Allure Ultra Vinyl Laminate Install

[MajorSpittle]

wow, i laid this stuff in my house. I thought about putting it in my Winnebago by it is so damn heavy I don't want the extra weight. I bet your rigg is real sound proof and insulated now.

Looks great, I may have to put some in my rig from the firewall back to the kitchen for sound dampening and a place to take off muddy shoes.

It looks great!

[DAN L]

Originally Posted by aaaes

Ole,
Outstanding write up! I justed pulled all my flooring out and was getting a material list ready. I did not want to use quarter round molding only because I have too many external corners. Would I have problems down the road if I don't install molding and instead lay a bead of glue, silicone or double sided tape under the perimeter planks?

my installation mostly floats with 1/4 round moulding air nailed to the wall. in the areas where i did not want the floor to move, i used double back tape: in the front at the doghouse, in and around the stairwell, and in the outside edge of the dinette. in the bathroom i used 1/4 round and sealed around the edges with caulking.
i have not had any problems with my floor.
it is most important to level the floor before putting allure down. high spots will definitely print through.
i put strips of allure on the floor prior to retracting the slides to keep from marring the floor.
there are pics of my installation in the archives of this forum.

[aaaes]

Originally Posted by DAN L

my installation mostly floats with 1/4 round moulding air nailed to the wall. in the areas where i did not want the floor to move, i used double back tape: in the front at the doghouse, in and around the stairwell, and in the outside edge of the dinette. in the bathroom i used 1/4 round and sealed around the edges with caulking.
i have not had any problems with my floor.
it is most important to level the floor before putting allure down. high spots will definitely print through.
i put strips of allure on the floor prior to retracting the slides to keep from marring the floor.
there are pics of my installation in the archives of this forum.

Dan,
Thanks for the feedback I am deep into the project and will definitely use your advice.
Al

[CJ7ole]

One of the reasons for my very long blog-like series of posts was so I had a scrapbook like thread that I could return to as a reminder of a difficult job, yet one that was enyoyable and memorable. I just reread it today, almost 2 years later. I am humbled that so many of you used it as a springboard to refloor your MH. And thanks for all of the posts which offered suggestions on installation techniques.

Just yesterday I helped my son install a dozen boxes of the adhesive strip Allure 12"x36" planks in a tile finish in his kitchen. It, too, turned out very nice.

[smlranger]

Question about the Allure vinyl. We are getting ready to have a local RV remod shop remove our carpet and replace it with plank vinyl. They plan to use whatever we pick from either Lowe's or Home Depot and suggested HD had more choices. Looks like HD has lots of Allure.

How well does it hold up to dog paw/claws? We have one small and one medium size dog and the Pergo laminate we've used in the stick house has help up really well and does not show scratches. However, even with some of the commercial vinyl stuff I see installed in our hospitals where I work, scuffs seems to show so I am curious about scratches from the dogs.

[RickO]

Originally Posted by smlranger

Question about the Allure vinyl. We are getting ready to have a local RV remod shop remove our carpet and replace it with plank vinyl. They plan to use whatever we pick from either Lowe's or Home Depot and suggested HD had more choices. Looks like HD has lots of Allure.

How well does it hold up to dog paw/claws? We have one small and one medium size dog and the Pergo laminate we've used in the stick house has help up really well and does not show scratches. However, even with some of the commercial vinyl stuff I see installed in our hospitals where I work, scuffs seems to show so I am curious about scratches from the dogs.

We used Allure in our coach, full time, with three dogs (16 to 24 lbs) for a couple of years now. I can't say I've seen any scratches from the dogs at all but it has gotten scratched from the slide action.

Just make sure your new floor is at least as "low" as your old floor and if you're replacing carpet, I'd either use those thin strips that are laid between the floor and the slide when retracting... or replace the hard slide skids (if you have them) with those designed to slide on hard flooring.

Rick

[smlranger]

Originally Posted by RickO

We used Allure in our coach, full time, with three dogs (16 to 24 lbs) for a couple of years now. I can't say I've seen any scratches from the dogs at all but it has gotten scratched from the slide action.

Just make sure your new floor is at least as "low" as your old floor and if you're replacing carpet, I'd either use those thin strips that are laid between the floor and the slide when retracting... or replace the hard slide skids (if you have them) with those designed to slide on hard flooring.

Rick

From what I have seen of the Allure at HD, it will be less thick once installed than the existing carpet w/padding. However, the shop plans to tilt the slide backward so they can remove the existing metal runners and re-cover them with a fabric that prevents scratching of the new floor. They have done this many times.

[RickO]

Originally Posted by smlranger

From what I have seen of the Allure at HD, it will be less thick once installed than the existing carpet w/padding. However, the shop plans to tilt the slide backward so they can remove the existing metal runners and re-cover them with a fabric that prevents scratching of the new floor. They have done this many times.

[aaaes]

Originally Posted by smlranger

Question about the Allure vinyl. We are getting ready to have a local RV remod shop remove our carpet and replace it with plank vinyl. They plan to use whatever we pick from either Lowe's or Home Depot and suggested HD had more choices. Looks like HD has lots of Allure.

How well does it hold up to dog paw/claws? We have one small and one medium size dog and the Pergo laminate we've used in the stick house has help up really well and does not show scratches. However, even with some of the commercial vinyl stuff I see installed in our hospitals where I work, scuffs seems to show so I am curious about scratches from the dogs.

