Well I had a moment & decided to see what was under the carpet. My bathroom & kitchen are now exposed subfloor. Thought I would use the 12" stick on vinyl flooring then decided to look @ fellow barthers had done. Now I have decided not to use the stick on squares. I don't really want to use sheet vinyl so I guess the next possibility would be a Pergo type w/a foam back. olroy warns give that some thought in case of an accident the floor could go flying. I really like the warm feel of carpet maybe in the front dog house/& drivers passenger area(sound deadening)& the living area & the walk between the twin beds (we have a rear bath). Any one have any more to add to what has already been written on types of flooring? Maybe I'll just paint the sub floor I may do that if we get to travel next week to see what others have done.
Just talking to think. Input welcome.
Tere

I would think pergo would be ok if you glued it together and made sure your moulding was firmly attached around the edges. keep in mind that laminate flooring is fairly unstable and will shrink and grow with changing humidity.

Tere,

Just get to the DC-GTG with a subfloor. There's a Home Depot one mile from Cherry Hill. I'm sure that after the Friday night wine tasting we can all pitch-in and give you something in the way of a new floor!

We put Bamboo in the bathroom. And some other type wood laminate in the living area.

I like the bamboo, seems to hold up real nice. Not so hot on the laminate. We are in and out and it seems even when we are careful we end up with a ton of sand everwhere, of which is no friend to laminate.

I vote carpet, and so do the dogs!

Good article at:

http://www.modmyrv.com/2008/08...rv-laminate-flooring

quote:

Originally posted by Jeff & Joy:
Not so hot on the laminate. We are in and out and it seems even when we are careful we end up with a ton of sand everwhere, of which is no friend to laminate.

I vote carpet, and so do the dogs!

Same here. Sand beats up laminate, and even hardwood. Carpet is warmer in winter, too.

My vote would be ceramic if it wasn't for the weight. One of the problems in replacing the carpet with carpet is that there are several areas where the carpet is attached to vertical surfaces, like the front of the couch, the base of both twin beds as well as the dog house. To do it right, you would have to replace all the carpet, not just the part on the floor and that would be a real job. To avoid that, you would have to change materials. But I'm just the sidewalk superintendent in this case.
Jim

Our kitchen had a wood floor, but we pulled up the carpet in the bath and hallway and put down 8" tile which fit perfect. And I screwed up by trying to use the household mud to seat them. So up they are going to come and will use a flexible adhisive to hold them down. The flexing of the floor cracked the grout and base.

I will get it right the next time. But sure did like the looks of it.

We put down quite a bit of laminate in two Florida houses and a small amount in our RV. I find that the Industrial grades, like Armstrong commercial, will hold up to just about anything you give it. Our dogs "peel out" on it constantly and all that happens is they get a manicure!

An advantage over tile, is flexibility. Tiles will break if bent, laminate will take a lot of flex-ion. The disadvantage, as stated already, is that in large areas it should "float". That means leaving a 1/4" gap and using a molding above it to hide the gap. Honestly, I wonder if this is all that necessary in an RV. My guess is that the entire rig expands at about the same rate, but the molding is still a need to cover any rough cuts.

We put down the slate tile look in two kitchens and it was loved by all due to the look of tile, but the nice cushion of laminate when traversing. I vote you consider laminate. I'll be at the DC gathering if you want any further tips on install. I will be replacing my carpet with it when the time is right.

One final note. I highly recommend the V grooved laminate versus the flat topped (usually cheaper) varieties. Reason is, it gathers and holds the dirt between cleanings and additionally won't telegraph sub-floor imperfections like the flat top varieties.

Corey

I went with carpet, and due to the fact that the old wasn't stinky mildewed or anything gross, I just left it and went right over it. With pretty much all surfaces being plywood of one sort or another, I used 3/4" staples with my narrow crown stapler and just fit as I went. The carpet is a Burber [plastic] that cleans up very easily after a Talledega weekend or a wet Florida trip. The only place I tiled was the bathroom, which was carpeted when we bought the Euro. UGH!! Small square sheet tiles and it has held up great. Not even a crack in the grout.
Of course you have to remember that this coach is for using, not a show-piece, so what gets done on it might not be everyones cuppa T.

Nothing like getting up on a chilly morning and going out barefooted to turn the coffee maker on and stepping on cold tile......don't even need the coffee after that!

Up for your comments:
Tile on the radiant heat circulated base. The tile looks good, holds up well, puts weight low and in the center of the vehicle. The radiant water heat can come from the engine heat or from the hot water heater. (Add a circ. pump to the system, a bypass solenoid valve to isolate the coach. Open the bypass solenoid and you also have engine preheat for those cold start mornings. For the diesel folks there was some testing in the 70's showing improved consumption preheating the fuel using engine heat exchange. You could add concentric tubing to include this.)

Tere and Jim -- You had a "moment", we had an "episode". It sounds as if our current flooring (sub-floor ie) matches yours. Do you suppose we could start an "exposed sub-floor" shabby chic style floor? lol. We're thinking either a floating pergo style or a commercial type lino. Be good to hear what you finally decide.

I am leaning toward carpet everywhere but the bathroom. Jim is leaning more toward something else but I do the cleaning & I'd rather vacuum than sweep. I'm looking @ a commercial burber that will cost around $100. The fella who has the carpet said he recently installed one in a MH & it was around $400. I'm not interested in spending that kind of $$$. He said the install would be a lot less if I did all the tearing out & prepping the floor (removing staples, carpet tacks, carpet strips, seats & cleaning) I'm going to take the MH over & just get a price. If Jim & I agree I may try to install it myself. I just want it to look nice. I don't know about gluing because I want a carpet pad. The measuring & stretching is my biggest issue. Any suggestions or words of encouragement. I may ask the fella to just measure & cut it for me & I'll do the rest. I'll keep the doghouse carpet for a template & any other odd pieces.

Tere

quote:

Originally posted by Jim and Tere:
I am leaning toward carpet everywhere but the bathroom.

Tere

Susan loves to cook, so cleanup is important in the kitchen. That makes sheet vinyl a prime candidate. We have that now, a little beat-up, but still easy to clean up.

She is leaning toward hardwood in the LR, with a nice rug as a runner.