Staples in the floor.

[Barbieri]

I am attempting to remove the bedroom carpet and to my surprise two pieces of flooring or plywood were joined by large staples. I wish to replace the carpet with vinyl tile. Some of the staples are raised and putting vinyl over the staples would result in raised vinyl. I am thinking of removing the staples and bonding the pieces with epoxy. Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[CRH]

Mine is like that...I would use a punch to drive the staples below the surface.

[cliffcharb]

when we did our flooring we ended up grinding down some of the screw heads as some were originally put in crooked. In your situation, like CRH mentioned punch them in further

[Barbieri]

I was thinking of that and using a wood epoxy in the seams after cleaning them up.

[Al and Missy]

The previous owner of my trailer put down vinyl tile without treating the staples. It took 6 months after I bought it, but the staples printed through the tile and even cracked the tile in some places. I'm trying to figure out how much it bothers me. I'm not sure I want to go through re-flooring the trailer.

Al

[Barbieri]

Originally Posted by Al and Missy

The previous owner of my trailer put down vinyl tile without treating the staples. It took 6 months after I bought it, but the staples printed through the tile and even cracked the tile in some places. I'm trying to figure out how much it bothers me. I'm not sure I want to go through re-flooring the trailer.

Al

I am in the process of removing all the carpet and linoleum. Then maybe stain the floor and lay down several coats of polyurethane. Of course counter sink the staples and maybe use wood epoxy in the seams. Besides think of the weight you won't be towing around. And a bonus you can see water leaks. The possibilities are endless.

[batman]

I might suggest using 7/32" underlayment on top of your sub-floor. That will eliminate all your staple issues. Smooooth hard surface, 11.98 for a 4x8 ft. at your local box store.

-Dennis

[A W Warn]

I installed Allure vinyl tile in my Excella last year. When I uncovered those staples in the subfloor I just hammered them down flush. So far they do not show through.

That said; my experience is that a glued down vinyl flooring will show more flaws in the sub-floor than a floating (non glued). My Allure flooring is floating.

[rvb]

Originally Posted by batman

I might suggest using 7/32" underlayment on top of your sub-floor. That will eliminate all your staple issues. Smooooth hard surface, 11.98 for a 4x8 ft. at your local box store.

-Dennis

That is exactly what I did. I hammered the staples down and they would be raised again after each trip so I installed underlayment plywood over them. I was installing the dinette so the floor goes under it, but, I cut around everything else using pieces of shirt cardboard to make cutting templates. I glued (construction adhesive) and screwed the new underlayment down then recessed the screw heads, filled them with wood filler and sanded that flush so I had a smooth surface to install the tile. It worked out great and was worth the effort. I reused the cutting templates when I cut the tile.

[ldireland]

You will need to sand the subfloor, fill any voids and such so sand away at the staples as well as the screw heads. I ran a stripe of duct tape over all the joints, screws, and staples. Clean everything up and lay your floor. Mine came out perfectly.

[Barbieri]

Has anybody tried removing some of the staples, cleaning the joints and using epoxy to bond the plywood sheets . I think epoxy might be stronger than the staples. Just a thought.

[manseyr1]

I used a 2 part self leveling product(don't remember name) which I troweled on in a 1995 25 ft. Excella. I then used self adhesive vinyl tiles over it. 2 trips FL to Alaska and all around the lower 48 and no problems.

[batman]

"Has anybody tried removing some of the staples, cleaning the joints and using epoxy to bond the plywood sheets . I think epoxy might be stronger than the staples. Just a thought.
__________________"


The sub-floor is an dynamic part of the frame/floor/shell combo and as such is subject to a lot of flex and stress. They put the staples in to hold the edges of the sub-flooring together and keep them from separating. In my opinion epoxy is very strong, but will not hold up to the stress and flexing of you trailer.

Also, sanding them down will only serve to weaken them.

If you are dead set on removing them. You might consider using large 3/8" x 2 1/2" self tapping Flathead screws and put them though the sub-floor, into the frame rails. That should keep the separation to a minimum
my .02

-Dennis

[Barbieri]

I have another take on the staples. This is what I found out today, and I can take pictures to prove it. The staples hold two sheets of plywood together because one sheet or both (one at other end) are not over the steel cross members. They do not put the front sheet edge in line with the cross steel beam so they use staples to join them. My idea is to get a piece of angle iron and make that beam wider by screwing it to the beam and using epoxy to reinforce the connection. I wish I took a picture to show what happened after drilling through the flooring. I saw daylight. Not a good think. So now that sheet is supported by a four foot piece of angle iron. They didn't measure the sheets to line up properly. I also discovered screw holes going through the floor. I call it oops or Sloppy work. You would be surprised at what is hidden under the floor covering. I am letting the two tubes of epoxy set overnight.

[Barbieri]

I used epoxy to glue the angle bracket to the cross beam the used several bolts as additional connection. Now I am bolting the floor to the bracket. I also removed a section of staples. The staples for 1 foot on both sides are still in place. I am going to use epoxy as additional connection with the sheets of plywood.
It's like the cartoon jokes about them painting the lines on the highway. No different. I can understand why some people lift the body of the trailer from the bed and redo it.

[Al and Missy]

Were the staples into that piece of wood? I can't imagine anyone thinking that any vertical rigidity was added to butt joined pieces of plywood by addig staples across the joint.

Al

[Barbieri]

This is what I found. The previous picture showed how I reinforced the plywood in the forward portion of the trailer that the sofa sits on. He is a picture of the staples

[CRH]

Mine is just like that across the rear 3 ft.

[Barbieri]

Mine also. The problem is the beam outside is covered. It might be at the point where the lift jack goes. Or make a door transom to cover it. Good luck.

[Barbieri]

I have the same problem. The problem is the cross beam is covered. Maybe where the jack goes. Could make a door transom to cover the staples. Or make a channel at the joint and put wood epoxy to reinforce the bond. You might be able to remove some.