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Help ply lining the roof

18K views 33 replies 17 participants last post by  438TransitBuild 
#1 ·
I'm wondering how I can install batons to ply line the roof of my van. In hindsight I'm thinking I should have glued the batons to the roof between the supports. This is still possible, it's just that I'd have to cut away the Thinsulate I've already installed. I've installed Plusnuts into the three supports running across the roof.

Looking at how the roof vent has been installed (not by me) I'm wondering if I could just buy something like http://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt...-Flat-Bar-with-1-16-in-Thick-802077/204225774 and bolt it in to the plus nuts and then screw the batons either side.

I have a couple of concerns: 1) height is a premium as I have a LR and this would add another fraction of an inch (especially as the bolts/screws would not be recessed); 2) the wooden batons I'd be screwing into would be shallower than the braces attaching them to the structural supports (so the ply lined roof might have bulges!).

I've attached a couple of photos to give a better idea of what I have right now.

Any and all suggestions welcome!
 

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#2 ·
I used 5mm plywood covered with black vinyl material. Panels have seams at each roof rib. No other wood used or needed. Each panel is screwed to ribs with small sheet metal screws. Then made 4 inch wide strips of same material to cover butt seams.
 

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#7 ·
I'm planning on making ledgers that match the curve of the ribs and mounting to each side of the ribs, holding whatever material above and between the ribs in order to maximize height. I don't mind seeing the ribs, and I can always use that white rubber stair tread tape to cover them if needed. I'm going to use laminate flooring as the material because it is super durable, easy to work with, can match the curve of the roof, is already finished, and available in hundreds of varieties. 10-12mm will make the longest span without ever sagging. Life accomplice wants "high gloss piano white" but I like a little wood grain so I may over-rule and install what I think is best. Also very white so that the interior isn't claustrophobic, but with some grain pattern visible. The ledgers will be an exercise in compound corners and angles and radius.

roof
.5-1" insulation
10-12mm laminate flooring (aka Pergo)
ledger
 
#12 ·
Aloha, Batons are not always needed on boat ceiling panels. They can be held in place using a Roman arch. No hardware needed, remove with a push. On airplanes, a baton is too heavy and roomy. Cover gaps between panels with strips of same type of material as ceiling panel, attach with carpet tape.
 
#34 ·
Not sure if you are still on this forum @HNLHugh, but what do you mean by roman arch? Just arching the ply and tucking it in to a lengthwise baton on either size of the ceiling? A roman arch would be using bricks/blocks etc so I am not really following. but I like the idea of a piece of ply help up by itself through the arching, with a gap cover between panels.
 
#13 ·
I used 4 panels and the rivnut and strip method over each roof rib. Used 1/4" engineered bamboo. Bamboo had to be planed on back to make the curves. The 8020 upper cabinet assembly also pins everything in place. BTW LED lights fit nicely into an 8020 slot, with an inserted aluminum backer (think its 1/2"). Ive also now added a second LED strip along the outside edge of the upper piece of 8020 (with a bamboo cover strip below) to throw diffused light over the ceiling.
 

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#16 ·
HDH;558945[URL="http://s1184.photobucket.com/user/Flying_Frisian/media/2015%20Transit/20160831_181205_zpsdkgoeqvk.jpg.html" said:
Actually while I'm looking at this again could I ask what you have in place of the large polystyrene blocks that are present in my van? It looks as though you have something custom, or perhaps this is just different in the non-low roof models?

I also guess that you removed the headliner to secure the ply there. This is on my list but I haven't gotten around to it just yet :)
 
#18 ·
I also guess that you removed the headliner to secure the ply there. This is on my list but I haven't gotten around to it just yet :)
I did not remove the headliner. There is a gap between the roof and the headliner, which I used to hold up the ceiling panel in the front. From the picture below you can see that I cut some notches in the front of the panel. These notches are for the fasteners that connect the headliner to the roof. The notches in the back (long side) are for the existing ceiling lights. This front panel was the most difficult one since I didn't want to remove the foam pieces.
 
#19 ·
To surly Bill: --- I have been thinking along the same line as you describe. I have not been able to come up with a good method to provide a mounting place next to the rib for the ceiling. Your reference to a ledger sounds like what I am missing. Can you provide a description of what your ledger will look like and how it would be fixed to the ceiling. My visual skills seem to be failing me on this one! Any help will be greatly appreciated.
 
#21 ·
I'm planning on making a ledger that follows the contour of the roof rib, an arc, and will bolt to each side of the rib supporting the panel(s) above it. 6-7 ledgers. the TRICKY part will be to bevel the ledger to match the angle of the rib, which is not 90 degrees from the roof. And doing this bevel on a curved arc. I guess the lazy thing to do would be to attach the ledger to the side of the ribs and just cut the bevel on the top

Drawing a 3D scetch and having it made on a CNC machine is a little overkill, and we're still a couple years away from a large scale hobbyist 3D printer, so I'll be doing all kinds of fancy things with a jigsaw, router and sander on pieces of 1x6 that will end up being just 1" tall. It may be possible to bevel and bend a piece of wood while attaching it to the rib, though. Or that polystyrene trimboard stuff.
 
#25 ·
Excellent update on ribs & ledgers. Is sauce extra! :D Attaching wood ledgers to the sides of the ribs is what was giving me fits. Now I understand. Thank you for the insight!! With my Medium Roof I must have a rib covering that is soft enough so my head won't hurt much as I walk into it. Even with1.5" polyiso on the ceiling with a bamboo covering i will still be able to stand without my head touching.
 
#29 ·
There's a really cool method that I cannot find right now that uses a thin piece of material about 2x8" that is square on one end and angled to a point on the other as a scribe tool. You place a piece of cardboard or paper so it cannot move within 7" (less than the length of your scribe tool), touch the point end to any part of the surface you want to copy, and then trace the square end of the tool on the cardboard; angle doesn't matter. Make a lot of these marks, at any angle, touching the point at every change in angle or curve of the piece you want to copy or scribe to. Then, lay that cardboard on the material to be cut and place the scribe tool square end inside each of the marks you traced around it when mapping the surface, and put a dot at the point (on the material to be cut). Then connect the dots, that's your cut line! When you place the scribe tool inside the lines you traced, the point is exactly where it was on the surface you copied.

It's impressive how accurate you can scribe to complex surfaces with this method. I wish I could find the video so you have a visual of this simple process. I made my scribe tool out of 1/4" masonite I had as scrap. I think it's an old boatmaking method.
 
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#30 · (Edited)
... It's impressive how accurate you can scribe to complex surfaces with this method ...
For the walls I tried to keep the scribing stick horizontal at all times (with mixed success) so the scribed curve would be identical to the desired contour. The method that you describe is much better. Thanks.

Here's a link to some images about scribing with your method.
 
#33 ·
Contour gauges have been featured on TV car shows lately. Some are very high-tech/expensive. Lockheed wanted to invent the L-1011 and decided to steal the airfoil data off a Boeing 727 using really, really long contour gauges. They forgot to label the stolen data top/bottom, upr/lwr, so the wing was a mess. DC-10s still fly in commercial service, L-1011s are long gone. "Index" your cardboard to eliminate ambiguity?
 
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