Tuesday, April 15, 2014
How to Use Treated Lumber in Trailers
Replacing the floor boards in your trailer is a necessary periodic maintenance task that will help keep your trailer in top condition. While plywood and standard lumber can be used to replace trailer floors, using treated lumber is the best way to create a lasting repair. Treated lumber survives the elements and lasts much longer than traditional lumber, but it may warp. Take steps to cure it before installation.
Instructions
- 1
Place 2-by-4 runners, spaced 24 inches apart and covering the length of the treated lumber, on your garage floor or driveway. Stack the treated lumber, wide face down, on top of and perpendicular to the runners. Lay a piece of plywood on top of the lumber, and add cinder blocks or bricks to weigh it down. Cover the stack with a tarp, if it will be stored outside. Allow four weeks for the lumber to dry, then uncover and unstack.
2Draw a sketch of your trailers floor, including width and length of each piece. Measure and mark the position of bolt holes in the original boards. Unbolt the floor boards with an impact gun by loosening and removing the nuts from the underside of the bolts, underneath the trailer. Tap each bolt upward to with a hammer for easy removal.
3Pull out the bolts from above with the claw end of the hammer. Save at least one for comparison. Purchase bolts of the same size and thickness to replace the original hardware for best results.
4Measure and cut one board for each piece in the original floor, using a circular saw. Make it the same length and width as the original, and bore bolt holes using the original board as a template. Use a drill bit the same thickness as the bolts.
5Install the new floor boards, starting at the left front corner of the trailer and working across first and then back. Drop a bolt through each hole in each floor board and down through the bolt holes in the trailer floor. Tap each head with a hammer to set the carriage head into the lumber to prevent it spinning.
6Thread a washer and bolt from below onto each bolt as you go and tighten by hand. Install all of the boards in this fashion. Once all boards are installed, tighten the nuts with an impact gun. Double-check each nut to make sure it remained tight, and snug down any nuts that require it.
No comments:
Post a Comment