Orton DIY - Floor

Did not want the weight of 3/4" rubber so stall mats would not work. The 3/8" thick rubber is heavy enough that it does not need anything to retain them. The mats also have a sealed surface.

We also went with the 3/8" rubber flooring and it has worked out very well for over four years. Easy to cut to fit with a box knife and straight edge so long as you have something firm under it - old piece of plywood is what we used. Final trimming can be done in place but I cut all the big pieces outside. It is very heavy but that is part of what makes it good - it doesn't curl up or move at all. No adhesive or tape to hold it down - just one edge taped - at rear doors. But you could use a metal edge or custom wooden threshold or something similar there if you need it. We never have.

Just sweep it off and then it cleans up like new with a wet rag and some dish detergent or spic and span.

Nothing slides around anymore and it provides both sound and heat insulation and feels good underfoot both for us and our doggie.

We got it from: http://www.floormatcompany.com/elephant-bark-rubberized-flooring.html

Here is pic of the slider entrance showing the mat prior to our building in the galley area - on our first trip to New Mexico in 2009.

The reason for posting the info on the "gym mats" is to avoid the high shipping costs of rubber floors due to the weight and need to ship by truck. The "gym mats" may be available locally without the high shipping costs.
My current conversion uses 3/8" thick reclaim rubber that I bought from a local flooring company. It does not have a sealed top surface so does show the dirt. The "gym mat" has a nice sealed top surface without the white flecks which should be easier to clean.

Graphite Dave said:

Another thought on floor. If someone did not want to do the amount of work with 80/20 that I have done, just bolting down wood 2x4's using countersunk longer bolts at the D-ring locations would allow filling between the 2x4's with rigid insulation. Then install a second wood floor to cover on top of 2x4's or just fill in between as I have done with the 80/20. The 80/20 works great if you want to bolt other structures to the floor. I am about 2/3's the way done with the other structures and find that it works well and is very rigid. I am going to bolt the top of the shower enclosure to the roof but that is not required because the structure is rigid without attaching to the roof. Bolting to floor and a few bolts to the side walls give a very rigid structure. If it was a four legged structure then just bolting it to the floor would be all that is required.

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Graphite Dave, new member here and very much agree with the 80/20 flooring supporting brackets method youve built, but for cost savings, would it be okay to use 80/20 for the floor but wooden cabinets/shelves that could fasten to the brackets? Seems like good idea but what would be the drawback?




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travelrooky said:

Graphite Dave, new member here and very much agree with the 80/20 flooring supporting brackets method youve built, but for cost savings, would it be okay to use 80/20 for the floor but wooden cabinets/shelves that could fasten to the brackets? Seems like good idea but what would be the drawback?

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Should work fine. What is the reason for not using 80/20 for the cabinets? Much easier to build cabinets out of 80/20 than with wood IMO. Maybe you are very skilled with wood?

One advantage of the 80/20 that I found was the ease to bolt something anywhere along the length of the extrusion. They make nice clips for tie-wraps to attach electrical cords. Bolted a lot of stuff to the 80/20.

Graphite Dave said:

Should work fine. What is the reason for not using 80/20 for the cabinets? Much easier to build cabinets out of 80/20 than with wood IMO. Maybe you are very skilled with wood?



One advantage of the 80/20 that I found was the ease to bolt something anywhere along the length of the extrusion. They make nice clips for tie-wraps to attach electrical cords. Bolted a lot of stuff to the 80/20.

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Ha no not very skilled in the carpentry but just weighing pros and cons at this point.


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travelrooky said:

Ha no not very skilled in the carpentry but just weighing pros and cons at this point.

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I have some ability at woodworking. Using 80/20 (or its competitors) was much easier for me than building with wood. I also like the modern look of the 80/20 with wood.

80/20 can get expensive if you have 80/20 cut it, use their connectors and fasteners. IMO their connectors are not ideal for the application. Better to make your own. The link below includes pictures and drawings on what I used. Some 80/20 but most fabricated.

http://www.ortontransit.info/testeighty4.php

Some pictures of the 80/20 cherry wood combination:

https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showpost.php?p=613662&postcount=134

Graphite Dave said:

I have some ability at woodworking. Using 80/20 (or its competitors) was much easier for me than building with wood. I also like the modern look of the 80/20 with wood.

80/20 can get expensive if you have 80/20 cut it, use their connectors and fasteners. IMO their connectors are not ideal for the application. Better to make your own. The link below includes pictures and drawings on what I used. Some 80/20 but most fabricated.

http://www.ortontransit.info/testeighty4.php

Some pictures of the 80/20 cherry wood combination:

https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showpost.php?p=613662&postcount=134

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Some real good info those links Dave

For those that don't have decent cabinetmaking skills, this makes it easy to make up square framework.

Im a Cabinetmaker by trade, so i stuck to what i know.