'78 Minuet with Aluminum Floor

[overlander64]

The interior restoration/refurbishiment of my '78 Minuet (6.0 Metre) is nearing the end - - should be complete by the end of this month IF this one last nuance can be overcome. I DON'T want carpet, but the original, probably aluminum composite floor is installed with rivets that are posing a great difficulty in choosing an installation route for anything else but carpeting.

Has anyone had any experience working with one of these unusual little trailers with the aluminum floor? I know that there is at least one other owner on the forum with this flooring material.

The Fowler's original plan was to proceed with this project as with my Overlander - - install luan underlayment and then the industrial grade Congoleum sheet vinyl floor.

While I haven't noticed a problem in my coach, I do know that the something was mentioned in a previous post about this flooring material being somewhat "springy" - - so I am wondering if I will be DOOMED to fight carpeting in this coach.

Any thoughts on a flooring material other than carpeting that might be a prospect for this installation?

Any input will be welcome!

Thanks!

Kevin

[airstreamcaravel]

Hey Kevin,

What about all of that talk about CORK??

Seems to be very popular amounst its fans.

Would install well over the rivets I would think.

DMC

[Chas]

Consider yourself quite lucky to have the aluminum floor! I would give my left arm to have it in my Overlander. That said, I think you could possibly float a laminate floor over the rivets by using a layer or two of the cushion foam under it. What kind of rivets are sticking up?

Chas

[lynn]

The flooring in your trailer is combination of aluminum& foam, it is two pieces of aluminum with styrafoam in the middle and was installed in sections similiar to plywood and was riveted together.
Pergo makes a laminate flooring that snaps together and has a foam backer attached, this may be an option.

You have an interesting trailer, it would be great to see one again.

[overlander64]

Greetings!

RE: Rivets in Floor

Chas, according to Arlene Fowler's message, the floor is put together with Olympic style rivets just like those used on the exterior. Due to scheduling with the last week of school ahead, I won't be able to see the trailer until it's completed - - that is if we can arrive at a decision about what to do with the floor covering situation.

RE: Flooring Structure

Lynn, thanks for the information on the floor. I suspected that it was a composite material. From what the other owner with one of these trailers has related to me, the floor develops a "memory" with heavy use and for lack of a better descriptor develops a "swayback" that doesn't go away - - it is this that concerns me in selecting flooring. My Minuet has always been used lightly, and mostly by another Free Wheeler so at this time the flooring is solid and I never suspected that the flooring was anything other than the typical plywood underlayment.

RE: Floating Laminate Flooring

Floating laminate is one of the products that I mentioned to the Fowlers. We will be working with the flooring distributor where they purchase the vast majority of their flooring products to get their recommendations for this unusual situation as well.

RE: Cork Flooring

DMC, this was my second inclination after learning of the situation. Typically it requires a surface equivalent to that used for sheet vinly. The one thing that I did learn through a message from a member of the VAC list is that the cork floor may be less likely to be seriously damaged by an imperfection in the floor; rather the imperfection will telegraph through as the cork "conforms" to the shape of the imperfection.

I am still hoping to tow the Minuet to the International Rally in Vermont and on to the Statue of Liberty Rally later this summer. It is beginning to look like this might be a "pioneering expedition".

Thanks to all who have been giving suggestions. Each has helped me to broaden my search for a solution. Hopefully, with all of the information that is becoming available we will be able to make a flooring decision very early in the week - - it is nearly a necessity if I am going to be able to depart for the International on schedule.

It never ceases to amaze me what a great source of information this forum can be!

Kevin

[Tripp]

If you want to go the pergo route, Armstrong has a new product called "Quiet Walk" which is a heavy duty underlayment for Pergo type floors. It is a thin "jute" type of material with the vapor barrier attached. I just had it installed in my house and can say that it really makes a difference. The bonus for you is that it is thicker than the foam and probably more durable. It should cover those rivets with no problem.

Lowes carries it, but not Home Depot.

Tripp


PS. I too would love to have an aluminum floor in my A/S!!

