What glue is adhesive to form ply?

[mdobrochodow]

I am considering using form ply as the flooring in my van. Will glue stick to the form ply? And is there a best glue to use?

Part of the floor will remain bare faced and half I would like to put down a laminate. So hoping there is a glue that will allow me to stick form ply to the metal floor of van and also stick a laminate on top. 

Thanks! 

[EricL]

Hello @mdobrochodow 

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's marvellous to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about what glue to use on Formply.

It sounds like you are converting your van into a camper. If you are, please make sure to post a few photos of the vehicle, I'm sure our members are keen to see how you'll be doing the conversion. 

In regards to the glue, I suggest using Selleys 350g Liquid Nails Heavy Duty. It is capable of adhering to many materials, and it has excellent resistance to water and weather which makes it suitable for interior and exterior applications.

However, since it will be in a moving vehicle, I also recommend using Zenith 10G x 40mm Galvanised Self Embedding Head Metal Screws Winged - 50 Pack. Make sure to double check that there are no hoses, pipes or electricals in the way when you drill through. 

You can use the same glue to attach the laminate flooring onto the Formply.

Let me call on our experienced members @Peggers and @twocutekelpies for their recommendations.

If you need further assistance, please let me know.

Eric

[mdobrochodow]

Thanks Eric! 

[twocutekelpies]

Sorry for the late reply, I was overseas 😊 

I used 12mm formply in two of my caravans (unfortunately not available at Bunnings that I know of) as I felt 17mm would be too heavy. As Eric suggested, I used galv. metal screws as well as countersunk long rivets. I didn't glue to the chassis as I haven't come across any caravans where this was done from factory (not sure if you're doing a van or caravan). A few people I have spoken have used a flexible adhesive between ply and chassis and found it deadened any squeak, many have avoided liquid nails as in the past it dried very hard and didn't have the flexibility required for a caravan, not sure if this is still the case.  

In one caravan, I keyed the surface of the formply with a sander to de-gloss and also coated with bondcrete before laying adhesive Winton Tiles. Unfortunately, as a few caravaners have found, adhesive vinyl tiles tend to shrink and separate in caravans due to temperature extremes, the same happened to me. They did stick down well though.

My other caravan is still a work in progress so the formply floor is still exposed. I have found it to be extremely slippery especially if I step in off wet grass, I've skated across the floor a few times, my advise would be to cover it.