A little food for thought. I ended up using the Allure Ultra on my floor. It is about 25% thicker and has a thicker wear area. With 3 kids and a dog that love the beach, add sand to all that, made me go for the more commercial rated floor. Also, the Ultra has a "Clic" interlocking technology versus the adhesive strip. Check out the different Allure flooring on DIY Genius - the leader in do-it-yourself home or commercial improvement projects.. Either way they are both good proven floors

[ihbond]

Originally Posted by smlranger

Question about the Allure vinyl. We are getting ready to have a local RV remod shop remove our carpet and replace it with plank vinyl. They plan to use whatever we pick from either Lowe's or Home Depot and suggested HD had more choices. Looks like HD has lots of Allure.

How well does it hold up to dog paw/claws? We have one small and one medium size dog and the Pergo laminate we've used in the stick house has help up really well and does not show scratches. However, even with some of the commercial vinyl stuff I see installed in our hospitals where I work, scuffs seems to show so I am curious about scratches from the dogs.

We have 3 German shepherds and play inside the rv sometimes. Allure flooring from hd holds up great. Heck in our 99 winni it's one of the best mods we've done

[MajorSpittle]

Originally Posted by smlranger

Question about the Allure vinyl. We are getting ready to have a local RV remod shop remove our carpet and replace it with plank vinyl. They plan to use whatever we pick from either Lowe's or Home Depot and suggested HD had more choices. Looks like HD has lots of Allure.

How well does it hold up to dog paw/claws? We have one small and one medium size dog and the Pergo laminate we've used in the stick house has help up really well and does not show scratches. However, even with some of the commercial vinyl stuff I see installed in our hospitals where I work, scuffs seems to show so I am curious about scratches from the dogs.

I have a very large 65# border collie and Allure Planks in my livingroom and kitchen at home. From what I have seen it holds up good to paws with only light surface scratches that go away when wiped down.

My problem is with how hard it is on my dog. The flooring is VERY slippery and it was tearing up my dog's hips from him sliding around. I discovered I had to trim all his Paw hair short so the Pads of his Paws could grip better. In a motorhome I would imagine a dog would slide all over and get hurt if it isn't in a crate while moving.

[Lincolnboy2]

I am being told by one of the DF (dear friends) they might replace the carpet in the 'salon' of KC. What a loving and wonderful gift to Katie's Coach! I feel guilty enough with the window treatments and the wallpaper...I'm really gonna have to do something special for them.

Anyway, I like this:

TrafficMaster Allure Ultra 12 in. x 23.82 in. Aegean Travertine Ivory Resilient Vinyl Tile Flooring (19.8 sq. ft./case)-742915.0 at The Home Depot

But this is my favorite, except it isn't waterproof....

TrafficMaster Allure 6 in. x 36 in. African Wood Dark Resilient Vinyl Plank Flooring (24 sq. ft. / case)-57111.0 at The Home Depot


I see several of you have put the Allure Ultra in and are very happy...should I definitely stay with the Allure Ultra which in its specs it states it is waterproof?

[CBChief]

I am very pleased with the Alure Ultra flooring. We have 2 Irish setters that travel with us. The problem there is that it is slippery for them, however, they have adjusted to that very well. One of our slide outs has caused some deep scratches. To help keep this from happening, we have used extra planks under the slide when we move it in or out. One on each corner and one or two distributed between the outer ones.

I have one serious problem though. I did not know that this flooring has such a large shrink/swell factor. In the cold winter months the floor shrinks so much that the joints pull apart. Had I known about this problem, I would use Gorilla Super Glue to glue the ends together. I have done this fix on several joints that pull apart, this seems to work somewhat in solving this problem. In the summer time, the flooring swells so much, that the floor buckles in the narrowest part in the motorhome. I plan on solving this problem this summer by cutting the flooring, about an 1 1/2" wide, and put a transition piece there. Hopefully, this should solve the swelling problem.

Hopefully this information is helpful for you.

[Lincolnboy2]

Well, I'm not gonna install any of this if its that slippery.

My Susie has problems already with slippery vinyl sometimes, and the floor has to be somewhat traction surface, not just for her but all three of the pups.

Will have to go look at some samples.....

Thanks for the input!

[Lincolnboy2]

I misunderstood....dear friends talking about re-doing the flooring in their coach, not mine! Big misunderstanding! Anyway, I still like that Brazilian Allure for KC and the sticks and bricks house....

Thanks for the info!

[777Rich]

wow, two years after creation I am reading this and THINKING many thanks for such an excellent write up and pictures.

Now I can get started without fear.

[sgtstriker]

Great job indeed! So where does someone lacking in things like talent and ambition go to have this done by somebody else? :-)

[Shellback1]

That is a beautiful job!!!!!! Now you have me thinking of doing the rest of mine.

[Ed ke6bnl]

I put the allure in a couple of weeks ago it took 3 terrible hard days partly because of the heat and humidity. It has cooled down and I do see some of the gaps have opened up a little not too bad though. very hardy and my giant Chihuahua dog has not done any damage to the floor. that hardest part was getting the small section of wood flooring that was in the trailer, it was put down with construction adhesive and it had to be chisels out with some flooring coming up with it and that made for the need to put down some joint cement for drywall( allure said that was good). the moulding is not shown in any of the pictures that I have, I decided on the phony stuff and it was the exact color of some of the phony panels in the trailer so that was a match, I did test that stuff in a bucket of water for a week and water is not its enemy.

[DAN L]

Originally Posted by stephen44

thanks everyone - I am still in two minds as whether to glue down my allure ultra planks to avoid the gap problem - I know people have had success both ways. I'm guessing a urethane glue would work ?

Any views on this ?

Stephen

i used double back carpet tape with good results.

regarding the carpet to allure transition, i double rolled the carpet about 1/2 inch and secured it with double back tape.