Allure Trafficmaster Vinyl Planks

[star kitty]

I would reconsider your decision to lay vinyl planks in your trailer.

I installed 6"x36" vinyl planks in my trailer and I have 1/8" gaps in them right now (in Colorado). Dirt enters the cracks and then they heat up. As they heat up the dirt pushes the joints upwards and you never have a clean seam.

That's just my experience. The only reason I haven't replaced them is time and money. I spent close to $800 on just the materials alone.

Good luck.

[Aage]

Originally Posted by star kitty

I would reconsider your decision to lay vinyl planks in your trailer.

I installed 6"x36" vinyl planks in my trailer and I have 1/8" gaps in them right now (in Colorado). Dirt enters the cracks and then they heat up. As they heat up the dirt pushes the joints upwards and you never have a clean seam.

That's just my experience. The only reason I haven't replaced them is time and money. I spent close to $800 on just the materials alone.

Good luck.

Kitty,

Were your planks TrafficMaster Allure?

[star kitty]

Originally Posted by Aage

Kitty,

Were your planks TrafficMaster Allure?

No, they were not. They were Centiva brand. Not sure if there is a difference by my experience with vinyl tiles has not been positive. I should have been more clear.

Not sure if there is a difference between brands.

[Aage]

I'm not sure if they differ either, but thanks for the info.

Aage

[tx70amb]

My Allure Trafficmaster floor has now shrunk at the ends also. I will wait to see what happens this summer. Overall, it still looks good because the shrinkage makes them look like planks. Even so, i sure hope the gaps close when it heats up.

[dnmais]

We have used Allure flooring for many projects including:

- Condo living room and kitchen
- Apartment kitchen and bathroom
- Cottage bathroom
- Home bedroom
- Airstream complete floor over original plywood.

In all applications, we have been very pleased. No odd smells, no shrinkage issues....good for easy clean up and wet areas. The installation is easy and straight forward.

[billybucks]

This is my experience with Allure. This is in cold conditions.

[GAArgosy]

Just finished installing in my '78 Argosy MH. Very pleased. The perfect choice IMHO.

[mccrosti]

I'm thinking of this flooring as well...regards the Odure,it's a 1972 Overlander, it CAME with smells

[floridalarry]

Ripped up all my carpeting and installed vinyl plank flooring in my 2002 28' and after a season of travel, most of the seams had separated. Ripped it out and put down Armstrong sheet vinyl. Did not glue it down and left a gap around the edges for movement. Put down base molding. Looks fantastic.

[Loeber]

Idiot idiot idiot!!! I should have spent the money and bought allure to start with... I bought another brand of "snap/click" vinyl and when I was attempting to install against the wall or other boards the small amount of give allowed the seams to open slightly, the ends never matched up due to slight uneven-ness of the floor. I am installing in Calgary Alberta, In March, at 5 degrees below freezing. (about 25-28f). So I am now returning 10 boxes of unopened planks and buying the allure with stick (1 box only) to try out and see if it will work.

My question is whether it is better to install in the cold weather and plan for expansion when it gets hot (Canada hot, not TEXAS HOT). or install hot and plan for shrinkage in the cold? I am running a space heater inside to maintain temps of 50-60f.

[Becky B.]

I helped my daughter install the stock allure & it was such a pita that I brought the stuff that I bought to install in my Avion back! I'm going to use the click install kind. It HAS to be easier than the stick stuff!

[Keyair]

We just had Metroflor Engage put down in our home after a waterleak.
This stuff has impressed us so far...
Everyone thinks its reclaimed real wood... but it is Vinyl.
Thick, nice underfoot, and waterproof.
Here is our bathroom, in Burnt Hickory.


The only downside is this stuff is heavy, in my opinion.

More info here..

[Vintage1987]

We installed this in our 1986 Avion Travel Trailer. It is really nice to clean, walk barefoot on and it's durable. It does shrink and swell with the temperature. The trick is to take the highest temperature the interior of your trailer will experience during the year and the lowest temperature to get an average. H+L divided by 2=?

Our trailer is 110 in the Summer and about 35 in the Winter. 115+35=150/2=75. DO NOT INSTALL THIS FLOORING AT A TEMP. BELOW 75!

We installed at about 83 but will be installing on our 1988 Avion at about 80 degrees because when it gets super hot, the floor actually lifts up. (flattens out when you walk on it.) When it gets cold, it shrinks and all of the gaps widen. This will allow dirt to settle into these cracks and the floor will not be able to shrink back to it's original position. Do not get dirt into these cracks. We carry our grill in a tote and when we set it up, we use the tote to store shoes outside our trailer so that we aren't tracking dirt inside. This keeps our shoes dry and easy to find because they are all in one location.

