Wood Floor Project

ChiefJohn · 12-28-2012, 09:06 AM

We're going to attempt installing a laminate type wood floor in our bedroom and, "IF" we complete the relatively small area, proceed to the front of the coach. My question is better to float the floor or glue it down?

Clay L · 12-28-2012, 09:32 AM

Depends on the flooring, some is designed to float some is not, I would go online and read the installation instructions for the flooring you plan to use.

LandKinaMoho · 12-28-2012, 08:16 PM

In a moho, wood floor/ laminates are best floated.

GaDawgFan · 12-28-2012, 09:20 PM

Agree, floating is the way to go.

DAN L · 12-29-2012, 03:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChiefJohn

We're going to attempt installing a laminate type wood floor in our bedroom and, "IF" we complete the relatively small area, proceed to the front of the coach. My question is better to float the floor or glue it down?

we semi-floated our allure composite installation.
we used double back carpet tape in the area around the stairwell where we didn't want the floor to move. this is working well for us.
there are pictures of our installation in the archives of this forum.

ChiefJohn · 12-29-2012, 06:48 AM

Thanks for all the replies -- you have confirmed what I was leaning towards, floating the floor versus gluing. I had contacted a local RV service center about installing flooring and they insisted that 'gluing' was the only option for an RV?? It sure helps to have a resource like iRV2.com to bounce ideas around and learn what fellow RV'ers suggest.

GaDawgFan · 12-29-2012, 07:01 AM

I am presently on the road but have pictures of my project from several years ago. I did it myself over a few weeks. It is not difficult but does require a lot of cuts. Well worth the time.

GaDawgFan · 12-29-2012, 07:04 AM

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f101/lami...shed-4542.html

Try this like. It is pictures from my project.

ChiefJohn · 12-29-2012, 07:46 AM

GaDawgFan -- thanks!! You've been a big help. We winter in southern AL and I will have to go with the "Crimson Tide".

My son, in the Atlanta area is a "Dawg" fan.

newbe1 · 12-30-2012, 05:08 AM

Where there any issues/ special consideration where the slides come in over the flooring. It seems like sliding over the carpet would be easier than going over the wood. Has there been any wear showing under the where the slides cover?

Thanks

Clay L · 12-30-2012, 09:15 AM

We have a few scratches. The cat batted a couple of paper clips under the dinette part of the front slide before we got the baseboard on and they scratched the new floor. Then a pebble got under it the couch is and made a small scratch. After that I installed new baseboard with door sweep material stapled behind it. The door sweep material is a plastic strip with a rubber strip on the bottom.
We also vacuum carefully and mop the day we leave and then sweep and mop each day after that. Since then no problems for five years.

Below is from a post I made after we installed it.

We removed all carpet and replaced it with laminate flooring. We used Armstrong's best grade of laminate. We picked it based on some tests that Consumer Reports did that showed it had better wear and scratch resistance than Pergo. Its 3/8 inch thick.

We were surprised to find that a Carpet Time store had much better prices on the best grade than Home Depot or Lowes had on the middle grade which is all they carried. The best grades were special order.

We did the installation of our flooring ourselves. We couldn't find an installer willing to do the job.
It took us about ten day’s altogether (we only worked about 4 hours a day though). It wasn't terribly difficult but did require a lot of cutting and trimming because of all of the corners. There were also some challenges at the front of the slides, around the stairs, and underneath the dinette.

Before we did the installation we did a test by removing a square of carpet and making sure the slides would ride over a piece of T molding, laminate and underlayment.

Some people try to cut the carpet back under the slide, but we cut the carpet in front of the slides leaving enough carpet to be stapled down. I was afraid the slides would catch the carpet when the slide went back out. A Tee molding covers it so it doesn't show.

If you do the job yourself I would recommend a few things to have:
1) table saw, 2) chop saw, 3) good saber saw, 4) Rotozip tool, 5) air slight head brad nailer, 6) air stapler, 7) utility knife and sharp hook blades. 5) A staple puller - looks like a flat blade screwdriver with a V cut into the bent end of the blade. 6) heat gun for a few places where the carpet was glued down (stairwell for example)

There were two grades of the foam underlayment available. We used the best grade - more expensive but thicker and provides a moisture barrier.

We also used a special waterproof joint glue in areas that are prone to getting wet - like in front of the sink, refrigerator, and around the stairwell. (This is used to glue the joints so spilled water can't get in the joints - not to glue the flooring to the subfloor).
We also used silicon caulk to fill the 1/4 gap at the edges in those areas.
The caulk and waterproof glue are both recommended in the instructions from Armstrong.

We vacuum and mop carefully before we bring the slides in to avoid leaving anything on the floor that might scratch it. In spite of that over the years we have had some minor scratching in three or four places. One fairly deep place at the very beginning was due to our cat batting a couple of paper clips under the slide while we were working on the project.
I stapled door sweep strips behind the base boards in front of the slides because of that.
Even with the scratches it looks much better that the carpet did after only a three or four years. In addition it is so much easier to keep clean.

smlranger · 12-30-2012, 06:58 PM

Some other options you may want to consider......

We have a lot of Pergo in our house and it has held up very well even with two dogs. It is a floating install.

Recently we did a kitchen remodel and did a lot of research on various options for a new kitchen floor. We did not want to do hardi-board, mud-set tile. We found a fiberglass reinforced heavy vinyl flooring called luxury vinyl that is meant to be a floating floor. It snaps together just like the laminates. It comes in many patterns....tile/stone look and wood look. The stuff is incredibly good looking, durable and was easy to install. We are considering using it in the coach when we replace the carpet.

I will also say that the shop that we recently used to do our fridge swap highly suggested a glued-down vinyl plank flooring. They claim they have used in in both new custom coaches and in renovations and it does very well.

GaDawgFan · 12-30-2012, 10:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newbe1

Where there any issues/ special consideration where the slides come in over the flooring. It seems like sliding over the carpet would be easier than going over the wood. Has there been any wear showing under the where the slides cover?

Thanks

As others have posted, we have a few scratches, but nothing as noticeable as the nasty carpet that we replaced. We just sweep regularly. Went for laminate because of its thinness and resistance to scratching. I would suggest that no matter what product you go with, get a good quality pad/moisture barrier.