Has anyone replaced the carpet with laminate under a slide out?

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Stella

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How you did so under where the slide attaches? Did you have to remove the slide to do it? (hope not!)

Anyone take photos?

I really want to do this but am a bit scared regarding the slide.


 
I wish I had pictures, but I don't. I extended the slide, removed the trim. I then cut a couple 2by4s the width of the slide in my case 28 inches. I put them at the top of the slide to keep the top from retracting. I retracted the slide a couple inches. The front of the slide came up enough to install the laminate. If I had to do it again, I would have a pro do it!! I'd reconsider the use of a product made for a stick house, they seem to expand and contract too much. No matter who does it clean, clean and clean again under the slide so your floor doesn't get scratched. Good luck.
 
John,

I can see where dirt will be a problem. I am thinking Allure Ultra since others here seem to think highly of it. Our RV has oak wood in the kitchen. This is beautiful but horrible scratched up and impractical.

So before using the slide I will be sure to sweep very well.

Perhaps I will get a professional quote. I can lay the other parts of the floor throughout the RV but that slide area- it is 11 foot- is daunting.
Thanks so much for the advice
 
Hi, I just finished a DIY project to remove all flooring in our 38' Damon including under the slide. Our slide is 12.5 ft has 3 rollers spaced evenly over the slide. If your's does not have rollers it might be easier. It's important to replace with a flooring that has the same height or less than the carpet. I used SAM's Club Traditional living - 7mm with foam backing and it's tongue and groove. Through a process of moving the slide in and out, I was able to remove the carpet and put the first run of flooring in (the rollers went back enough to hold the first run and allow me to put the tongue of row 2 into groove of row 1) and then work out from there. It's very doable, just tedious. Having some measurements before starting - height of clearing between slide and floor, roller spacing (if present) and travel of slide (in to out) helped determine where best to stop the slide to remove carpet and put first run of flooring. Good luck, reach out if you need more details. ( Tried to attache a picture but it's too large - will try to resize and post later).

 
Great information- thanks! I guess I need to determine if I have rollers or not. I will check it out tomorrow!

Whom ever put in the oak floor in the kitchen area did not think of the height which I am sure accounts for the scratches. When working under the pantry I saw the remains of the original vinyl floor.

So I will pull out the oak floor too.
 
some coaches have rollers, some have skids for the slide to move in and out. you can see what kind by  going outside and pull the rubber gasket down and with a flashlight look under the slide.
 
We replaced the carpet in our entire MH with Allure including under the slides.  One of my slides has a long plastic skid under the entire slide, no rollers.  This one rubs and scratches the new floor.  It's not too bad, but over time it will be.  We use the "Slide Out Slicker" when we put the slide in. 

We got "Slide Out Slicker" here:  http://www.adventurerv.net/slide-out-slicker-pair-camper-p-258.html



 
Several years ago we removed all carpet and replaced it with laminate flooring. We used Armstrong's best grade of laminate. We picked it based on some tests that Consumer Reports did that showed it had better wear and scratch resistance than Pergo. Its 3/8 inch thick.

We were surprised to find that a Carpet Time store had much better prices on the best grade than Home Depot or Lowes had on the middle grade which is all they carried. The best grades were special order.

We did the installation of our flooring ourselves. We couldn't find an installer willing to do the job.
It took us about ten day?s altogether (we only worked about 4 hours a day though). It wasn't terribly difficult but did require a lot of cutting and trimming because of all of the corners. There were also some challenges at the front of the slides, around the stairs, and underneath the dinette.

Before we did the installation we did a test by removing a square of carpet and making sure the slides would ride over a piece of T molding, laminate and under layment.

Some people try to cut the carpet back under the slide, but we cut the carpet in front of the slides leaving enough carpet to be stapled down. I was afraid the slides would catch the carpet when the slide went back out. A Tee molding covers it so it doesn't show.


If you do the job yourself I would recommend a few things to have:
1) table saw, 2) chop saw, 3) good saber saw, 4) Rotozip tool, 5) air  slight head brad nailer, 6) air stapler,  7) utility knife and sharp hook blades. 5) A staple puller - looks like a flat blade screwdriver with a V cut into the bent end of the blade. 6) heat gun for a few places where the carpet was glued down (stairwell for example)

There were two grades of the foam under layment available. We used the best grade - more expensive but thicker and provides a moisture barrier.

We also used a special waterproof joint glue in areas that are prone to getting wet - like in front of the sink, refrigerator, and around the stairwell. (This is used to glue the joints so spilled water can't get in the joints - not to glue the flooring to the subfloor).
We also used silicon caulk to fill the 1/4 gap at the edges in those areas.
The caulk and waterproof glue are both recommended in the instructions from Armstrong.

We vacuum and mop carefully before we bring the slides in to avoid leaving anything on the floor that might scratch it. In spite of that over the years we have had some minor scratching in three or four places. One fairly deep place at the very beginning was due to our cat batting a couple of paper clips under the slide while we were working on the project. 
I stapled door sweep strips behind the base boards in front of the slides because of that.
Even with the scratches it looks much better that the carpet did after only a three or four years. In addition it is so much easier to keep clean.
 
You can usually tell by looking at any marks that your slide makes on the existing flooring (carpet) what contact it has with the floor when retracted.  Judging by the year of your coach, I'm assuming you have a hydraulic slide, yours is probably much like mine and doesn't contact the floor at all.

Remember, when the slide is out, there can only be a couple of inches of flooring left under the front edge of the slide.  It's fairly easy to lie on the floor and shine a light into this space to see what problems might arise in removing, and replacing, the flooring.

There will be a nice straight edge (used to stop and seal the slide when out) to guide you in laying the new floor material.  Simply slide the first row of flooring under the front edge until it stops against this lip.

Here is a link to the thread posted of my carpet replacement.
http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php?topic=52038.msg481777#msg481777
I hope there is something here that will be helpful to you.

 
Thank you all so very very much! I am printing out this entire topic and will also explore your thread Lou! 

 

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