When it comes to building a campervan, flooring is essential. A good floor not only provides a sturdy foundation for your furniture and appliances and yourself, but it also plays a crucial role in thermal insulation and sound dampening. To ensure maximum comfort and energy efficiency in your van, it’s important to understand the different layers involved in a van floor.
Layers of flooring
Sound Dampening & Insulation
To create an energy-efficient and comfortable van, sound dampening and insulation are crucial. Proper insulation helps reduce heat loss and road noise, providing a quieter and more comfortable ride. Sound dampeners, well, dampen sound.
Subfloor
After sound dampening and insulation, the next layer of a van floor is the subfloor. Using the factory floor as a template for your new floor can save time and effort. Marine-grade plywood is a strong and durable material for the subfloor.
Top Layer
Choosing a top layer of flooring that suits your van layout and floor plan is the final step in building a van floor. Different spaces may require different types of flooring, so it’s important to consider your needs and design preferences.
Factors to Decide on Flooring
When deciding on the right flooring for your van, several factors should be taken into consideration, including:
Durability
Consider how the flooring will hold up to the realities of van life, including moisture, cleaning, scratches, and abuse. You want to choose materials that can handle moisture and constant use.
Cost
Determine the balance between durability and aesthetic for your budget. While it’s tempting to go for the cheapest option, remember that quality flooring can last for years, making it a worthwhile investment.
Aesthetic
Decide on the look you want, whether it’s rustic, modern, functional, wood grain, light, or dark. Consider a mixed-grain colour to hide dirt and pet hair.
Weight & Thickness
Consider lightweight materials that won’t affect the interior height of your van. It’s important to choose a flooring that won’t add unnecessary weight to your vehicle and won’t compromise the safety of your build.
What materials to use?
Insulation: Check here for all things insulation
Subfloor: There really is only one material to use here.. Plywood.
Top floor: many options, let’s take a look
Top floor material options
Cork
Cork flooring: the eco-friendly option for van flooring. This type of flooring is sustainable, environmentally friendly, and non-toxic. It offers a soft and comfortable floor under bare feet while also providing additional thermal and sound insulation with an R-value of 3.
Cork flooring comes in thin sheets or tongue and groove planks. However, it is important to note that cork flooring needs to be sealed when first installed and resealed every few years, which can result in recurring costs.
While cork flooring is resistant to fire, water, bugs, and mould, it is not as durable as vinyl or laminate flooring options. Overall, cork flooring is an excellent choice for those who prioritise eco-friendliness, comfort, and insulation, but are willing to pay a higher upfront cost and invest in recurring maintenance.
Sheet Vinyl
Sheet vinyl flooring is often the cheapest and most waterproof option for van floors. It comes in rolls of continuous vinyl and is extremely easy to install by cutting the sheet to fit and glueing it down. Although most sheet vinyl flooring is not the best looking,
One advantage of sheet vinyl flooring is that it’s cheaper and lightweight while being impervious to water. However, it can be difficult to do spot repairs or to uninstall. It’s important to choose sheet vinyl with low VOCs to reduce the amount of harmful chemicals released into your van.
Vinyl Planks
Vinyl planks are one of the most popular options for campervan flooring due to their click-lock system and ease of installation.
They offer a wide variety of options to choose from, with textured vinyl planks providing a more realistic look and slip resistance. It’s important to check the wear layer, the protective top layer, and choose a brand that advertises water resistance.
While they are a good budget option, they are not the most environmentally friendly choice.
Luxury Vinyl Plank (LVP)
Luxury Vinyl Plank (LVP) is a top pick for campervan flooring due to its durability, ease of cleaning, and a variety of colours and designs. It can be installed through floating installation or peel and stick.
The wear layer thickness is important to consider when choosing LVP. While it can be more expensive than other options, it is a durable and long-lasting choice. However, like it’s cheaper counterpart, it is not the most environmentally friendly option.
Carpet
Carpet is a cost-effective option for van flooring, with a wide range of prices and styles depending on the look and quality. It is relatively cheap and easy to install, making it a popular choice.
While it provides a soft, warm barrier between your feet and the hard floor underneath in colder climates, carpet is not recommended by us due to the difficulty of cleaning. It is susceptible to staining and ageing from mud, dirt, sand, and water damage.
If you go for it, you’re subscribing to daily vacuuming (yep, can’t sweep carpet) to keep it looking clean.
Rubber
Rubber flooring is a great option for van conversions due to its durability, insulation, and sound deadening properties. It is fairly straightforward to install, and it’s waterproof, making it perfect for outdoor enthusiasts (although, make sure you know where all that water is running).
There are a couple of drawbacks however, one of the more significant being the odour that can linger for some time after installation. Additionally, it is relatively heavy compared to other flooring options, which can be a concern for those who are weight-conscious.
Laminate flooring
Laminate flooring is a popular choice for van flooring due primarily to its affordability and variety of colours and styles. While not as durable as vinyl flooring, it is strong and easy to clean. Laminate flooring is also relatively simple to install as it comes in planks with tongues and grooves.
One downside is that it is not water-resistant and can swell from moisture, causing it to pop out, or mould to grow underneath it. Although some waterproof options are available, they come at a higher cost. Laminate flooring can also potentially warp over time and can be slippery.
