Laminate or vinyl floor

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

jrshall

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 3, 2009
Posts
71
We have a 1999 Newmar Kountry Star m/h with living room slide. The slide rides on 4 runners and drops down when extended to create a flat floor. The carpet has developed permanent indents from the 4 runners. We are looking into replacing the carpet with some type of hard surface flooring. Searching the forum archives, I have found several threads dealing with such things. However, they are all from a year or more ago.

Hopefully I can get some updates on how members floors are holding up after a year or more of using laminate or vinyl flooring instead of carpet.

I like the idea of vinyl because it is lighter, but the vinyl I have seen seems very soft. I am concerned that the weight of the sllide would deform or tear it. I saw a post here that mentions a high quality, hard vinyl, but it did not include a brand or source. I am also concerned about how the slide rollers might scratch any hard surface floor.

I also saw a post that said Newmar glues their floor down, even the laminate. I am concerned that if mine is glued down, it may be very difficult to remove without destroying the subfloor. Has anyone removed the laminate floor from a Newmar?

If anyone can provide some current info or long term experience, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks in advance, Jerry
 
We had our living room carpeting replaced with laminate nearly 2 years ago and it's holding up just fine.  The laminate floor should float, not be glued down, or it's going to crack.  We had it done at Bradd & Hall in Elkhart, IN.  They have done a lot of these floors.
 
Good quality vinyl will hold up well too. The stuff that is thick and costs $3-4 per sq ft and up.  All the flooring stored have sample books for it, but they aren't accustomed to selling it because of the price, so you have to ask for the good stuff. Take a look at the Armstrong site and look at the better stuff (you can view it by what they call "performance class")
http://www.armstrong.com/flooring/products/vinyl-sheet

I doubt if your flooring is glued down unless it is real tile, but don't have any personal experience with Newmar to go by.
 
Amtico and Nafco sell the luxury vinyl tile. since the new material is thinner then your existing carpet and pad, you should have no problems.
 
Ernie

Our slide works similar to Jerry's. When out, it is flush with the floor. As it retracts, the leading edge lifts up and goes over the floor. We have been told that if we go with full tile, thinking Amtico or equivalent, a carpeted climbing ledge is needed for the slide to climb over as it retracts. How does that work? Is the carpet visible when the slide is in and/or out? We would probably leave the carpet on the slide if we replace the floor carpet. Comments ???
 
I looked at a coach yesterday and at the edge of the wall under the slide there is a hard plastic piece about 3 inches wide. The floor material- either carpet or tile is under that. On your slide, do you have carpet with a bound edge? Most of the slides that I have seen have an aluminum edge that is covered by carpet.
 
jrshall said:
We have a 1999 Newmar Kountry Star m/h with living room slide. The slide rides on 4 runners and drops down when extended to create a flat floor. The carpet has developed permanent indents from the 4 runners. We are looking into replacing the carpet with some type of hard surface flooring. Searching the forum archives, I have found several threads dealing with such things. However, they are all from a year or more ago.

Hopefully I can get some updates on how members floors are holding up after a year or more of using laminate or vinyl flooring instead of carpet.

I like the idea of vinyl because it is lighter, but the vinyl I have seen seems very soft. I am concerned that the weight of the sllide would deform or tear it. I saw a post here that mentions a high quality, hard vinyl, but it did not include a brand or source. I am also concerned about how the slide rollers might scratch any hard surface floor.

I also saw a post that said Newmar glues their floor down, even the laminate. I am concerned that if mine is glued down, it may be very difficult to remove without destroying the subfloor. Has anyone removed the laminate floor from a Newmar?

If anyone can provide some current info or long term experience, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks in advance, Jerry


I have removed the laminate from a 2001 Newmar Dutch Star and yes, it is glued down.  There will be some damage to the sub floor but if you are carefull, it will be limited.  Also the laminate goes under the cabinets and walls for a short distance as well as under the shower base etc.  You will have all the drawers and anything else you can remove easily to get at it.  After it is removed, the damage can be repaired by using the floor evening material you get from a flooring store or home center like Menard's  etc.


The slide has a metal edge and the carpet is glued to it with about a 1" overhang to allow a nice look when the slide is out.

After I had replaced the wood a few years ago we had another flood and Ernie replaced my flooring, both wood and carpet about 2 years ago.  Because we used carpet again in the living room area, I have had no porblems.

