Luxury vinyl plank flooring install?

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jodiwer

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We have an 2001 Aerolite Cub that we would like to put new flooring in. We are thinking about luxury vinyl plank. We don't want to add laminate because of the weight and we don't really like the look of rolled linoleum or vinyl tile. Does anyone have any thoughts, experience, or suggestions on this?
 
Here is a thread on replacing the flooring.

The pictures that are linked to photobucket in the post are duplicated later as reduced pictures linked directly.  Hope this answers some questions about a project like this.

http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php/topic,69841.msg636238.html#msg636238
 
You can do that - I helped a buddy install Allure Ultra in his 40 ft coach. Gluing it down is better than floating it in an RV installation - the subfloor is an RV sifts around a lot, especially in lighter models with less rigid frames and floor structure.  I highly recommend buying one of the more expensive grades, e.g. Allure Ultra rather than the standard Allure.  The higher cost per sq ft doesn't add up to much with the small floor area of an RV, and the planks are thicker, join more firmly, and last longer.

As with most flooring, the success is largely determined by the prep work. A smooth, clean and dry subfloor is a necessity. Fill holes or gouges, sand bumps, remove staples and old adhesive, etc. Often it is easiest to lay a new plywood overlay on the old subfloor, but make sure you have enough clearance for the additional height.
 
A decent vinyl plank is going to weigh a lot more than a laminate. So you might reconsider using that as an elimination. You will have a much larger selection with laminate. Chuck
 
A decent vinyl plank is going to weigh a lot more than a laminate.
Having used both, I think high quality LV plank and laminate weigh about the same. Both run around 1.5 lbs per sq ft.  Much depends on the grade chosen, though, and the lower grades of laminate are indeed fairly light.
 
Being in the flooring business for over 20 years and installing more Laminate than I can remember, I can say for certain that a good quality vinyl will weigh more than an equal quality laminate. Stop at you local Home Depot or Lowes and lift a carton of each that has equal square footage. That should give you some indication. Since it seems the OP was concerned with weight. Chuck
 
I just compared packages of Allure Ultra and 10 mm Pergo and the weight per sq ft works out about the same.  The 7 mm Pergo is of course a bit lighter.  I'll agree that the lightest vinyl is probably heavier than the lightest laminate, so laminate is the better choice if minimal weight is the prime objective. However, it's a poorer choice for an environment where there are wide swings in temperature and humidity.
 
weight shouldn't be an issue since you are distributing the new floor throughout
 
Has anyone installed an engineered wood product?  I have used a lot of it in residential but it may be too heavy for an RV application.
Thanks,
Pat
 
Blues Driver said:
Has anyone installed an engineered wood product?  I have used a lot of it in residential but it may be too heavy for an RV application.
Thanks,
Pat
YUP- that's all I install
 
I've seen several RV installs of lux vinyl, and it looked great when properly prepped & installed,but, everything that I've seen came with a warning about only being meant for use in conditioned spaces. So there may be some issues w/ edge seal or something if used where it might sit out in the cold for extended periods. I don't think heat presented similar concerns or warnings though. While not particularly light (I think it's around a lab. per sq. ft. maybe) I do like that small areas can be remove  and reinstalled fairly easily.

If you're not set on the faux wood look you might also look at Daich Coatings RollerRock or Spreadstone high solids acrylic coatings as a lighter weight coated finish that's extremely tough. UV stable and relatively cheap compared to the others, it provides no seams for spills to penetrate, and if you apply over their w/p primer I've seen a cardboard box hold water with just that when I first came across it at a trade show several years ago.  They had painted 1/4" thick pieces of acrylic (Plexiglass) with it and if you scratched at it with edge of a penny real hard it would eat up the penny. Also you could bend the painted 2'x2'- 1/4" painted sample to almost 90
Degrees and it didn't crack or eliminate. Thinking of using it in my build and then just adding a few area rugs and runners. Just a thought.

 
I was all set to do this until I went to the mfg. web site. We are not full time in our 5th wheel. The mfg. states not to use in RVs or boats. The area must be a controlled heated environment, don't use in unheated areas.  Back to the drawing board.
 
We are considering Infinity Woven Vinyl flooring to replace the carpet in our 5er.  We've seen it in Airstreams; reportedly it's also supplied in Columbus 1492 models.  From what we've seen it's very handsome stuff.  It applies with an adhesive like sheet flooring.

https://infinitylwv.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIsMD5grri4AIVisDACh39NQ4gEAAYASAAEgLr0fD_BwE
 
I installed vinyl plank in my vintage tt 3 years ago.  I went with vinyl because I did not want issues with water on laminate.  It was easy to install.  It has held up extremely well.  I did the floating application with trim as I live in Michigan and have extreme temperature fluctuations here.  I used the standard HD grade, nothing luxury.  The only thing I have noticed is that in the winter, the flooring develops gaps at the ends from contraction in the cold.  As soon as it warms up, it expands back into place.  It is easy to clean, fairly inexpensive and looks great.  I would not hesitate to do it again.
 
jodiwer said:
We have an 2001 Aerolite Cub that we would like to put new flooring in. We are thinking about luxury vinyl plank. We don't want to add laminate because of the weight and we don't really like the look of rolled linoleum or vinyl tile. Does anyone have any thoughts, experience, or suggestions on this?

This is great info. Do you by chance remember what brand of vinyl plank flooring you installed?
 
The higher quality Allure works well and goes down waterproof. Use quarter round on the edges to accommodate expansion.
Ernie
 
I think you are over concerned on the weight question - laminate isn't enough heavier than vinyl plank to worry about. And the better grades of laminate don't have the moisture and expansions issues of the cheap stuff. I've successfully used Pergo laminate in the bedroom of our coach, but it's just around the bedstead and no section is very long or exposed to water as a bath area would be (Our galley and bath are ceramic tile).


That said, as Ernie says, the better grade Allure (Allure Ultra) is viable in an RV.  Whatever you choose, go up in quality enough to get one that actually interlocks (not the glue strip stuff) so as to avoid gaps between planks after a season of road vibration and expansion/contraction.  Consider gluing it down rather than floating as well.

Both vinyl and laminate is subject to wear & scratching from slides. You will want to have some sort of thin pad to lay down when retracting slides. The thin plastic cutting board sheets seem to work well.
 
You can do that - I helped a buddy install Allure Ultra in his 40 ft coach. Gluing it down is better than floating it in an RV installation - the subfloor is an RV sifts around a lot, especially in lighter models with less rigid frames and floor structure. I highly recommend buying one of the more expensive grades, e.g. Allure Ultra rather than the standard Allure. The higher cost per sq ft doesn't add up to much with the small floor area of an RV, and the planks are thicker, join more firmly, and last longer.

As with most flooring, the success is largely determined by the prep work. A smooth, clean and dry subfloor is a necessity. Fill holes or gouges, sand bumps, remove staples and old adhesive, etc. Often it is easiest to lay a new plywood overlay on the old subfloor, but make sure you have enough clearance for the additional height of luxury vinyl plank flooring atlanta.
We are interesting in having this installed in our basement. Need to cover about 850 square feet. They would be going over old sheet vinyl which is over the old asbestos tiles from the 60's so places like Home Depot or Lowes won't do for liability reasons. I could buy from them and have someone install but thought it might be easier to go to a locally owned flooring store who has their own installers. Other option is ProSource who sells wholesale if you have an installer you're working with or they have names of installers to give you. I think this might be the best route to go as the material cost appears to be about $3,50 a square foot. But I'd need to be dependent on getting a good installer maybe with some references. Has anyone used Costco? I see they partner with Shaw dealers but not sure if that might save even more? Any recommendations would be appreciated. I have one bid for about $5800 which is evenly split between material and labor.
 

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