VAN FLOOR - Insulated, Waterproof, Sound Deadened, and Durable

The subfloor is where the magic starts in your van build; you'll need to flatten the van floor before putting in Vinyl. Learn how to Install a FLAT vinyl floor in your van. Vinyl is the most effective and one of the cheapest good looking floors you can install.

0:00 Intro
0:17 SubFloor
0:58 What is a Perfect Van Floor?
3:22 Vinyl Sheeting
3:58 DO NOT USE REFLECTIX
4:40 How to Deal with Holes in the Floor
5:22 INSTALL: Cleaning
6:02 INSTALL: Sound Deaden
6:34 INSTALL: Flatten
8:20 INSTALL: Insulation
9:27 INSTALL: Plywood SubFloor
11:18 INSTALL: Laying Vinyl

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#outdoorsembrace #vanfloor #sheetvinyl

[NarrowboatLiberty]

Great video - your approach makes a lot of sense and is considerably simpler than many of the flooring installation videos out there. Thanks! 🙏

[Xanthro]

Made it look far simpler then I was expecting it to be.
Thank you very much, it looks great too!

[sarahcastleberry]

One of the most thorough, yet simplest techniques I've seen for insulating a van floor!! Ive been following this video very closely for my own build. Thank you for this!

[Gal_a_Van_ting]

Honestly, I've watched so many vids on everyone's various insulation methods, (I've started dreaming of the Pink Panther herding sheep...) but, your method for the transit build is the first I've seen that is helping me to decide on my foundation floor design. I bought my van recently (2010 Sprinter 170WB) and I am waiting for materials to arrive - and weather to improve (it is cold as Fu*k here). Glad I found your channel and Thank you for the entertaining content! :)

[RustyCas]

Great information. Well done. Couple of observations. Primer is cheaper and faster if you buy a quart and just roll / brush it on. Also, people seem to worry about “rust” and do lots of rustproofing. You should be just as concerned about mold and/or mildew in all that untreated wood. Every piece of wood in your van should be sealed or primed to prevent water absorption and mold/mildew. Any “joints” in your subfloor are going to eventually “telegraph” in your vinyl. Joints should be filled (I use Rock Hard Water Putty from Ace Hardware) and then sanded smooth. To “roll” the vinyl, use a 2 ft length of 2 x 4 (with a factory rounded edge) wrapped in a piece of thin cloth to “squeegee” the air out and adhere the flooring. You MUST use enough pressure to collapse the ridges of adhesive created by the trowel if you want good adhesion.

[balllegend]

Absolute legend! You make everything so easy for us with your perfect tutorials. Thank you

[Novur]

I only just came across this channel, but from what I've seen it seems like the most sensible balance between those "this company built my dream van for $100, 000!!" type channels, and the "we're hipsters with no experience or skills who built our entire interior out of shipping pallets" types.

These videos make me think I could actually build something I could afford and be satisfied with

[coachmystogan]

Sidestep seems like the most intimidating part of an install, would love to see it. Have seen people use baking rollers/pins for vinyl install in small areas.

[MatchaPlus]

I love popping in to check on the progress of this man and his van builds. A great channel

[Susmail-hi]

Just wanted to thank you for your content. To me, you are one of the OGs on the scene because you were the first one I discovered about van life anything. Great White was the initial inspiration for me, I bought a new high roof extended Transit this year and I am slowly procrastinating my way to building it out. For me, I feel like insulation and ventilation is my primary focus with the floor being the first step. All of your information has been solid and I appreciate the thoroughness and the delivery. Safe travels Bro!

[LiveToRideMTB]

Maybe I’m a wild man but I’ve decided on my latest build to just go 7mm sound deadening then lay 18mm ply sheets ontop, I had insulation in my last van and honestly, not sure it did anything considering all the windows in a van 😂 I had one either side and a sky light. In winter just run a diesel heater that thing keeps even an empty panel van warm. (Note I will insulate walls and ceiling) This approach has saved heaps of time faffing with all those battons and as it’s 18mm it’s thick and flat to the floor. And you can counter sink bits on so mounting stuff down is easy!

[jwulf]

Can't wait to see how this turns out.

[kadobeans]

I'm so stoked on ur build I can't wait thanks for being so awesome!

[Lovelace]

Thank you for all the details. May eye request a very simple video no one seems to share? Eye'd like a video on making the card board and tape templates? The weirder the shape the better.. Thanks a plenty.

[samfish]

your subfloor looks better than most builds i have seen on you tube i saw a proffesional van builder put 2 layers of wood down and that was it

[ChG]

Your points are so right yet people don't know..

[Shapeshifter]

well said on the reflectix, some people seem to think it can reflect the cold!

[gamelairgamelair]

BEST BALANCE OF COST VS REWARD INSTALL. LOVE IT. YOU ARE SO SMART. HERE IS A BROWNIE POINT.

[ericgoss]

For floor, use a half inch to a full inch of insulation. Lay in this order:

•spray paint primer onto floor
•use noico 80 mil sound deadener (optional). I will prolly do the wheel wells only
•1 inch of xps board. He said use more if you don’t care about standing
•use a xacto knife, just cutting on the line you traced, and bend/snap it apart
•ur supposed to cut the foam into big pieces to minimize thermal bridges or gaps in insulation
•cut bigger than you think. Want to fit snuggly
•lay down insulation on 1/4 inch plywood, so you can use that same template to cut the plywood
•use reflectix foil tape to cover all thermal bridges between foam pieces
Use glue on the wood and lay each piece individually, big piece first
•check for flatness, putting weights down all over the plywood. On parts where not level, use glue gun to anchor it down. Also sand it down if necessary to ensure the panels are flat with each other
•

[tumbleweed]

Wooden rolling pin from the kitchen or even Turing a paint can on its side and roll. Nice work.