Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I bought 3 boxes of the squares of linoleum tiles that you stick on the floor, but now if I'm thinking about it, water can get through the cracks and that's no good. What do you guys use to cover the floor's plywood board?

Thanks,
-ioan

My mattress covers the entire floor of my teardrop, so there's only plywood under there. But I don't have any water leaks, and the floor is one piece so there are no seams to seal.

<Chas>

Just paint it if it not going to be seen.

Jerome

After I put down a new underlayment in my little guy I picked up some of that plastic snap together faux wood flooring. It was inexpensive for such a small amount and it's plastic. It also snaps together pretty tight and cuts with a skill or chop or jigsaw. It's floating so removable or replaceable with no glue issues. And it's not that heavy for the amount needed.

Unsealed plywood covered by snap together exercise matts.

aggie79 wrote:Unsealed plywood

why unsealed?

We used linoleum and are happy with it. It was real cheap as I bought a remnant piece. We never glued it to the plywood, we just painted the plywood and then layed the linoleum on top of plywood. The side trim holds it in place. It is easy to clean and if you spill a drink it is easy to wipe off. Patrick

we used vinyl floor remnant. Wanted something that would be too rough on the hands when sliding them under to make the bed.

aggie79 wrote:Unsealed plywood covered by snap together exercise matts.

I don't want to derail the topic of this thread, but all of my interior surfaces/finishes are "breathable" in case water penetrates the exterior. I didn't want to trap moisture vapor.

aggie79 wrote:

aggie79 wrote:Unsealed plywood covered by snap together exercise matts.

I don't want to derail the topic of this thread, but all of my interior surfaces/finishes are "breathable" in case water penetrates the exterior. I didn't want to trap moisture vapor.

What kind of finish are you using that is breathable? I'm at the point of staining the interior tonight, and I wonder what should I use. This is what I bought, but not opened the can yet: http://www.lowes.com/pd_24902-24-61470444_0__?productId=3098547&Ntt=minwax&pl=1&currentURL=%2Fpl__0__s%3FNtt%3Dminwax%26page%3D2&facetInfo=

aggie79 wrote:

aggie79 wrote:Unsealed plywood covered by snap together exercise matts.

I don't want to derail the topic of this thread, but all of my interior surfaces/finishes are "breathable" in case water penetrates the exterior. I didn't want to trap moisture vapor.

Tom,
I'm curious about your thinking:

Isn't that the opposite of modern vapor barrier living space technology, where the interior living space is sealed to hold moisture from penetrating walls/ceiling, condensing on outer cold walls? It would seem that breathable walls/ceiling would allow the moisture created by respiration to pass through to your outer ply skins that are sealed in aluminum, and condense. I realize ventilation helps reduce the moisture, but not all of it. Heating and or AC would make the situation worse. Also, I am curious about what coating you used that is breathable?

Larry C wrote:

aggie79 wrote:

aggie79 wrote:Unsealed plywood covered by snap together exercise matts.

I don't want to derail the topic of this thread, but all of my interior surfaces/finishes are "breathable" in case water penetrates the exterior. I didn't want to trap moisture vapor.

Tom,
I'm curious about your thinking:

Isn't that the opposite of modern vapor barrier living space technology, where the interior living space is sealed to hold moisture from penetrating walls/ceiling, condensing on outer cold walls? It would seem that breathable walls/ceiling would allow the moisture created by respiration to pass through to your outer ply skins that are sealed in aluminum, and condense. I realize ventilation helps reduce the moisture, but not all of it. Heating and or AC would make the situation worse. Also, I am curious about what coating you used that is breathable?

Larry,

I have to declare that my thinking may be flawed but following is the basis for my thoughts. Please excuse the long-winded explanation.

The roof framing of my house is untreated/unsealed southern yellow pine. Our current roof decking is OSB with an integral foil radiant barrier, that has very fine holes to allow mositure vapor to permeate. The roof is composition shingles over roofing felt. The attic venting consists of continous linear soffit vents and ridge vents.

Our house was built in 1983. About four years ago, during our last re-roofing, we replaced the roof decking. Prior to that our house had been re-roofed three times. (We're in an area where hail storms can be frequent and hail is tough on composition shingles.) The original decking was replaced because it was undersized for the rafter span - there were a few sags between rafters - and because it was full of holes from being shingled several times. The original decking also did not have a radiant barrier.

The shingle side of the old decking had some stains from water getting around shingles, particularly in the valleys and areas where we had flashing that was installed incorrectly. Even though water had reached the OSB decking, the wood itself was in good shape and not rotted. I believe that the reason the decking did not rot or dry rot is because the water permeated though the decking and evaporated on the "open air" side of the decking in the attic (assisted by the air movement from the ridge and soffit vents.) And, our 28-year old pine rafters, joists, and collar beams are like new even though they have been exposed to the air and humidity changes during that time.

The above led me to believe that should water or water vapor penetrate the exterior of the teardrop and it had a place to go - through a permeable interior surface - it would not cause rotting in wood shell of the teardrop. (My teardrop is garaged. I leave the roof vent open when not camping - covered by a sheet to prevent dust from getting inside - to allow the walls to "breath.")

The interior side of my plywood sandwich floor is unfinished plywood. It is covered by open cell foam exercise matts and a mattress. The ceiling of my teardrop is unfinished plywood covered with a spray-webbing of adhesive - not a solid coat - and hull liner. My interior wall finish is pre-finished engineered flooring (veneered planking - not fiber board and plastic laminate.) The finish of the flooring is impermeable, but along the joints water vapor can permeate.

