Replacing Interior over floating floor

Whipsas270 · 07-19-2006, 11:31 AM

I have read threads till I went cross eyed....twice. When replacing a floor with the "floating" type wood, how do you replace say a booth or fasten a barrel chair to the floor and still expect it to "float"? I have a 27' m/h and the carpet is NASTY.I would like to replace with a pergo type flooring and all the pics and advise is great but no-one addresses the question of bolting a chair down or putting a booth over the floor.

ALANSD · 07-19-2006, 12:20 PM

In my opinion an item of furniture will not mess anything up if you put it over the flooring, after all we install the Gaucho over the floor anyway. A barrel chair could be bolted down if you want to do that. Many install the pergo type stuff under the refrigerators also.

**Chuck** · 07-19-2006, 02:00 PM

If I recall correctly, the installation instructions I had with one batch of pergo said that you basically have to do the same thing you do for any edges: that is, leave 1/4" gap for expansion. For any protruberance through the floor, you should leave the same 1/4" gap. so if you've got, say, a 1/2" pipe for a radiator or some-such, you make a 3/4" inch hole for it, so that it, too, may have that little bit of wiggle-room that it might need.

they're talking about installation in a house, though. I doubt that they tested and approved any set of instructions for RV's.

on the one hand, you've got a much smaller amount of square footage to deal with, so one would think that the potential for expansion is that much smaller. heck, if the 20' x 20' room where I installed pergo in my house only needs a total of 1/2" in any direction, one would think that the 8' wide trailer could get away with that much less. Then again...the climate in my house is controlled all year round, whereas it gets mighty cold in the trailer in the winter...and mighty hot in the summer.

So, the answer is: I don't know.

It may or may not be a problem. There are some types of floating laminate that say that you do not need to leave any gap for expansion, because they don't expand or contract enough to require it. In a perfect world, I'd go for that type of material if I wanted to attach anything to the floor. I do know of one person that put a parquet floor in his trailer, and re-installed the cabinetry on top of it, and later had problems with the floor buckling. But that type of material is probably more prone to expansion, anyway.

Holzarbeiter · 07-19-2006, 04:01 PM

I have installed a good amount of Pergo flooring over the years, the largest amount of expansion I have ever seen was do to a hotwater heater. It apperantly leaked for some time and the homeowners didn't notice it. The flooring got soaked from underneath and buckeled to the extend that there where large humps and if walked on water would squrit through the joints. After removing the damaged section I saved some of the material to see if it would delaminate. Two weeks later the pergo was dry, flat, original thickness and no delamination.
If I where to mount Items to the floor, I would just drill a oversized hole and screw/bolt to the subfloor.

07-19-2006, 06:20 PM

I have to agree, go ahead and screw your chair or booth down. Pergo isn't going to expand at all unless it gets soaked. Solid wood would concern me more.

FOB · 07-19-2006, 07:25 PM

I put cork down about 6 months ago and installed it just as I have installed floated floors in homes for the most part. I gutted the rear bedroom and forward living area, secured the pieces running center line and left 1/4" around the edges. When I replaced the built-ins I secured them through the floor. We have towed over 1500 miles from the beach to the mountains and haven't had any problems.

klevan · 07-19-2006, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Holzarbeiter

If I where to mount Items to the floor, I would just drill a oversized hole and screw/bolt to the subfloor.

While you might never otherwise have a problem, you can't go wrong if you do what Holzar' suggests; cut a nice hole, bolt to the subfloor.

Whipsas270 · 07-20-2006, 06:06 PM

Thank you ALL for answering my delema. I felt that putting the booth back and bolting a chair down would not be a big deal when talking about a 3 foot wide stretch of flooring. Reapaired the roof vents today start on the floor next week.

Bradjun1 · 09-22-2006, 10:23 AM

I have put floating floors in 2 AS and have never noticed any movement. I also have it my house where it spans 28' and the movement is almost none.