Does vinyl flooring create a vapor barrier?

[eastbound]

I am going to have to rip out part of the subfloor on my 78' Sovereign due to water damage. I am going to reseal the windows and awnings, but after I do that and replace the subfloor, I am considering installing vinyl flooring. In the event that I "miss" some of the leaks (or after considerable time, the sealant loses its effectiveness), will the vinyl flooring act as a vapor barrier? And is that a bad or good thing? I've also had suggested that i put vinyl flooring in between the subfloor and oak flooring? Does anyone have experience in this? Thanks!

[dwightdi]

Vinyl flooring is waterproof. But it is not a vapor barrier. It is used for floors in the kitchen in many houses and gets washed. It will, however, allow the passage of water vapor inversely proportional to its thickness. The more flexible the PVC, the more it will pass. We could not make PVC IV bags work without a HDPE overwrap at Baxter.

[87MH]

Originally Posted by eastbound

... I've also had suggested that i put vinyl flooring in between the subfloor and oak flooring? Does anyone have experience in this?

Eastbound:

Welcome to the Forums - you certainly have come to the right place on the net to ask Airstream questions.

I recently "completed" a redo of a '78 Sovereign (and installed oak parquet flooring).

I don't think it would do any harm to lay the vinyl as a subfloor....I also do not think it would do any good, either.

In my instance painted the entire original floor with Kilz followed by a durable exterior paint, then put down a 1/4 inch finish board over the area that would be covered by the parquet to "level" everything out. My elevator bolts were not sunk very evenly, also the seams of the original plywood were not matching up very good. The 1/4 inch ply was secured VERY well with a tight pattern of short screws, each countersunk to insure a very flat surface for the wood parquet overlay. Don't use too long a screw as the potable, grey, and black water tanks are relatively close to the floor in certain areas - you sure do not want to put a hole in one of these tanks.

BTW, there is an informal rally in Blanco this weekend if you are interested - both old and new trailers will be in attendance, and a do not miss Texas Vintage Rally just North of Houston the second weekend of February. There will be a myriad of seminars that you will find VERY usefull in your AS repair/maintenance/overhaul.

Hope to meet you at one or the other rally!