PVC became too hard to ignore.

What a great clean-slate-start to a uniquely personal LEII this one can be.

[CRM]

43 minutes ago, bhncb said:

What a great clean-slate-start to a uniquely personal LEII this one can be.

Thanks, it's definitely a unicorn! 😄 Outside of this basement floor issue and a few small leaks that needed repairing, she's in excellent shape for the year. Trying to keep most of it as original as possible but will definitely be adding solar in the near future.

[Katjo]

What year is your Ollie? 

[ScubaRx]

7 hours ago, CRM said:

…I was under the impression that no plywood was used in construction so I was a little surprised to find this. I'm now wondering if this something from the factory, or if one of the prior owners modified the basement floor? In the end, no big deal since it's not structural, and I wanted to install new vinyl sheet flooring in the basement anyway. Will probably just lay in a 1/2 sheet of PVC now prior to the vinyl.

The key word here is “structural”. Although, no longer used, the front wall that separates the bath and closet and them from the rest of the cabin plus the basement floor were originally made in-house from a very high grade plywood coated on both sides with fiberglass and gel coat. 
 

These areas are now constructed using a commercially available 1/2” thick polymer plastic sheeting cut to fit. 
 

My basement flooring right inside the exterior hatch was delaminating like yours from it having gotten wet so many times through the years. We store our hoses there and apparently I’ve occasionally stowed them away without making sure they were completely drained AND the seal on that hatch has been known to leak while driving in the pouring rain. In addition, there have been times the outside faucets were left slightly open and that water found its way onto the basement floor. 
 

All of this is user error, but I decided to tear the entire inside of the basement out and redo all. This is involving construction of a new outdoor faucet and tank valve box as all the early trailers had a vacuum formed box made of really thin plastic. Mine was broken all to pieces and looked horrible. Also, I plan to reroute the plumbing away from that cold susceptible area right next to the outer hull to a more inboard position where it will be subjected to more between the hulls heating. My plan is also place electric valves in those lines so they can be isolated from the rest of the plumbing and drained if necessary. There will be some effort made to relocate some of the electrical wires in that area. 

[ScubaRx]

10 minutes ago, Katjo said:

What year is your Ollie? 

His Oliver was built in 2008-2009. I believe he is the third owner. 

[CRM]

6 hours ago, Katjo said:

What year is your Ollie? 

It was originally sold in Aug 2009 and is titled as a 2010. I've been told that it was the first LE2 sold to the public, as well as the last unit sold prior to the shutdown.

[CRM]

6 hours ago, ScubaRx said:

This is involving construction of a new outdoor faucet and tank valve box as all the early trailers had a vacuum formed box made of really thin plastic. Mine was broken all to pieces and looked horrible. Also, I plan to reroute the plumbing away from that cold susceptible area right next to the outer hull to a more inboard position where it will be subjected to more between the hulls heating. My plan is also place electric valves in those lines so they can be isolated from the rest of the plumbing and drained if necessary. There will be some effort made to relocate some of the electrical wires in that area.

I guess I should take a closer look at my faucet and tank valve box.. Didn't notice any cracking, but it's definitely the same one as yours and it might be better to change it out now and not have to get back into this a year or two down the road. I will also be putting in valves to isolate the plumbing but will be using manual valves since I hope to never camp in freezing temps anyway.

[ScubaRx]

Out with the old, in with new…

I am about to glue the outside flanges on, and the outside shower box should be completed. I purposely made it a bit larger on the inside and the back is square as opposed to rounded on the original.

[CRM]

7 minutes ago, ScubaRx said:

Out with the old, in with new…

I am about to glue the outside flanges on, and the outside shower box should be completed. I purposely made it a bit larger on the inside and the back is square as opposed to rounded on the original.

Nice work !

[Steph and Dud B]

On 10/26/2022 at 1:02 AM, ScubaRx said:

no longer used, the front wall that separates the bath and closet and them from the rest of the cabin plus the basement floor were originally made in-house from a very high grade plywood coated on both sides with fiberglass and gel coat. 

