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Pahaska · 07-09-2003, 01:43 PM

I just ordered 2 cases of 1' x 2', glue-down Granorte cork flooring and a quart of adhesive. I wa pleased to find that the OSB floor in my trailer is a single sheet, so that I con't have to worry about seams showing through. The image of the cork.

I am going to do all of the trailer except the bedroom area in cork. I measured the trailer floor and made a CAD image of the floor to plan the lay out of the sheets. Two cases just make it with a bit to spare if I am careful and don't ruin any.

60traveler · 07-18-2003, 03:57 PM

hi john-
we are considering cork flooring for our '60 traveler. would love to see any pictures you may have...
martha

Pahaska · 07-18-2003, 09:15 PM

They emailed me and said that the freight had been underestimated by the web program and would be about double what I was told; almost what a carton of cork costs just to get it here. I told them to cancel the order for now while I look at other sources. I may reinstate the order if I can't do better elsewhere.

i found a source just about 5 miles from my house that I am going to check out tomorrow.

60traveler · 07-19-2003, 09:49 AM

Hi John,
Rats. You may want to check out Environmental Home Center's website, www.built-e.com. They are headquarted here in Seattle but have a national presence. They are also running a special on cork now. Great folks and really know their stuff. Check them out. We'll let you know what we end up doing. Good luck. Martha

Pahaska · 07-19-2003, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by 60traveler
Hi John,
Rats. You may want to check out Environmental Home Center's website, www.built-e.com. They are headquarted here in Seattle but have a national presence. They are also running a special on cork now.

I looked at the EHC website. The original supplier had so much better square foot price that, even with the high freight, the total price was less with them. Also, the original supplier had 1' x 2' square-edge glue-down cork rather than the tongue and groove style. There is so much less waste with the square-edge cork, which can be turned any direction, that, again, the original price was much less in the long run.
I still want to check the local suppliers, but I think I'll reorder from the original supplier.

I'm still high on cork because I think it is the lightest weight and most attractive appearance of any floor I have seen.

60traveler · 07-22-2003, 08:04 AM

hi john-
i was just at ehc yesterday; what i didn't realize before was that the cork tile special they currently have is an in-store thing, so that wasn't listed on the web site. however, they do phone sales on the show room floor (though there's the shipping factor). they have the expanko tiles in the traditional light and medium for about $3.50 sq. foot. it's on sale because it has a bit more color variation, but i think it still looks great. these are the 12" x 12" unfinished tiles; they have only a limited supply left. just thought i would pass along the info. i agree with you; the cork looks so cool. we bought our tiles yesterday (though we have much to do before we're ready to install).
if you decide to call, talk to dana hofmann; he's been very helpful and is excited about the airstream thing. good luck!
martha

vm777 · 07-22-2003, 08:48 AM

try sourcing cork as a flooring underlayment. it comes in 4' x 100' rolls, 1/8" or 1/4", and can be had as cheap as a $1 per sq. ft. it's also great for walls at this price, especially with it's flexibility

peace

Pahaska · 08-11-2003, 08:07 AM

I just placed my order for 2 cartons of cork from the original supplier I had looked at (iFloor) in Canada. I compared prices all over the place and they had the best shipped price for what I wanted (both pattern and type of tile).

Local sources were almost twice as much with sales tax factored in and I could not find a better choice on the net. I wanted glue-down cork and just about everyone carries the floating tongue and groove stuff which is a lot more expensive and a lot less practical for me. With the shape I have to fill, I have much less waste with the 1'x2' glue down tiles since I can match any edge anywhere. 2 cartons just do my area with a little to spare.

Now that I have my 30A RV outlet where I can reach with the trailer cord, I can put down the floor in air conditioned comfort.

Pahaska · 08-11-2003, 08:11 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by 60traveler
hi john-
we are considering cork flooring for our '60 traveler. would love to see any pictures you may have...
martha

I'll take a series of photos while I do the installation and post them here.

59toaster · 08-11-2003, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Pahaska

Now that I have my 30A RV outlet where I can reach with the trailer cord, I can put down the floor in air conditioned comfort.

Think again. Your wife will come home and find you with your face glued to the floor after your pass out from the fumes.

Really need to have some good air flow when working with them flooring adhesives. I did comercial flooring for a couple years. That's stuff is evil!

Pahaska · 08-11-2003, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by 59toaster

Think again. Your wife will come home and find you with your face glued to the floor after your pass out from the fumes.

