When to rivet floorboards?

Hi guys. I know this is probably simple, and I am just missing something, but here goes....
The manual says to drill the aft floorboards to the floor, but not rivet them down until later in fuselage construction. I am making the forward floorboard with foot wells, and it will be removable. The ones aft of that will be riveted in. I made the right aft floorboard per plans, and the left one just like (but opposite) the right one, instead of the large panel that the print calls for. In other words, my center aft panel will be a separate piece, instead of part of the left panel. I am not putting antennas or anything else under the aft outboard ones, so I can't see a reason to not rivet them in now. The only thing I can think of is the holes for the flap rods. Is there anything else?

What Say Ye?

Gregg

I ran wiring for lights, ELT, auto pilot servo, com antenna, elevator trim, remote transponder, and EFIS sensors under the floor, so I wouldn't rivet until you have all systems planned / installed. Structural blind rivets are hard to get out without enlarging the holes in the supporting ribs.

Jay

I kept all my wiring and systems stuff above floor level, so I put them in early without worrying about much. You can access alot through the FWD panel with the footwells when its removed.

Never! It's a lot more trouble to put in nutplates but there will be the time one day you will say " I'm glade I put those nutplates in" Voice of experience>

Dennis is absolutely right. Go with nut plates. The extra time and expense is well worth it. I used nut plates and am glad I did.

Nutplates versus pull fasteners...

Guys, I really appreciate the feedback. As an A&P, I've been working sheet metal since 1999. That said, I am building a mechanics airplane- provisioning for future possible upgrades. But, I am also keeping it very light. I appreciate the suggestions to install nutplates back there, but I will be using pull fasteners. I can drill them out if I ever have to. I have a rule with this bird: NO unnecessary weight behind the spar. There will be no wiring behind the rear seat.

So, I will wait until I fit the wings to perm install those aft floorboards, so I can more easily trim the flap rod cutouts.

Thanks all!
Gregg

I used nut plates on my floor panels. Gregg, I agree with your reasoning on just drilling out the pop rivets if needed. My take on this is that if you have screws, there are a bunch of places where the screwdriver is at an angle and if you strip the heads during removal it takes half a day trying to drill it out. If using stainless screws its twice as bad. My new 4 that I'm building will have pop rivets in the floor board.