 

On 10/26/2022 at 1:02 AM, ScubaRx said:

now constructed using a commercially available 1/2” thick polymer plastic

Did not know this! I thought there was still plywood in the closet wall of my 2021 Hull #1150. Thanks for the info.

[Mainiac]

The wall is still encapsulated plywood in our 2017. No problems, at least in the situation...

[ScubaRx]

4 hours ago, Steph and Dud B said:

 

Did not know this! I thought there was still plywood in the closet wall of my 2021 Hull #1150. Thanks for the info.

I do not know when the changeover was made, but I bought a half sheet of the new stuff at the factory last week to use in my renovation.

[ScubaRx]

On 10/25/2022 at 5:17 PM, CRM said:

Pretty sure that the insulation is original as it goes under the tanks. Looks like fiberglass in the pic but I'm fairly certain that it isn't. Looks and feels more like wool.  Edit- It also has the lizard skin spray-on insulation which seems to be everywhere else other than the basement. Plan on adding some Reflectix once I'm finished with the flooring.

The insulation to which you refer was used in all the first 49 trailers. They bought it in gigantic rolls. Robert Partee described it at the time as the same kind of stuff used to sew up insulated coats or vests.

[ScubaRx]

3 hours ago, Mainiac said:

The wall is still encapsulated plywood in our 2017. No problems, at least in the situation...

As this area is caulked and well protected from moisture, I believe you are correct. I've never seen a complaint about this area on the forum anytime in the last 15 years.

[CRM]

New PVC floor in and basement insulated with Reflectex. Still have to copy what @ScubaRx has done and build a new shower box  but that will have to wait until after our thanksgiving trip down in the Keys. Will be installing a rubber mat over the floor too to keep things from sliding around.

[ScubaRx]

29 minutes ago, CRM said:

New PVC floor in and basement insulated with Reflectex. Still have to copy what @ScubaRx has done and build a new shower box  but that will have to wait until after our thanksgiving trip down in the Keys. Will be installing a rubber mat over the floor too to keep things from sliding around.

Wow! That’s a great job. Still working on mine. Did you apply the the reflectex with spray adhesive?

[CRM]

4 minutes ago, ScubaRx said:

Wow! That’s a great job. Still working on mine. Did you apply the the reflectex with spray adhesive?

Thanks, it came out better than I thought it would and I'm now very happy to have eliminated any chance of future moisture damage..

And yes, I used 3M Super 77 spray adhesive for most of it and Velcro strips for around the lights to allow for easy access. 

[ScubaRx]

2 hours ago, CRM said:

Thanks, it came out better than I thought it would and I'm now very happy to have eliminated any chance of future moisture damage...

Well, you’re way ahead of me. This is the current state of disrepair in my basement. About to start rerouting plumbing. 

o

[CRM]

46 minutes ago, ScubaRx said:

Well, you’re way ahead of me. This is the current state of disrepair in my basement. About to start rerouting plumbing.

Looks like you have a lot more work to do than I did. I got off easy as I didn't have any water line rerouting to contend with.

After seeing pics of your basement, I'm now wondering if I should go back and install the light bezels through the Reflectix or not.

[CRM]

Finished off the basement floor with some leftover vinyl flooring and installed a couple of light bars...  On to the next project!

[ScubaRx]

Vinyl flooring, well LA-DEE-DA. You are just too cool. That really looks good. as far as light bezels through the Reflectix goes, I don't think its necessary. I would, however, make sure the bezels are well caulked with clear caulk on the outside, especially at the bottom of each bezel. They did not do that on the 2007-2010 models nor the early builds starting in 2013 and customers complained of leaks in those areas. If they leaked behind Reflectix, you would not immediately know it. Just something to be aware of, hope that it's helpful.

[John Dehne]

Nice looking job. Definitely tight work. I would need Advil after the job.