Flooring ideas

[bina]

we have just brought home our 1999 classic excella. some work to do, carpet goes first and we want to keep weight down. Cork, they tell us, is lighter then carpet.
With allergies I too want to see the dirt so I can clean it and it does not get more into corners etc. we travel with a small long hair chihuahua and I can not believe all the hair.
I use a swifter daily, fast and easy, use the wet ones for mopping. not the fancy one, just the basic one.

Lumber Liquidators: Bamboo & Cork

[ALANSD]

I used cork in my classic motorhome, loved it. I now have the laminate in my trailer, it was a lot less expensive, looks good also. The cork was easier to put down though.

[alumibum]

First thing to go in Stella the Excella was the carpet. Same reasons....I wanna SEE the dirt! Not breathe it. The laminate went down easily...just a few tough notches here and there. We bought the type with the backing already attached. After several searches on different threads, we decided to go for laying across the width of the trailer.(East/ West) It's a little more work...but turned out great. We are installing in the Argosy now. Use the spacers along the edges of walls. Be sure your first line is correct...and have at it! The quarter round for trim is expensive! We just bought the regular wood trim...stained it...and saved lots of $$. Ill have pics soon.

[markdoane]

Dear bum,

Can you tell me about the spacers along the wall? Where to buy, how many, how much?

Thanks,

Don

[samb]

Ease of cleaning is a must, considering where my trailer takes me. I couldn't find what I wanted, so I guess I am the only one who built their own flooring. I cut light and dark 8 inch squares of mahogany from 1/8th inch plywood and laid them down alternately, much as the black/white linoleum tile floors were. I then sealed the floor with 2 coats of epoxy resin, the first coat thinned with acetone to soak in well and seal between the tiles. After I get all the cabinets built and installed I will put on a final coat of gym floor finish or marine spar varnish. Plywood cost was about $40 and epoxy was $30. Final cost will probably be around $100 for the finished, full length floor. I think the weight will be less than most wood floors, but the cost in sore knees while gluing the floor down was higher than anticipated!
Sam

[tntssafari]

Samb,
I'd love to see pictures of your mahogany floor. We are planning to put down the wood laminate as a temporary fix to get us by, but would sure love to have a wood floor.
We've pulled the carpet out of the Safari, and are trying to decide if we want to tackle getting up the asbestos tiles right now, or just cover them with the floating wood laminate until we're really ready to tear it all apart.
We just want to get it on the road and start using it.

[solitairenc]

Have you thought about cork flooring? It's pretty and quiet and easy to keep clean.

[ALANSD]

I have not used spacers along the wall, just left 1/4" or so of expansion room. The shoe molding or quarte round will cover this anyway. The cork is a breeze to care for, but then again so is the laminate.

[alumibum]

Don
ALANSD is right....just leave 1/4 inch around wall. Unlike wood flooring, laminate needs to "float". It needs space to shift a little. Wood flooring requires flush tight edges. If laminate flooring is placed in flush and tight...it will buckle and become wavy. The spacers can give you exact edges...they are found in the same section where you purchase the laminate flooring...but you can eyeball it too. Quarter round will cover the spaces. Just walked in the house...Arnie the Argosy's floor is almost done. Digital camera usb is lost...will post when I find it!

[ALANSD]

I did add a few very small nails near the front door. I did not want to put molding there, so i used the nails to keep a tight fit. But so fay all is well, the floor has been down 6 months and looks great. Lumber Liquidators sold me this laminate for .79 a sq foot. Cost less than $80 to do my trailer , a 31, but I did not do the bedroom. I like carpet on my feet when I get up!

[krazeekalvin]

I have been looking into vinyl strips that look like wood. My friend installed it in his trailer, and it looks geat. The only problem he got it off a job and doesn't have enought left for me.

[LI Pets]

To stop the whole floor from sliding in that 1/4" space I put a dab of silicone every two feet or so.

When you hit the brakes hard it can shift.

[ALANSD]

Originally Posted by krazeekalvin

I have been looking into vinyl strips that look like wood. My friend installed it in his trailer, and it looks geat. The only problem he got it off a job and doesn't have enought left for me.

Are you talking about soft vinyl? Levon used that in one of his 50's trailers and it did look quite good, and wood like.

[Happycampers]

Originally Posted by ALANSD

I have not used spacers along the wall, just left 1/4" or so of expansion room. The shoe molding or quarte round will cover this anyway. The cork is a breeze to care for, but then again so is the laminate.

I have been talking to several people about this 1/4" floating space, the man at the flooring store here said it dosen't matter if the temp stays the same all the time just the humidity change will cause it to move. I want to screw several things to the floor like cabinets and tables, I don't think it will hurt anything to do this, so I have made up a test to check it over the next couple weeks. When we did the floor in our other Argosy (June 2005) we used Armstrong click flooring. This is the same flooring we are going to use in this Argosy. When we finished I just threw a few pieces out by the fence in the back yard. After over two years of all kinds of weather it looks the same. I put two pieces together and screwed them down, now I will wet them down to see if they move. The piece on the left in the pic is the one that was outside for 2 yrs. It didn't warp or fade.

Marvin

[GetOutDoors]

Originally Posted by str8strm

stay with carpet. We are now cleaning the floors twice a day since we see all the dog hair, dirt, etc. We love the look of the floors but maintenance has gone thru the roof

So, you would rather live with the dirt in the carpet?

[mandolindave]

I haven't installed my pergo yet, and I might be changing my mind and putting down a glued vinyl or marloleum. I have spilled milk , beer, water,
and have had a few plumbing mishaps. I would hate to have to rip up pergo everytime I had a milk spill. ( Milk toppled over in the fridge and ran out all over the floor). Believe me. It smelled bad.

[Julie R]

we are putting in our leftover bamboo flooring from our house, it is a natural product and also it doesn't mind moisture as much as other woods and has a natural repelling quality to mold mildew..and is pretty. in the bath part however (though they say bamboo fine in bathrooms) we chose a great vibrant blue marmoleum, which is like the old tough linoleum, is all natural made with linseed oils come in super vibrant colors and patterns and also since not made with chemicals it won't give off odors...

[JLD1942]

Hello. We have been fighting sand and dog hair in the carpet. We wanted to switch over to either wood or some sort of tile. In the end we decided on a type of carpet used in office buildings because wood and tile floors are so cold. We're both getting a little long in the tooth and didn't want to trip over throw rugs. The solution for the kitchen turned out to be a heavy plastic mat made for under computer tables. We bought a huge one, cut off the tab that goes under the table. It looks fine, allows the carper color to come through and works nicely to protect against spills.

[malconium]

There is another thread going about the relative merits of vinyl strip floor. Here is the address:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f461...ing-33650.html

Here are some pointers for other types of flooring that look interesting. The second one has rubber garage type flooring that is available in a roll. Interestingly the roll width is 7'6" wide which would be great for an airstream.

Floor Surfaces, Inc: Manufacturers of Premium Flexible Interlocking Floor Tiles, floor tile,floor surfaces,interlocking floor tiles,interlocking tiles,basement floor tile,basement tile,clean room tile,commercial floor,commercial floor tile,commercial

Garage flooring, garage mats and tile garage floors at American Garage Floor

Burke Flooring

One other perhaps bit off the wall idea is to use a canvas floor cloth. They were very popular in colonial America and would probably work just fine today too. Basically a floor cloth is a piece of canvas tacked or stapled to the floor around the edges that is then painted as desired and overlayed with varnish or other type of clear sealer. One good source of canvas is the following:

Canvas, Tarpaulins, Muslin, Theater Fabrics, Dyes, Dropcloths, Tarps, Curtain Track Systems and art Supplies.

These folks mention canvas for "floorcloths".

Malcolm

[ckeysor]

Alan, although you have selected your flooring already, I just wanted to put in a perpetual plug for carpet tiles. The have the following benefits:

• Easy to install
• Great patterns and colors
• You can buy anti-bacteria brands
• no pad means no nasty growths
• warmer than wood/tile
• you can easily replace tiles due to mishaps
• Today you can even buy Green certified tiles

And best of all Alan you live near the carpet capital of the world in Dalton. We bought remanents on the internet at under $1.50 a square foot.

We have installed carpet tiles in two of our trailers and love the way it works.
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