Icehouse floor question

[Shurdaddy]

I picked up shack at Cabelas where you put in you own floor. The instructions say to use plywood. Should I do any thing to treat the plywood to make it last longer?? I think it would be a good idea to put some sort of plastic on the bottom side to prevent water-logging. Any thoughts on this would be very helpful.

[Dave]

I think a good sealant would be better than plastic. And, maybe use marine grade plywood. Moisture would get trapped between the plywood and plastic, IMO.

[packattack]

Why not just use a sheet of plastic. You can get most thicknesses at any sign store. I am pretty sure that you can get them in what ever size you want to. The best thing that I can see is that it will never rot. I used this plastic on the walls of my permanant for the last couple of years now and it has worked great.

[beer batter]

I'm guessing if you were to put plastic underneath that plywood it would slip and slide all over the ice/snow. I'd go with either a sealant/paint over regular plywood or some treated plywood (much heavier though).

[Shurdaddy]

It is a suitcase style, like a clam5600. My buddy has a clam 5600 and the base is plywood enclosed in plastic (I think). I want to be able to drag it easily across snow and ice, that is another consideration for the plastic covering.

[big_fish_guy]

beer batter is right, if you use plastic on the bottom, some wind comes up, there goes the house... unless you anchor it down good. Also, plastic will be very slippery when wet on the inside. Just use marine grade or green treat plywood. You can go with 1/2 inch for weight reasons. Or you could try 1/4 " plywood. I would think it doesn't need to be very strong because it'll be resting on ice. I've been thinking about going 1/4 on my suitcase for wieght reasons.

[danny berg]

Just an FYI, If you decide to paint the wood or put a clear spar varnish on it throw a little sand down on the paint when wet (the side that will be faceing off the ice), this will give you an anti slip floor...

[Muskieguy]

SD,

I too have that tent from cabelas where you put in your own floor. One bit of advice, if you have the one where the poles are shockcorded and removed completely from the tent and go into a bag...be sure to move the ice house away from the holes before taking it down...no matter how careful...you will eventually drop a pole down the hole.

Muskieguy.......

[dakotaB]

Shurdaddy,

DO NOT use a sheet of plastic on the bottom of your plywood. All this will do is hold moisture between the plywood and the plastic which will result in accelerating the rot and deterioration of your floor. Use a .40 or .60 treated plywood. For some added protection apply a coat of exterior latex paint. Also, I love Danny's idea of using sand additive for a non-slip surface. Good luck!

[Gus]

I have one of these houses and just used regular 1/2 inch plywood. It's been 10 years now and it's still holding up just fine. I really don't think the water and ice has enough time to ruin the wood in a day or even weekend trip. I always set it up once I get home to dry out, but I do that more because I want to get the canvas dry than the floor. It can be kind of heavy and if I were to do it again, I would try a thinner sheet of plywood. It's kind of a pain to lift into a vehicle by yourself. It is a great tent for the money though. I also bought a frabill cub speedshack because I wanted something with a plastic bottom. It's a nice house, but I prefer the extra room of the cabelas shack even though it's harder to pull with a snowmobile.

[Shurdaddy]

Thanks for all of the input....Looks like I'm making a trip to Menards this weekend for some "1/4 plywood and paint.

[Duffer]

thats exactly what i did to mine used 1/4 in. plywood and treated it with some selant worked fine i also agree that it is really heavey. make sure u pick up some handles they help pull it.

[varmntguy]

I have one of the Cabelas houses and used 1/4 inch treated for the floor but I also used that roll on truckbed liner for the side that you stand on. The side that faces the ice I put about 5 coats of water seal, haven't had any problems yet and the weight is about equal to using 1/2 inch plywood. I think it would take years for that floor to get waterlogged or wore out.

[federline]

What about marine plywood? Pressure treated plywood also exists. Dunno where to get either, tho.