Getting the floors out of the bus is not a small task, just like most of the things that we need to do on the bus. As show in my last post, the back of the bus had rotten plywood but the rest of the bus had plywood that looked almost new. I hurt my shoulder at one point last week so as Simon used the crowbar while I concentrated on the screws holding the plywood down on the metal.

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Some came up easy, some needed a little help, some made me go crazy and some were just impossible. Finally I found the best strategy.

  • Use the right bit. By this I mean, the biggest bit you have that fits.
  • Using the tork wrench, loosen the screw slightly
  • Use Jig-a-loo or another lubricant and spray the screw so that it can go under a bit.
  • Tap the screw with the hammer a few times.
  • Use the tork wrench or the power drill/screwdriver to get it out slowly work it out. If it doesn’t work tap it a few more times and go onto the next screw while the lubricant gets into it a bit. Then come back to it.

There were even a few that didn’t come out yesterday as much as I tried and pleaded but before heading inside I sprayed/tapped them one more time and in the morning they came out like butter.

Here are the floors with most of the flooring off. Each piece of plywood was held by about 20 screws…

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A friend came over today and lent a hand and helped us get most of the plywood out. the pieces in back were a bit rotten but not as much as the other day and it came off in pieces that can’t be reused but didn’t fall apart either.

After that, the rest came out slowly…  maneuvering around the wheel wells, the heaters and the thick layer of caulking that was still holding on for dear life.

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There were a few spots of rust after that back section but most of the floors look like new. A very good thing.

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We had to stop with the floor while we go the three remaining seats out and we will have to grind those brackets out, but it feels great to know that we almost have all of the floors out now.

Oh and see that sink? It was a garage sale find for 35$ with the faucet. It is nicer than the one in our house 🙂

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Next steps:

  • Grinding the seat bracket screws out
  • Getting the rest of the floor covering, screws and plywood out.
  • Getting the front rail and the separater that is behind the drivers seat out
  • filling the holes in the floor, using the wire brush on the rusty parts and then painting the floor with Rust-Oleum paint.