I did the exact opposite approach on the exterior of my teardrop. The road of the floor has 2-3 coats of CPES (1st time - wont use it again), 1 of epoxy, and 2 coats of automotive rubberized undercoating. The sidewalls, roof, and hatch have two coats of epoxy. The perimeter, lap joints, and openings of the aluminum sheeting are bedded in a bead of 3M 4200 marine sealant as well as the aluminum trim. The trim is held on by stainless steel screws. Holes were predrilled, temporary screws installed and later removed, and 3M 4200 injected in the holes prior to installation of the final stainless steel screws.

I hope this explains my thinking process. I look forward to seeing your build progress.

Take care,
Tom

aggie79 wrote:

Larry C wrote:

aggie79 wrote:

aggie79 wrote:Unsealed plywood covered by snap together exercise matts.

I don't want to derail the topic of this thread, but all of my interior surfaces/finishes are "breathable" in case water penetrates the exterior. I didn't want to trap moisture vapor.

Tom,
I'm curious about your thinking:

Isn't that the opposite of modern vapor barrier living space technology, where the interior living space is sealed to hold moisture from penetrating walls/ceiling, condensing on outer cold walls? It would seem that breathable walls/ceiling would allow the moisture created by respiration to pass through to your outer ply skins that are sealed in aluminum, and condense. I realize ventilation helps reduce the moisture, but not all of it. Heating and or AC would make the situation worse. Also, I am curious about what coating you used that is breathable?

Larry,

I have to declare that my thinking may be flawed but following is the basis for my thoughts. Please excuse the long-winded explanation.

The roof framing of my house is untreated/unsealed southern yellow pine. Our current roof decking is OSB with an integral foil radiant barrier, that has very fine holes to allow mositure vapor to permeate. The roof is composition shingles over roofing felt. The attic venting consists of continous linear soffit vents and ridge vents.

Our house was built in 1983. About four years ago, during our last re-roofing, we replaced the roof decking. Prior to that our house had been re-roofed three times. (We're in an area where hail storms can be frequent and hail is tough on composition shingles.) The original decking was replaced because it was undersized for the rafter span - there were a few sags between rafters - and because it was full of holes from being shingled several times. The original decking also did not have a radiant barrier.

The shingle side of the old decking had some stains from water getting around shingles, particularly in the valleys and areas where we had flashing that was installed incorrectly. Even though water had reached the OSB decking, the wood itself was in good shape and not rotted. I believe that the reason the decking did not rot or dry rot is because the water permeated though the decking and evaporated on the "open air" side of the decking in the attic (assisted by the air movement from the ridge and soffit vents.) And, our 28-year old pine rafters, joists, and collar beams are like new even though they have been exposed to the air and humidity changes during that time.

The above led me to believe that should water or water vapor penetrate the exterior of the teardrop and it had a place to go - through a permeable interior surface - it would not cause rotting in wood shell of the teardrop. (My teardrop is garaged. I leave the roof vent open when not camping - covered by a sheet to prevent dust from getting inside - to allow the walls to "breath.")

The interior side of my plywood sandwich floor is unfinished plywood. It is covered by open cell foam exercise matts and a mattress. The ceiling of my teardrop is unfinished plywood covered with a spray-webbing of adhesive - not a solid coat - and hull liner. My interior wall finish is pre-finished engineered flooring (veneered planking - not fiber board and plastic laminate.) The finish of the flooring is impermeable, but along the joints water vapor can permeate.

I did the exact opposite approach on the exterior of my teardrop. The road of the floor has 2-3 coats of CPES (1st time - wont use it again), 1 of epoxy, and 2 coats of automotive rubberized undercoating. The sidewalls, roof, and hatch have two coats of epoxy. The perimeter, lap joints, and openings of the aluminum sheeting are bedded in a bead of 3M 4200 marine sealant as well as the aluminum trim. The trim is held on by stainless steel screws. Holes were predrilled, temporary screws installed and later removed, and 3M 4200 injected in the holes prior to installation of the final stainless steel screws.

I hope this explains my thinking process. I look forward to seeing your build progress.

Take care,
Tom

Tom,
Thanks for the explanation... Your's is the one of the builds I consider the "Gold Standard" of doing it right! Your method makes sense now that I know your thinking. In my build I may be thinking this completely wrong. My idea was to build similar to northern clime house construction where insulation is put between studs and a vapor barrier (plastic sheet) is applied before the interior sheet rock on the living space side. This is done on walls and ceiling. The idea is to prevent any moisture from permeating the walls and condensing on the cold outer surfaces.

Here in the NE, many older homes that were not built with insulation, have over the past 20 years or so had there wall cavities filled with blown in insulation. This has resulted in disastrous rot problems for many. Heated inside living space in cold weather has high humidity from occupants respiration, cooking, showering, etc. This moisture creates vapor pressure when heated. It easily transfers thru the walls/ceilings that don't have a vapor barrier, and condenses on the first cold surface (outside wall) My home is a perfect example of vapor penetrating the walls and blistering my exterior paint! Last summer, instead of building my Tear, I was painting my house
I was basing my build thinking on the last paragraph. However, I may be reading way too much home construction theory into my thinking. Maybe a enclosed trailer does not exhibit the same vapor pressures seen in a typical northern clime home?

It seems the number one problem seen in all builds is the possibility of water damage.

Should I rethink my vapor barrier theory for my build?

Larry C

dguff wrote:Just paint it if it not going to be seen.

Jerome

Jerome,

I don't mean to sidetrack this thread, but can you tell me more about your avatar. Did you build that?

Mike...

P.S. Back to the thread...

It just seems some of you are way over thinking a simple camper. You aren't going to live in it year round like a home so moisture production is nothing like a permanant residence plus if you use materials such as foam and waterproof glues that are natural vapor barriers then you kill the problem right away. So rule of thumb would be to make sure the exterior is sealed and waterproof and the interior always gets ventilated and problem solved.