You may find more Newmar specific information on the "newmarowners" group on Yahoo.


 
We have used laminates inside the bedroom and living room and vinyl flooring inside the bathroom and kitchen...in matching designs. Both floors are doing just fine, no rips, tears or other surface damages. Laminate floors should be installed as floating floors, using no adhesives. Vinyl floors must be glued down, especially in case of large rooms. We got ours from here http://www.sitelogr.com/s/flooring2floors.co.uk
 
jrshall said:
We have a 1999 Newmar Kountry Star m/h with living room slide. The slide rides on 4 runners and drops down when extended to create a flat floor. The carpet has developed permanent indents from the 4 runners. We are looking into replacing the carpet with some type of hard surface flooring. Searching the forum archives, I have found several threads dealing with such things. However, they are all from a year or more ago.

Hopefully I can get some updates on how members floors are holding up after a year or more of using laminate or vinyl flooring instead of carpet.

I like the idea of vinyl because it is lighter, but the vinyl I have seen seems very soft. I am concerned that the weight of the sllide would deform or tear it. I saw a post here that mentions a high quality, hard vinyl, but it did not include a brand or source. I am also concerned about how the slide rollers might scratch any hard surface floor.

I also saw a post that said Newmar glues their floor down, even the laminate. I am concerned that if mine is glued down, it may be very difficult to remove without destroying the subfloor. Has anyone removed the laminate floor from a Newmar?

If anyone can provide some current info or long term experience, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks in advance, Jerry


Jerry,
We at Route 66 RV recently tore out laminate in a Newmar that was in fact glued down.  Laminate is meant to be a free floating floor, and at no point should it ever be glued to the subfloor.  In some cases, especially in an effort to reduce water damage prospects above the surface, you can bead glue along the edge of the tongue and groove of the click together products to reinforce the integrity of the bond between planks, but do not glue it to the subfloor. 

While others have hinted at sheet vinyl, it may be a little easier for a new installer of floors to try out, but it's propensity to scuff and tear, especially under a slideout is only the first issue you will need to worry about.  Sheet vinyl, even in its thicker, commercialized forms, is very unforgiving in that the subfloor will show through if the floor is not thoroughly prepped in advance.  After tearing out a glued down product, this may not be the best option for you.

Your floor should be substantially prepped and leveled no matter which option you choose, but one that may be a great alternative to sheet vinyl is Luxury Vinyl Tile.  These products are now being used by our customers in lieu of actual hardwood and tile, because they are easily mistaken for the products they mimic, and they are extremely durable and lightweight.  If you don't believe me, check out your local grocery store as they have probably incorporated this trendy new look into their stores, getting away from the old confetti looking white tile everywhere.  If it works under shopping carts day in and day out, it will work for you too.

If you choose to use laminate again, there is only one product on the market fully warranted by a manufacturer for RV / Motorhome use: Wilsonart Flooring.  This High-Pressure laminate, starting with a 17 mil wear layer, is 3-5 times stronger in its basis "Classic Series" than any of its major competitors in Pergo, Quickstep, Mohawk, Shaw, and Fabrica. The "Estate Plus", "Red Label", and "Professional Studio" Collections are all 45 mil wear layers.  The difference is that the other brands out there utilize a top surface paper of 3-8 mil generally and combine it with a fiberboard.  The two are adhered together in what's called a "direct pressure" construction.  Ultimately, when you compare the two side by side, they're hard to tell apart, but Wilsonart's product is made up of 8 layers and topped with aluminum oxide to stand up to their warranty boasting a minimum of 20 years in Wear, Stain, Fade, and Water Damage.  Wilsonart is also the only company to avail its customers to an Impact Warranty, promising to replace up to 5 planks should you find a way to ding, scratch, or chip their nearly indestructible floor.

So, depending on the layout, the height restrictions of your slideout, and your tear out / floor prep required to replace your floor, the best options are before you.
 
Thanks Grant,

This is just the kind of information I was looking for. I've since sold the Newmar, and am happy with the floor in our new one. However, if I decide to replace the carpet in it, I will certainly keep your comments in mind.

Thanks again, Jerry
 

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
131,751
Posts
1,384,305
Members
137,525
Latest member
Sinbad
Back
Top Bottom