How to fit your Flooring
- Fit your insulation (see here)
- Fit you subfloor (below)
- Fit the top layer (further below)
Fitting your subfloor
Step 1: Cut the Plywood Subfloor
To start, you’ll need a flawless floor template. You can either use the insulating material as a template or create a new one. Once you have your template, lay out the plywood in a mosaic layout, ensuring that the grain on each sheet runs at a 90 degree angle to the one next to it.
Triple check the accuracy of the template before cutting the thick, and therefore expensive, plywood. Precision is key.
Step 2: Frame the Flooring
To create a sturdy foundation for your van’s flooring, screw battens into the floor, along the ribs. The thickness of your subfloor will determine how many batons you’ll need. You will need to use Self Tapping screws to do this.
Use a chalk line to mark where the batons are on the base of the van walls, so you know where to screw the subfloor. And, of course, use anti-rust screws and countersink them into the wood for added security.
Step 3: Add Sound Deadening Sheets, Insulation, and Install Underslung Tanks
If you want to reduce noise and vibrations in your van, now is the time to install sound deadening sheets. Insulation also goes in now. Here’s our guide on how to do that. Additionally, if you plan to install underslung tanks, this is the step in which to do it.
Step 4: Attaching the Subfloor with Screws
When you have underslung tanks in, and your insulation, it’s time to attach the subfloor to the frame batons using screws. Be sure to countersink the screws into the wood for a flush finish.
Be warned, trying to lift a sheet of plywood into the back of a van without any corners stabbing a hole in the foam is no easy feat, so perhaps get a friend along to help with this bit. You don’t want to pierce through the insulation!
Step 5: Filling and Sanding Screw Holes and Caulking Seams
After attaching the subfloor, fill the screw holes with wood filler and sand with medium to fine grit sandpaper. Use caulk to fill any seams in the flooring for a properly done job. Sand to complete.
Spray foam the edges too, for added measure.
Step 6: Pause.
Before installing your top floor, it’s a good idea to finish your van’s walls and ceiling first, this way, you can avoid any scratches or damage to your new floor. Additionally, putting up walls beforehand shrinks the flooring that needs to be covered with vinyl.
When you’re ready, move on to the top floor. For this guide, we’ve picked to show you how to install Vinyl. For us, it’s the stand out winner. It’s super cheap, it’s super durable, it’s super available, it’s super easy to install and it comes in a massive range of styles, so you’re going to be able to find something that you like really easily. Here’s how to fit it.
Fitting your top layer
Step 1: Check the Flooring and Position it in the Van
Before starting, make sure you have all the necessary materials, including the vinyl flooring, a Stanley knife, thin double-sided cloth tape, and high-rated contact adhesive.
Roll out the vinyl flooring near your van to ensure you have ordered enough. Cut the vinyl down to an approximate size, if it’s too big to roll out inside the vehicle. Whilst still being oversized, when it’s small enough, position it inside the van and make sure it is spread equally across the length and width of the van. You could choose to use the subfloor as a template, if it’s not already screwed in.
Step 2: Cutting the Flooring
Start cutting the vinyl flooring from the back doors and work your way along the sides to the front of the van. Cut the flooring using a sharp stanley knife and do it in smaller sections, always cutting in one direction to avoid cutting off too much of the floor. After rough cuts, go back along the edges and tidy them up.
Step 3: Securing the Flooring
Once the vinyl flooring is cut to size, roll it back up and start sticking double-sided cloth tape to the edges and the middle of the vans subfloor. Put extra tape in high footfall places like the side and back doors. Peel the top layer off ready to roll the vinyl flooring back over the tape.
To properly adhere the vinyl sheeting to the plywood underlayment, a high-strength contact spray adhesive will also need to be used. The adhesive has to be sprayed on both the floor and the bottom of the sheet of vinyl.
Do this in sections, rolling a bit more of the flooring out with each spray or contact adhesive. Use your hands and feet to smooth it out and remove any air that may have been captured under the floor. Be careful to not create any air bubbles.
Step 4: Finishing and Edges
Remember to weigh down the corners of the vinyl flooring with heavy items and let it sit for a day or so before walking on it to ensure it has bonded properly. If desired, finish off the edges with a metal strip across the side and back doors, this stuff is called nosing, if you want to search for some online.
What we did
We had an insulated subfloor already in, because we bought a campervan that had already been (superficially) poorly done.
We didn’t want to re-do all of that, but we were concerned that there wasn’t enough insulation, so we went against the grain a little bit, and added some insulation above the subfloor.
We knew we wanted this flooring called Altro.
We found some in our local carpet shop. Importantly, it was an off cut. It cost about £80, which was more than we wanted to spend, but this stuff is the dogs. We only needed enough to go up to where our shower box/ bed/ garage is.
The subfloor wasn’t in the best condition, so we put down a layer of Reflectix. Then we put two layers of wood fibre underlay, then another layer of Reflectix. (Si had some left over in his mum’s roof).
We taped this down with double sided sticky tape and some contact adhesive.
We measured the dimensions and cut (from the bottom) the approximate dimension on the floor.
We put cardboard under the Altro to protect the knife against the concrete floor. Then we brought it inside and laid it out, and cut around the edge. Take off a little at a time you can always add it back on.
We double sided sticky tape’d around the edge, but it didn’t need much because we are building our furniture in 18mm ply on top, which is going to fix it. Remember to use a contact adhesive that is rated over 100 degrees C.
The white can stuff from screwfix won’t cut it. It sounds unbelievable, but the floor can get extremely hot if it’s in the sun for a while.
The underlay was really great and it’s given the floor a really nice spongy feel.