Infinity LWV

[truxpin]

Thought I'd start a new thread to document the transition from carpet/floating floor/ factory Oak flooring currently in our Airstream, to this new "Luxury Woven Vinyl" made by Infinity. Originally a Marine flooring product, the company is attempting to move into the RV market, but currently doesn't have a very good retail outlet. Upon my call to the company directly to find a retailer of their product, I was awkwardly informed by a salesman that he wasn't sure who in Tucson might be able to help me, but he could make a "few calls".
As it turns out, they really don't have a retail partner. I was advised to contact a boat dealership/ repair shop and have them contact Infinity on my behalf. ( Ha! A boat dealer in Tucson! ) Myself being interested in keeping as few middlemen out of my purchase, I decided to go searching on the internet and actually found someone selling it on EBay. A week later I had my roll of flooring in the shed.
( The piece I bought averaged out to $4.75/ sq.ft.) Not too bad...
So, " de-construction" began yesterday.



The removal of the dinette was easy enough. The removal of the floating floor... Simple.
But, see that factory Oak floor my wife is standing on? OMG!! It's glued to some 1/4" plywood, and then stapled as well(from the underneath side) THEN that was glued to the subfloor of the trailer.
So, most of our.day was spent prying, peeling, and cutting that mess out of the Airstream.
More pics and description of the process to follow as we progress slowly through our project. Alas, the weekend is over and I must return to my M-Fri. job..... I need a break!

[tevake]

But wait, that existing floor looks pretty good. Now that you realize how well installed it is, and what a pain it's is to remove .

That's where my thinking runs at that point of a project.

Nice you were able to track down the flooring you want. It will be so satisfying once installed.

Cheers Richard

[truxpin]

Well, as if the removal of the factory wood floor wasn't tough enough, of course it was installed before the cabinets & the refrigerator ( both of which are NOT being removed) so just prying it.up wasn't going to happen. While it didn't go all the way under these fixtures, it was far enough that I ended up just "cutting" it flush at the toe kick.
Once all the old flooring was removed down to the subfloor we ended up laying down a new layer of 1/4" plywood over the original subfloor because the top layer was pretty much destroyed during removal of the original floor.


Using a low VOC marine glue (we made templates for each new piece of plywood ) we slowly made our way through the entire Airstream.






Next weekend we finish up with the bath (gotta remove the toilet ) and then on to the next step....

[truxpin]

The bathroom floor was considerably easier to remove than would have guessed. It was a factory installed Wilsonart snap-lock floor that was "lightly" glued to the subfloor below it, other than the removal of the toilet & trim pieces, it came up easily and didn't even damage the subfloor below it.
Our next step will be to make an exact template of the entire floor. Originally I planned on using this roll of heavy craft paper but found it had much to much "play" in it. It's my understanding that this Woven Vinyl doesn't have any "play" in it, meaning if you cut it short your not going to be able to stretch in into place. ( Like you might do with a carpet)
I'm going to try using 15# tar paper, it is much more "solid" but still flexible enough to work with in the tight corners and odd shapes. Working perpendicular to the trailer length and in 4ft. pieces we should end up with 7 or 8 pieces to make our complete template. Then is a matter of rolling out the vinyl, laying the template correctly on top and using a razor knife, cutting it to size. ( It just sounds too easy, RIGHT? )

[truxpin]

No work this week, "vacation" ( yea right!) 😉 So, the plan is to finish this flooring project.

The tar paper idea for making the final template worked well. It's just heavy enough to stay put and thick enough to piece together kinda like puzzle pieces. I ended up using duct tape to tape the template into 3 major pieces, which I was able to carefully remove from the Airstream and put back together on the neighbor's concrete slab. This morning I was up early and rolled out the flooring to let it flatten out, the carefully laid the template on top...



I positioned it the best I could. I needed to be careful because of the lines running perpendicular on the length of the trailer, I had to make sure we weren't going to end up with lines that looked to be traveling diagonal....
I used painters tape and outlined the template so that I could remove the template and visually check the line placement.
Honestly, I think I got lucky and got it right the first time!


Now for the moment I've been dreading.... CUTTING!! The manufacturer recommends using a utility knife and changing the blade EVERY cut, which is exact what I did. Surprisingly, it cuts pretty easily. ( Compared to carpet or regular vinyl) while changing blades so often seemed a bit wasteful, I think I only went through about 20 or so. Considering the cost of the material and the fact that there is little margin for error, $10 worth of quality blades is nothing !
So, I traced the blue tape with the razor knife, then carefully rolled my finished product back into the cardboard tube it came in. Found a nice flat, clean and warm piece of cement and laid it out for the sun to warm it and allow it to "settle" before I bring it inside.for final fitting and trimming.



