Plywood flooring

[biddyviscount75]

I have a 1975 viscount It’s my first refurb. I’m deliberating if I should replace the floor or not? I believe it is the original. The vinyl has been removed it’s dry as a bone. But there is a dusty musty smell not damp just musty. That really permeates. I think once new vinyl is over the top that might be enough to cover the smell. I’m just wondering if the wood has a life span tho and is perhaps just due to be changed. The smell could be a sign of disintegration?  Hoping someone has a bit more experience and can help me make a decision. 

[Roehm3108]

Hi OP
This forum is for caravans that have pre1970 build dates. You would be better off going onto the Classic Caravans Forum here:https://vintagecaravans.proboards.com/board/4/classic-caravan-forum for future enquiries.

In regards to your question. Bearing in mind the age of your caravan, they will have a mustiness about them anyway. Having said that, it should not make life untenable. What makes you think it is the floor that smells? If the floor has not got wet somewhere in the past, then it should still be OK. Like with houses, wooden floors should last a long time. But it may have gotten wet at some point in the past and the previous owner repaired the leak, but did nothing about the floor. If that were so, you would be smelling a bit of rot. Is the floor plywood spongy in any area? That's usually a sign of water damage.

My suggestion is to try the simple fixes first and see what happens. Replacing the floor sounds a bit desperate. If the floor does have some rot in it, there is no point covering it with other flooring or vinyl - the smell would still stay! My suggestion is before doing anything too severe, that you wash everything down with something like White King or Sugar Soap, including the cupboard interiors and give the van a good airing and then go from there.

[Don Ricardo]

Hi Biddyviscount75,

Roehm3108 has given you good advice. The comment I would add is that replacing the floor would be a major job because the furniture in the van will have been built on top of it, so to replace the floor you'd probably need to remove the furniture then rebuild it.

One other option if the flooring is a bit soft in some parts is to reinforce it from underneath. That's what we did with our van, which is much older than yours. However you don't mention that there is a problem with the flooring as such, just that the van smells musty. Older vans (and newer vans too) do have a distinctive smell to them arising from the materials used to build them, particularly if the van has been closed up for a while. Again I'd try Roehm's suggestions before getting too radical.

Good luck with getting rid of the smell, and let us know how you get on.

Don Ricardo

[nickd15]

Hi Biddyviscount75,

I have to agree with both the above posts.

When we acquired our Travelhome it also had a very musty smell. We painted all the interior and made up new curtains and cushions/bedding and covered the floor with new vinyl.

The only smell now is the new paint and vinyl.

Good luck with yours, Nick

[biddyviscount75]

Thanks all yes it would be a big job something I want to avoid if possible. There are no signs of obvious water damage but that’s not say it hasn’t gotten wet at some point. I have sanded back any residual glue from the old vinyl and will wash it down today and go from there. Many thanks

[Mustang]

Hi biddyviscount75,
When you come over to the Classic caravans Forum, check out our floor reno in our 77 Viscount. link
Cheers
Mustang