Building a false floor

[Khare]

Going to be making a false floor to avoid the carpet sinking down into the empty spare wheel well. Been looking around and I can't decide on what material and what thickness to use.

11mm OSB was one suggestion, but it seems heavy.

MDF is another choice, but how thick? 6mm, 9mm, 12mm? Needs to be thin enough to be lightweight (going to be building a trapdoor to the spare wheel well) but also strong enough to not break when I put stuff in the boot (mainly shopping bags and travel luggage, sometimes tools likes hydraulic jack and toolbox).

So, suggestions please?

[supergeeman]

6/9mm mdf will bow/sag over time, with a constant load, without some supports screwed/glued on the underneath...how do i know? used it to bulk up my sagging sofa!

[Khare]

6/9mm mdf will bow/sag over time, with a constant load, without some supports screwed/glued on the underneath...how do i know? used it to bulk up my sagging sofa!

Funny cos my sofa has some 12mm MDF underneath and it's sagged too 

Mind you 60+kg for extended periods is much more than maybe 20kg for an hour or two every full moon.

[Tazzy]

9mm with a 9mm skeleton underneath should be strong enough and light enough, certainly less than if you had a sub box

[Khare]

Just to clarify, there's no audio equipment going in the boot. My ICE goes as far as the headunit and the 4 door card speakers and tweeters.

[Deano2711]

I used 12mm mdf with 4  runners/supports made of 2x2 softwood. Never had any probs with a boot full of shopping but never had a trolley jack in there because of my sub but it would have easily taken the weight.

[Khare]

Sweet. Was hoping for mdf as it's easy to cut and sand. Got some mdf sheets at home from a few years ago, I'll make the supports out of them.

[thai-wronghorse]

Where's the space saver gone then?

[Seanl]

Sweet. Was hoping for mdf as it's easy to cut and sand. Got some mdf sheets at home from a few years ago, I'll make the supports out of them.

Hope you do it in a well ventilated space, with a decent dust mask! That sh!t is banned in most countries throughout Europe!

[thai-wronghorse]

Sweet. Was hoping for mdf as it's easy to cut and sand. Got some mdf sheets at home from a few years ago, I'll make the supports out of them.

Hope you do it in a well ventilated space, with a decent dust mask! That sh!t is banned in most countries throughout Europe!

Not quite correct, ive also heard rumours that it was banned in the US but after some snooping it would appear not...entirely.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/woodworking/faq-mdf.htm