I must say, the manufacturer states not to bend hard or crease the product. In the process of rolling it out I managed to do just that. ( my punishment for not asking someone to help me) While it certainly looks like laying it out in the full sun is going to make the crease line disappear, I have to recommend that you need to be careful when working with this stuff. It apparently really doesn't like rough treatment!
The rest of this afternoon ( after my "brunch", aka Bloody Mary's) , will consist of sanding down the wood filler I put down on the new subfloor to smooth out a few gaps & what not, and later trying to decide exactly how I want to attach this product to the floor. Glue the entire thing was originally the plan, but now I'm having second thoughts about how permanent doing that is going to be. On the other hand.........



This is one of Airstreams brand new Interstates with basically the exact same product on the floor. ( see the ripples and "bunching" in the middle of the floor?)
I'm afraid that this may be what happens if you don't glue the entire thing....

[hippiechick]

Recently investigating this product. Thanks for this thread. Please update when you decide how to attach the flooring. Good job with the template those stripes could be murder if not aligned. Our trailer is gutted so we will be putting flooring under everything. We've research several different products. At this point the LWV is at the top of the list.

[hippiechick]

Stopped by a local boat dealership to put eyes on this product. Saw three different variations. All were very nice. Very cushy underfoot. Any progress on yours Truxpin?

[truxpin]

We had my folks over last night & they helped us get the very awkward piece of LWV in the Airstream & unrolled.
I spent today trimming, shifting & tucking the ends everywhere they needed to be. It was a bit trying, but again, I work alone so everything takes longer than it should.





I still have to replace some trim & bring in some furniture etc...

Currently, it's not glued or stapled. Just set in place and tucked under cabinets & walls where possible. I absolutely LOVE it!
First thing is I think it just looks great, and I want to add that if your considering Infinity LWV, spend the little extra and go with the one that has the 1/4" foam backing, opposed to the one with 1/8" backing. ( It's gotta be worth the extra money, it feels so nice on bare feet!) Plus, the extra weight of it I think helps keep it in place better.
HippyChick, if you aren't having to work around walls, cabinets, etc... you'll have it made! Make sure you make a good template and installation should be a breeze.

Personally, i'm going to let it sit as is. I'll evaluate it over the next few weeks and decide then if I want to glue or staple it. We still have cabinets to build and a new dinette in the head of the trailer, so I'll see how it handles the foot traffic over the weeks.

Goto the manufacturers web page & read their .PDF product guide. It has some good install info.
One thing they are pretty adamant about is not "creasing" the product. Keeping it rolled in a decent size loop is best. It's seems to kinda act like memory foam. If you bend it over itself, it leaves a mark on the surface that can take hours to disappear.
I laid my final cut piece in the mid-day sun for a few hours and it recovered nicely.
I'm sure I'm forgetting something......
PM me if you have any specific questions, I'll send you my number if you want to talk about it.
I'll post more as the weeks go by and update as necessary.

[hippiechick]

Looking great! Love it. I'm not brave enough to do the striped flooring too much pressure to get it exactly right. I have some perfectionistic tendencies. The pattern I saw in the boats was Seagrass. I really liked it. One concern I have is the thickness. As you mentioned the thicker stuff has got to be so cushy but if we get flooring that is too thick it will make reinstalling the walls difficult. Does it compress sufficiently to accommodate the walls? The original VCT was under everything when we gutted it.

[truxpin]

It does compress quite a bit. It measures almost exactly 1/4" standing by itself. Compressed, I'd say about 1/16".
Personally, I wouldn't have a problem building a wall on top of it.



This is where the toilet and the flooring meet. I didn't cut the flooring to fit around the base of the toilet, I cut it to go all the way underneath to the flange. This is what it looks like with the toilet clamped down on the 1/4" LWV flooring.
Was the boat place able to give you any samples of the product, or did the just have boats with it installed on?
I have a bit of extra of the teak pattern with their 1/4" backing, I'll send you a piece of you'd like to put some hands on a piece... let me know.

Ps... I Love the Seagrass !

[AirstreamJim]

I'm having Colonial install the Infinity LWV in my Safari 25FB. They can get a sample book for any of the styles; I liked the Grass Cloth style but wasn't sure which color would look best so the sample book made the decision easy.

Infinity recommends using the 1/16" product if you're installing under the furniture; it's what Airstream uses in the factory-installed LWV in the newer Classics. If you're cutting around the furniture the 1/8" product is fine.

Your installation looks beautiful. I learned about the product after I saw one of the '16 Classics. I loved it, and when I had to get the flooring replaced in my Airstream that was what I had to have. I can't wait to see it in mine!

Jim

[hippiechick]

Truxpin, What a kind offer. Thank you but seeing it in the boat was enough I think. I appreciate the pics of your installation. The image you posted with the bumps and bulges in the walkway was a bit troublesome. Wonder what would cause that? Are you using glue. I saw a YouTube video of a factory installation on a pontoon where they stapled and glued.

