Laminate hid major leak/water damage

[Chuck]

So I'm in the middle of tearing out the rest of my interior (doing a full restoration), and just took out the rest of the pergo that I installed about 10-12 years ago. pulling up those last couple of pieces, and I found the sub-floor completely saturated. "poke-your-finger-through" saturated.

The location is the front street-side, just between the couch and the galley.
(73 safari--gaucho across the front; street side galley).
Not sure where the water is coming from--point is that the pergo completely hid it.

So this has me re-thinking finish floor, again. Seems to me that the only thing that wouldn't hide a leak is plain-old glue-down vinyl.

Or would it?

~thoughts~


I was still leaning toward some other type of diy click-laminate because its cheap, easy, and looks great. Plus, my original plan was not to completely gut, but I've decided that it is necessary. Now, with a completely empty trailer, a full sheet of glue-down is possible. (I shudder to think of the cost of paying for it, as I think it is probably beyond my diy capabilities.).

[markdoane]

I used VCT tile as the base. That might be a more DIY alternative that would give you the moisture barrier you want.
It's heavy though, make sure it fits in your GCVW budget.

[rodsterinfl]

I believe that it all depends on the origin of the leak. If within the walls to the wood it COULD potentially get under the OEM vinyl and any other vinyl. I left the OEM vinyl and installed the LVT over it. Behind the cabinets the OEM vinyl is a barrier if there is a plumbing leak (I hope). I do not believe there is a perfect solution other than to watch for leaks at fixtures and lines in visible areas.

[Chuck]

The leak source is within the wall. no plumbing anywhere near this spot. After looking it over some more, a likely candidate is the awning attachment point. The seam where the front end-cap section starts is "ground zero", and there is a full-length window awning that attaches there on the front main bow. I'll know for sure when I finish gutting; since the walls are coming off, there won't be any problem finding it...but the point is, such a leak could (and likely will) happen again, anytime, anywhere.