flooring materials that are suitable by region/season/temps

[Bob Blarney]

Hello,

When I knocked off renovation work in October, the exterior caulking & sealing was done, as well as the floor was repaired where needed. I'm happy to report that no leaks were found throughout the winter snow, rain, and extremely cold temps this winter down to -15F (yippee!). Now I'm ready to lay finish flooring.

I had intended to lay carpet squares/puzzle tiles with the idea that they are easy on the feet, insulating, and can be removed for cleaning and subfloor inspection. But I'm still willing to consider alternatives.

After looking through a number of threads about vinyl and laminate flooring, it seems that separations/cracks between planks occur frequently in regions where winter is more severe, and that some types or brands may be more or less resistant to those issues. Is there any consensus about which type or brand is suitable for a given climate?

[Julie-Bob]

We used this after removing the carpet in the bedroom we also removed the flooring down to the sub flooring.

[Julie-Bob]

What it looks like

[skyguyscott]

I used the foam-rubber-like interlocking tiles for much the same reason: they were softer and offered more insulation than vinyl or wood, yet easier to keep clean than carpet, and could easily be replaced, etc. They are also very light-weight. Also easy to install. They were also quite inexpensive!

The first set I put in several years ago, however, were very thermally unstable, meaning they would expand and contract quite a bit with the temperature, such that on a hot summer day, they would expand to the point where I had a rolling hills and valley floor, and in very cold weather, gaps between tiles.

But the current batch I put in last summer has not had the same problem. I have not seen any gaps over the winter, and did not see any crazy expansion last summer. So I am very, very happy with this flooring material. I think it's perfect for campers. Here's a link.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/ProSource-P...Z1JaioGce3R_fw

[Bob Blarney]

Originally Posted by skyguyscott

I used the foam-rubber-like interlocking tiles for much the same reason: they were softer and offered more insulation than vinyl or wood, yet easier to keep clean than carpet, and could easily be replaced, etc. They are also very light-weight. Also easy to install. They were also quite inexpensive!

The first set I put in several years ago, however, were very thermally unstable, meaning they would expand and contract quite a bit with the temperature, such that on a hot summer day, they would expand to the point where I had a rolling hills and valley floor, and in very cold weather, gaps between tiles.

But the current batch I put in last summer has not had the same problem. I have not seen any gaps over the winter, and did not see any crazy expansion last summer. So I am very, very happy with this flooring material. I think it's perfect for campers. Here's a link.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/ProSource-P...Z1JaioGce3R_fw

I think your experience is similar to what I've seen. I laid these tiles in my garage and there were no problems. Then my neighbor bought very cheap ones for his garage and had the same thermal expansion/contraction problem as you did. I think that the difference lies in the composition of plastic material.


Julie-Bob: your installation looks very nice. How long ago did you install it?

[ScottandMoni]

Hi, thanks for this thread. We are getting ready to put flooring in our airstream. We live in Santa Cruz, CA but will be full-timing in warmer climates, like in AZ all next winder and some tropical zones.

We have done a lot of research on brands that people have issues with. We had planned on going with a Vinyl plank until just now. Today we met with a friend who is a flooring professional and he told us that the chances of the floors expanding in heat and contracting in cold are huge. He also talked about the movement that would happen because we will be traveling. We are pretty bummed.

We googled what comes stock in new airstreams and it seems the flooring is sheet vinyl (YUK!!) We saw some today However, all renovation pics have plank flooring in them.

So, any thoughts on this? We don't want to have to redo and we don't want a buckling floor in our "home."

Thanks ~

[skyguyscott]

You might want to try the interlocking foam flooring I now have in my trailer. They do not expand and contract noticeably like the first batch I put in. Follow the link in my above post to get the same brand I did. These are available in different colors and textures. I ended up ordering a black set and a gray set and did a nice tile design in my trailer.

Note that the cost to do the whole floor was like $40! So if it doesn't work for you, you are not out much.

I like the light weight, the firm but soft feel, how easy they are to keep clean ( handy in a small trailer where you can track in dirt and such) and modern look.

If you are after a more log cabin look, these wouldn't really do that.

[ScottandMoni]

Has anyone used or heard reviews of Mannington Adura Rigid LVF?

[Gkiesel]

So, I too was concerned with the thermal expansion etc with vinyl.
I researched all the diff product at lowes and found that only their SmartCore Pro was rated for unheated cabins to sun porches. -25 to 150 per their website. Their other SmartCore Products are not, so beware.
All manufacturers specify a temp range for their products.
To be fair. I used the cheap Traffic Master from Home Depot. The kind that glues to itself and really had no problems for 10 years. It just wore out. So, who knows. Leave big gaps on the edges.