[truxpin]

For the time being it not getting either glue or staples. The fit is perfect and it seems to be sitting in place just fine. I'm going to monitor it over the next month while we continue our remodeling and decide later. Originally I was going to glue the entire floor, but the thought of someday having to try to remove it made me change my mind. If I have to I will likely staple it in locations that will be hidden under some trim pieces.
To my knowledge, Infinity LWV was only available with 2 different cushion backings. Standard (1/8") and what they call HD ( heavy duty 1/4") .
In my opinion, the pic of the interstate van with the "floppy" floor...... it likely has the standard cushion. 1/8" is about the same as "zero" when it comes to a foam cushion, as a matter of fact, I couldn't duplicate ripples or bubbles like those with the product I have. It just doesn't have that kind of "play" in it. My guess is It's only attached (glue or staples) on the perimeters and it wasn't done very well ? Really hard to believe it made it out of the factory that way.

[AirstreamJim]

You're right about the thickness, there's 1/8" or 1/4". Not sure where my head was. The thinner product is used when installing under the furniture.

Jim

[AirstreamJim]

Well we just got our Airstream back from Colonial with its new Infinity LWV flooring, and we are very happy with the product and the installation job by Colonial.

The original sheet linoleum floor in our '07 safari was in bad shape: it had buckled around the cabinets, it had a number of cuts and dents, and was generally shot. Without going into the ugly details, we were fortunate to have the flooring damage covered as part of an insurance claim, and the insurance company was happy to pay for gutting the entire trailer to install the flooring. Given that Airstream installs the flooring material before anything else goes into the trailer, this is the way I preferred to have it done. It's not something I would recommend for the DIYer, though. We also got rid of the nasty carpet in the bedroom. I'll never understand carpeting in an RV, but I guess to each his/her own....

We chose the Grass Cloth style, color #5. Colonial set themselves up with Infinity as an authorized dealer in order to do the install (Infinity does not sell direct to consumers). I will also say that Colonial gave us very attractive pricing on the material - much less than I saw in other places and comparable to what you might pay on eBay. They stapled the material to the subfloor instead of gluing it; they tell me it makes things much easier if you ever have to get underneath it to do subfloor repairs (not that our Airstreams ever need subfloor repairs... <cough>).

I've attached some pics of our Airstream with the new floor. We think it looks beautiful and it's very comfortable to walk on.

Jim

[Hans627]

Originally Posted by AirstreamJim

Well we just got our Airstream back from Colonial with its new Infinity LWV flooring, and we are very happy with the product and the installation job by Colonial.

The original sheet linoleum floor in our '07 safari was in bad shape: it had buckled around the cabinets, it had a number of cuts and dents, and was generally shot. Without going into the ugly details, we were fortunate to have the flooring damage covered as part of an insurance claim, and the insurance company was happy to pay for gutting the entire trailer to install the flooring. Given that Airstream installs the flooring material before anything else goes into the trailer, this is the way I preferred to have it done. It's not something I would recommend for the DIYer, though. We also got rid of the nasty carpet in the bedroom. I'll never understand carpeting in an RV, but I guess to each his/her own....

We chose the Grass Cloth style, color #5. Colonial set themselves up with Infinity as an authorized dealer in order to do the install (Infinity does not sell direct to consumers). I will also say that Colonial gave us very attractive pricing on the material - much less than I saw in other places and comparable to what you might pay on eBay. They stapled the material to the subfloor instead of gluing it; they tell me it makes things much easier if you ever have to get underneath it to do subfloor repairs (not that our Airstreams ever need subfloor repairs... <cough>).

I've attached some pics of our Airstream with the new floor. We think it looks beautiful and it's very comfortable to walk on.

Jim

Very nice looking job. Thanks for the pictures and sharing! I hope it works out well for the long term. I can't see any reason it would not!

[truxpin]

Looks Great Jim!

As an update..... It's been a little over a month since we installed ours and we're still loving it! LOVE the cushion backing! One note though.... The 1/4" HD backing is really nice and comfy to walk on, but if you have anything heavy and portable in the Airstream, you need to use caution when moving it.
(Ex. Our dinette was removed for remodel and isn't reinstalled yet, so we've been using a "lift-top" coffee table to eat at from the couch. The weight of it causes it to "sink" Into the 1/4" cushion backing. I'm afraid if you were to just manhandle it and slide it into place , you could rip the flooring due to its weight. Knowing this, we diligently lift a bit before we slide the table. This is the only piece of furniture we have that moves in the Airstream, and when the new dinette is built, it goes away.
On the upside, the indentations left behind magically disappear in about a minute, thanks to the "memory foam" backing.
Cleaning is a breeze. Light soapy water and a towel for deep cleaning or we use the little handheld Dyson for daily pick-up.
There is only one thing we think would spell disaster for this LWV, that would be dropping one of the good kitchen knives (namely the big, heavy and pointy Chefs knife) and being unlucky enough that it would land point down. That being said ( knock on wood) what are the odds? ��