Also, make sure that you stagger your 1st boards like the instructions state and leave a small gap around the edge for expansion. This can be covered with plastic trim from Home Depot. Nail the trim to the cabinetry not the floor so that the floor can expand underneath the trim.

We really like the flooring. It's fairly easy to install. It looks great. It does have it's drawbacks but it beats sheet vinyl in durability and ease of installation and it's economical.

We went with the oak in the 86 but now we are doing travertine in the kitchen and bath and pecan in the bedroom and LR which matches the cabinetry well.

[Becky B.]

Originally Posted by Vintage1987

We installed this in our 1986 Avion Travel Trailer. It is really nice to clean, walk barefoot on and it's durable. It does shrink and swell with the temperature. The trick is to take the highest temperature the interior of your trailer will experience during the year and the lowest temperature to get an average. H+L divided by 2=?

Our trailer is 110 in the Summer and about 35 in the Winter. 115+35=150/2=75. DO NOT INSTALL THIS FLOORING AT A TEMP. BELOW 75!

We installed at about 83 but will be installing on our 1988 Avion at about 80 degrees because when it gets super hot, the floor actually lifts up. (flattens out when you walk on it.) When it gets cold, it shrinks and all of the gaps widen. This will allow dirt to settle into these cracks and the floor will not be able to shrink back to it's original position. Do not get dirt into these cracks. We carry our grill in a tote and when we set it up, we use the tote to store shoes outside our trailer so that we aren't tracking dirt inside. This keeps our shoes dry and easy to find because they are all in one location.

Also, make sure that you stagger your 1st boards like the instructions state and leave a small gap around the edge for expansion. This can be covered with plastic trim from Home Depot. Nail the trim to the cabinetry not the floor so that the floor can expand underneath the trim.

We really like the flooring. It's fairly easy to install. It looks great. It does have it's drawbacks but it beats sheet vinyl in durability and ease of installation and it's economical.

We went with the oak in the 86 but now we are doing travertine in the kitchen and bath and pecan in the bedroom and LR which matches the cabinetry well.

Did you use the click together, or the kind with the sticky edge?

[Aage]

Allure has the sticky borders.

[Becky B.]

Originally Posted by Aage

Allure has the sticky borders.

No....it also comes as click together. For instance:
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...specifications

[Melody Ranch]

Becky....I think that floor is the sticky type. I never saw click Allure and I have used the one you pointed out. A hint to all, as I have mentioned before, is watch the direction you lay that plank....which side goes on first. If you lay it so that the new edge slides under the previous plank you are in for trouble. Thats because when you touch surfaces...your stuck! There is no wiggle room and its hard to get correct alignment under the blind edge. Much easier to lay the new plank directly down ON, and visible, on the previous plank.

[wolverine]

Originally Posted by Melody Ranch

Becky....I think that floor is the sticky type. I never saw click Allure and I have used the one you pointed out. A hint to all, as I have mentioned before, is watch the direction you lay that plank....which side goes on first. If you lay it so that the new edge slides under the previous plank you are in for trouble. Thats because when you touch surfaces...your stuck! There is no wiggle room and its hard to get correct alignment under the blind edge. Much easier to lay the new plank directly down ON, and visible, on the previous plank.

Totally agree, Melody--that's the way we laid our Allure. We ran ours from front to back with the lower adhesive edge facing up. By laying it down against the previous edge at a 45 degree angle and then pressing in place, we ended up with no gaps and a beautiful looking floor. We do have gaps at the end of the planks in the colder months but these disappear in the warmer months. Even with these small gaps, we think theis product makes the nicest looking and most serviceable floors we have seen in an Airstream. We selected the light cork color and it enhances the appearance of the light oak hardwoods in our unit. We also installed light oak molding to cover the gaps around the edges. It is far superior to the factory installed lineoleum,

[Aage]

Originally Posted by beckybillrae

No....it also comes as click together. For instance:
6 in. x 36 in. Teak Resilient Vinyl Plank Flooring (24 sq. ft./case)-53712 at The Home Depot

I guess it comes as either. We used the Allure floor vinyl planks in our kitchen at home, and they were definitely the stick-together type. The only thing I found that I didn't like was I never found the right tool for cutting them.

Love them though, the kitchen is an area that sees lots of traffic, and lots of things get dropped, heavy or sharp things: it looks exactly like the day we put it down two years ago.

Yes, I looked and "Traffic-Master Allure Vinyl Plank" is with the sticky. You pull off pieces of opaque white "paper" that keeps the sticky away from the non-sticky.

And it's bulletproof. Here's a photo of the style we used: