Why Marmoleum ?

[Dingo Girl]

Originally Posted by InsideOut

1) I like the look of it - more natural, warmer colors.
2) It's more "period correct" for our 1956 trailer. Synthetic vinyl flooring didn't exist back then.
3) I hate the smell of off-gasing vinyl. Trailer is sealed up + temperature rises = the vinyl stinks.
4) More stable. Not going to stretch with the higher temps the trailer is subjected to.
5) Solid color for whole thickness - not layers of paper-like materials with a plastic coating like most inexpensive sheet vinyls.
6) More durable than most sheet vinyl. Layers don't separate & harder to gouge.
7) Nice underfoot - feels much better barefoot than the plasticky feel of vinyl.

I'm sure I can come up with more reasons...but these are the first reasons that came to my mind...we've had it in two Airstreams and are preparing to put it in our 1947 Curtis Wright Model 2 when we get around to restoring it.

Shari

P.S. We didn't add "a 1/4" of underlayment". It's not necessary if the floor is solid.

Shari
what did you use to fill elevator bolt heads & seams of subfloor? I don't want to use Luan either.
Mine is a brand new subfloor coated with penetrating epoxy.
I'm not installing the sheet floor covering. But would not be opposed to doing the prep work.
The flooring company wants to put Luan down.
It makes no sense to me to put a layer of rot susceptible Luan down on top of my new epoxy treated subfloor.
Any help is appreciated. Also how has yours held up?
Sherri

Originally Posted by Tony S

Shari

Good summary. I feel the same way about off gassing.

If I too can avoid the added weight of the ply underlayment I would be happy.

I have laid many vinyl floors over the years and prepared others for others so I can prep it to professional standards if that is all it takes.

I am about to install new floors in half the trailer ( A/B marine fir plywood) the rest is in very good shape.

Have others installed Marmoleum without underlayment?

Many thanks

Tony

[Lumatic]

Originally Posted by Airline

Its real linoleum.

Which is made from linseed oil

[Dingo Girl]

Luan? Yes or no? I'm very close to having my floor covering installed.

[Bubba L]

Dingo Girl, Luan no. Too many voids. We used 1/4" birch and installed our M over a year ago. We read the the literature on installing M and it has held up well. We used 3/4" narrow gauge staples placed closely along the edges and a little farther apart in the field per the installation guide. Stagger the 1/4" joints with the subfloor joints. Make sure and set any staples that didn't recess in the 1/4" material. Good luck

[Dingo Girl]

Originally my 67 had linoleum tiles glued to subfloor.
No Luan no Birch.
Why do I have to put anything over my epoxyed subfloor before the Marmoleum?
I know elevator bolt recesses will have to be filled and smoothed. Seams too.
What to use for filler??

[Thalweg]

Dingo,

I would suggest that you check the specs on the adhesive you intend to use, however, I would strongly suspect that you'd be fine installing it directly on your epoxied floor.

I put an underlayment (1/4" plywood) on top of my subfloor because I didn't need to replace the subfloor. The old floor was glued down with some sort of asphalt based adhesive. Residue from that adhesive was left on the subfloor surface when I removed the old tile. The Marmoleum adhesive said that it was incompatible with that old adhesive. In hindsight, I wish I had just gone over the old floor because the extra 1/4" lift on the floor threw all the old stuff off. Everything that attached to the wall, like the cabinets and furnace vents were off by 1/4 inch and needed to be reworked.

[Lumatic]

Originally Posted by Dingo Girl

Originally my 67 had linoleum tiles glued to subfloor.
No Luan no Birch.
Why do I have to put anything over my epoxyed subfloor before the Marmoleum?
I know elevator bolt recesses will have to be filled and smoothed. Seams too.
What to use for filler??

For Marmoleum the floor has to be absolutely flat or cracks, screws, etc will show through. Also Marmoleum calls for only using their adhesive.

[angieair]

I've been looking at floating floors, which would alleviate the need for such perfection in the plywood subfloor. (I'm not replacing the entire subfloor -only patching by the entrance.) What do you all think about these type of floors? You can get them in marmoleum (forbo).

[Hankster]

Hi Angieair,
I called Forbo yesterday asking about their products and the person I spoke to did not recommend the M. click lock due to movement. I would suggest calling them and asking all of your questions as they are super helpful. For travel trailer application the person I spoke to recommended the Marmoleum sheet or the MCT or MCS (which is a hair thinner than the Marmoleum sheet, but just as durable and less expensive). The advantage of the MCT is that if any damage occurs to your floor you can remove that specific tile and replace it.
I have done lots of research and scoured the forum for flooring ideas and personal experiences and I have decided on Marmoleum. There are so many beautiful color choices also! Check out the Forbo website. They send free samples!
Best of luck!