[barbwire]

What happened to all the later posts on this thread? I'm the one with the spongy floor. There where many more messages on this thread. Now they are gone.

This flooring configuration has many problems. The stretching aluminum with heavy traffic is one. The four foot joist of the minuet is a hard one to fix. The best fix I have found comes from someone working in the airline industry, and he says to put stainless sheeting over the sagging areas. This is on the VAClist.

My own plans are to use plywood, and support the traffic areas.

I tried several times to get the missing messages to come up.

This thread had way more than five replies.

[Silvertwinkie]

The forum crashed and Andy only could get the backup from 5/20/03 to work.

This means that any posts after 5/20/03 were eaten by the black hole (hard drive death) that happend last Sunday night.

Eric

[barbwire]

Thanks for the reply Silvertwinkie.

OV 64, how did you do it again. I'm stll working on a total kitchen remodel (in the house), and have not been keeping up well.

More problems on the renovation than I care to mention. Don't you just love working on old houses. lol It is starting to look good though.

Hope you have pics soon.

The Internet is my memory.

[Silvertwinkie]

Originally posted by barbwire
Thanks for the reply Silvertwinkie.

OV 64, how did you do it again. I'm stll working on a total kitchen remodel (in the house), and have not been keeping up well.

More problems on the renovation than I care to mention. Don't you just love working on old houses. lol It is starting to look good though.

Hope you have pics soon.

The Internet is my memory.

Anytime. The Internet is my data storage for life too. When this site went south, I lost some PMs I had saved!

Whatcha gonna do?

You know, I rebuilt a '64 boat and work all the time on my 1950s home. I think that's one of the main reasons I picked up an '03.... one less thing to have to work on (for now).

Regards,

Eric

[overlander64]

Greetings Eric and Barbwire!

The final decision with flooring products for the Minuet went with Armstrong Quiet Step underlayment with Armstrong laminate flooring in a light cherry finish with attached backer. Between the Quiet Step underlayment and the attached backer the rivets don't seem to be posing any particular problem. All of the flooring materials came from the local Lowe's home improvement center.l The simulated wood floor certainly lightened up the interior in comparison to the original burnt orange shag carpet.

I will be picking up the Minuet later this afternoon from Ace Fogdall RV where it is receiving a new air conditioner, television antenna, and a 3-piece front window rock guard. I will try to get at lest one or two pictures of the finished interior posted before I depart for the International Rally in Vermont.

Kevin

[barbwire]

Hiya SilverTwinkie and Ov64,

I'm back again. Too bloody hot to work on the trailer.

We put down some nice Armstrong vinyl in the kitchen (our house), and refinished all the cabinets. We did the whole floor. Stripped the kitchen clean. Now we can shuffle things around. Ended up with a great maple island with Balmorel granite top.

There was two layers of vinyl we needed to remove. I had to saw it in 8 inch strips, and apply an ice chipper sharpened with a 20 pound pipe over the handle to get it up. If you try this epoxy the handle to the ice chipper. The fancy tile remover from the local hardware store did not work. My back is still paining me. We scheduled the floor guy, and if we missed the date it would take another two months to get it done. Our biggest scare was that the old stuff was full of asbestos. It turned out it was not. It seems asbestos was only used in the smaller 8 inch or so square tiles. Check to be sure.

We had the floor laid by a professional. Glad we did. It looks great, and they use a lot of interesting new chemicals now.

Yes, I am getting too many things to work on.

I will look for your pictures Overlander, what you did sounds neat. I will be checking back here more often.

[Aage]

Originally Posted by overlander64

Greetings Eric and Barbwire!

The final decision with flooring products for the Minuet went with Armstrong Quiet Step underlayment with Armstrong laminate flooring in a light cherry finish with attached backer. Between the Quiet Step underlayment and the attached backer the rivets don't seem to be posing any particular problem. All of the flooring materials came from the local Lowe's home improvement center.l The simulated wood floor certainly lightened up the interior in comparison to the original burnt orange shag carpet.