Really need to have some good air flow when working with them flooring adhesives. I did comercial flooring for a couple years. That's stuff is evil!

Agreed!

I will use the AC while cutting and fitting the cork tiles which is about 90% of the job because of the very irregular space. When the adhesive can comes open, the AC goes off, the windows and door come open, and the two Fantastic Fans come on.

I learned my lesson many years ago when I wedged myself upside down under the steering wheel of my Austin-Healy to glue some heat insulation in the pedal area. Unfortunately, the glue was ether based and I took quite a nap before the fumes cleared.

59toaster · 08-12-2003, 06:41 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Pahaska

Agreed!

I will use the AC while cutting and fitting the cork tiles which is about 90% of the job because of the very irregular space. When the adhesive can comes open, the AC goes off, the windows and door come open, and the two Fantastic Fans come on.

I learned my lesson many years ago when I wedged myself upside down under the steering wheel of my Austin-Healy to glue some heat insulation in the pedal area. Unfortunately, the glue was ether based and I took quite a nap before the fumes cleared.

hahaha Yeah some people fail to realize how quick that stuff can get you.

Funny you mention a Austin Healy. I have not seen one in quite a while and this morning on my way to work saw an unrestored in fairly good shape for it's age. Needed paint and the bumpers rechromed but otherwise pretty nice.

Look foward to seeing some pictures of the floor. Looked at a couple sites of companies that make that flooring. I like the look.

Pahaska · 08-14-2003, 08:11 AM

The cork and adhesive shipped today.

After several days of storms, I went out to check the trailer this morning. I took some tools and started at the galley to take up the carpet and pad. I ended up breaking the last of my carpet knife blades, but I have about 1/3 of the carpet loose and the padding taken up in that area.

The floor is one-piece OSB, darkened somewhat where I had the flood last winter, but otherwise a perfect surface for the cork. There are countersunk screw heads over the frame outriggers which I will have to fill and sand before laying the cork.

I am able to trim the carpet and pad slightly back under the furniture. I'll use a heat gun or hot soldering iron to get rid of the remaining fuzzys. I'll fit the cork slightly under the furniture edges and then apply a black plastic self-adhesive molding.

Pahaska · 08-14-2003, 12:14 PM

here is the style of the cork I have ordered. It comes in 1'x2' planks. No tongue and groove so that I can fit the odd shape without a lot of waste.

Pahaska · 08-17-2003, 08:44 AM

Carpet and pad are out. All that remains is just a little trimming of the fuzzys where the carpet went under the furniture.

The one-piece OSB floor is held down to the frame by screws except that some of them aren't countersunk very well at all. I will have to go over the floor and re-countersink about half of the screws before I lay the cork. Then, I will fill over the screw heads so they don't print through the cork. There were also some gobs of gray sealer (Vulkem?) that I had to scrape off.

On the good side, there is absolutely no indication of damage to the OSB from the flood I had last winter.

My task today is to go to Home Depot for tack strip and aluminum strip for the join between carpet and cork at the bedroom. I am going to do it the same as Peter did in his photos in this thread . I have been in Peter's motorhome and he did a fine job of flooring.

Pahaska · 08-19-2003, 12:09 PM

The light spots in the OSB are patches of wood putty over the countersunk self-tapping screws that fasten the floor to the chassis.

Pahaska · 08-19-2003, 12:12 PM

I decided to use a wood transition strip. It is slotted on the bottom and I'll use the rubber hammer to seat it on the black plastic strips that can be seen in tis photo. There are tack strips back under the carpet.

Pahaska · 08-19-2003, 12:16 PM

It took the assembler 7 holes to finally hit the outrigger and then he stripped the self-tapping screw. The holes barely showed in the photo, so I marked them with PhotoShop.

acwdgw · 08-19-2003, 12:57 PM

Ugh! I thought that Airstream stopped using that type of flooring and went back to using plywood. Will the cork protect the floor if it gets wet? If not, you will have a big pile of mush!

dgw

Pahaska · 08-19-2003, 01:42 PM

OSB is as just good and probably better than plywood. You were probably not on the forum last winter when I had my flood due to some bad plumbing. The entire rear third of the trailer carpet and pad were soaked and it took weeks to dry it out completely because water was in the carpet and pad under the bathroom, cabinets, and dinette. Today, there is not a trace of the prolonged soaking on the OSB except some almost imperceptable darkening in the area that was wet.

As far as I know, Airstream did not use OSB in the past.