I will be picking up the Minuet later this afternoon from Ace Fogdall RV where it is receiving a new air conditioner, television antenna, and a 3-piece front window rock guard. I will try to get at lest one or two pictures of the finished interior posted before I depart for the International Rally in Vermont.

Kevin

Kevin,

Thanks for not leaving us hanging back when you posted this in '03.

It appears that you still have the Minuet. What are your thoughts on the Armstrong flooring and underlayment you installed five years ago? Did the rivets ever show through?

And how is the flooring standing up for you, are you pleased with the way it is wearing?

thanks,
Aage

[overlander64]

Greetings Aage!

Originally Posted by Aage

Kevin,

Thanks for not leaving us hanging back when you posted this in '03.

It appears that you still have the Minuet. What are your thoughts on the Armstrong flooring and underlayment you installed five years ago? Did the rivets ever show through?

And how is the flooring standing up for you, are you pleased with the way it is wearing?

thanks,
Aage

The Minuet has been my coach of choice for the past three seasons. It has been on a four week expedition to the International Rally in Salem, OR; a two week expedition to the Rocky Mountain VAC Rally in 2007; and a six week expedition to the International Rally in Bozeman, MT this Summer as well as numerous shorter local/regional trips. The interior refurbishment has stood the test of time and travel. The durability of the Armstrong laminate has exceeded my expectations with excellent finish durability, and the rivets have not posed any problems thus far. I can't think of anything that I would have done differently as far as the interior is concerned.

Kevin

[KAYAKAMPERS]

Hello from the new folks on the forum!
We just bought our '78 22' Minuet last weekend and, like all '78s I believe, we have an aluminum floor. We have the definite sagging between the floor supports. The previous owner put down what appears to be a peel and stick wood looking vinyl floor on top of the aluminum (they removed the carpet). Of course, the sagging is really noticeable. Everyone in this thread seemed to worry more about the rivets more than the sagging. So, my question is to all of you and mainly to Kevin: Did you get rid of most of the sag when you put in your floor or is it still there but not as pronounced? Our little Argosy is close to being original, so we're just beginning the process of fixing things to get it on the road. Any suggestions would be welcome.
I look forward to seeing your posts.
Thanks.
Beth & Chris in Atlanta

[overlander64]

Greetings Beth and Chris!

Welcome to the Forum and the world of Vintage Minuets!

Originally Posted by KAYAKAMPERS

Hello from the new folks on the forum!
We just bought our '78 22' Minuet last weekend and, like all '78s I believe, we have an aluminum floor. We have the definite sagging between the floor supports. The previous owner put down what appears to be a peel and stick wood looking vinyl floor on top of the aluminum (they removed the carpet). Of course, the sagging is really noticeable. Everyone in this thread seemed to worry more about the rivets more than the sagging. So, my question is to all of you and mainly to Kevin: Did you get rid of most of the sag when you put in your floor or is it still there but not as pronounced? Our little Argosy is close to being original, so we're just beginning the process of fixing things to get it on the road. Any suggestions would be welcome.
I look forward to seeing your posts.
Thanks.
Beth & Chris in Atlanta

My Minuet had very minimal sway between the cross members. What little sway there was is completely hidden by the Armstrong Laminate floors that were installed over Armstrong Quiet Step Underlayment. My floors just completed their fifth season and I can report that they look as nice as the day they were installed. I only have one very minor rough spot that is the result of some moisture at one joint -- others don't notice it, but I know where it is so I can find it easily -- I still wouldn't consider any of the other potential solutions I looked at. The floors are actually nearly as warm as carpeting with the extra layer of quiet step underlayment (the Armstrong Laminate that was used had its own built-in pad as well).

Where there is significant sway in the floor there are a couple of choices. The laminate can be run so that the long edge is perpendicular to the sway. In cases of exceptional sway, I have heard of two approaches -- one is to remove the bellypan and add support braces to lift and remove as much of the sway as possible -- the second involves using leveling compound similar to what is used to level floors prior to instally vinyl tile (I am not sure how well this would bond to the aluminum--or how much of a weight factor it would be).

Good luck with your Minuet!

Kevin