Why is sheet vinyl bad flooring?

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MadelineG

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May 14, 2013
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11
Hello! We are getting into last minute panic, leaving in 3 weeks for a year long trip with kids and dog. We want to replace carpet and linoleum in our 2008 30 ft Jamboree. I specifically want a little texture to keep the dog steady and something that can be swept/wiped clean.

An Armstrong sheet vinyl looked good but now I'm told that sheet vinyl is not good to use. Why? That 'a basically what we already have in the kitchen/entry area. This is NOT a fancy motor home and it will be even less so after a year. Is this just a mismatch of design sensibilities or is there a functional reason why sheet vinyl should be avoided?

Thank you,

Madeline
 
I'm not sure why anyone would have said vinyl sheet flooring is not good to use.  The only negative I can think of might be noise suppression.  Carpet would help there, but probably wouldn't outweight your reason for wanting vinyl...that and maybe a cold floor in cold weather.
 
There is nothing wrong with sheet vinyl per se and no functional reason not to use it. However, it is often used in less expensive RVs, where they choose the cheapest material they can find, and that gives rise to a low reputation. If you go to a flooring store, or even Lowes or Depot, they can show you some really excellent and beautiful sheet vinyl. The price per sq ft will reflect the quality of the material. I highly recommend buying a top grade, because the quantity of material needed is small, while the labor to install it is great. The extra cost of a better grade is tiny compared to the overall job.

Do you have an experienced RV floor installer lined up? RVs are a different type of challenge than the usual floor and many installers won't touch them. It's similar to doing a bathroom - lots of angles to cut, the cabinets are built in, and the furnishings don't easily move out of the way.
 
what Gary said. And as a perspective from an old installer: We are use to getting paid by the yard or square foot. The larger the area, the more we make. The smaller the area and with all the cuts in a coach, we hate all that. UNLESS, you sweeten the pot and pay an installer a daily wage.
 
Molaker said:
I'm not sure why anyone would have said vinyl sheet flooring is not good to use.  The only negative I can think of might be noise suppression.  Carpet would help there, but probably wouldn't outweight your reason for wanting vinyl...that and maybe a cold floor in cold weather.

Since noise suppression is mentioned, I saw some material that is installed under the vinyl flooring that is supposed to aid in noise suppression.  Check with a flooring store as they should have more detailed information about it and it's application.
 
Thank you for the input and suggestions. I'm still trying to line up the installation, understanding that there are motor home complications. Seems the couple of motor home specialists I called either won't work with vinyl or misunderstood the level we were looking for and quoted $1,400 as a rough estimate. A flooring store said they have done motor homes before and can quite once they see the coach. I'll do that once I get it back from tow bar/ other work.

This is a very unfancy bunkhouse model with no slides and we are ok keeping the carpet behind the couch so I am hoping it is a very basic install, relatively speaking. I am looking at the Armstrong Clean Sweep Plus at Lowes or the products at the flooring store- www.gerflor.com or Flexitec, www.ivcfloors.com. I'm hoping installation can be closer to $500.

It seemed that planks would be more complicated (and all seemed too slippery) and stick on tiles too junky.

Thank you - we'll see!

Madeline
 
I'd expect that something like Allure would be cheaper to install and it still winds up being a solid sheet.

Ernie
 
Was that $1400 labor only, i.e. in addition to what you spend on materials? For how much flooring (sq ft)?

Professional installers won't quote less than their best work simply because they know that the customer won't accept sloppy work regardless of what they may say up front. The potential complaints, bad references and call-backs simply aren't worth discounting their rates. Besides, less-than-perfect work doesn't save them all that much in terms of hours on the job. However, if you can find an installer who moonlights from his regular flooring shop job, you may be able to get a "down & dirty" price. Ask around the small shops. If there is a flooring distributor near you, ask them if they know of a person who might do a simple job cheaply.

Realistically, it's probably going to take a guy and a helper most of a day to do the job, even if it indeed is as simple as you think. Not many pros would do that for less than several hundred dollars, especially if they have higher paying jobs waiting for them. A guy working on his own might do it in a couple evenings and be happy to take home an extra $250 or so.
 
The Allure flooring is about as hard as putting lego together. the hardest part will be getting the old stuff out. (and removing the staples)

We did the entire MH with it a couple of years ago. took maybe an afternoon. the carpet was already removed when we bought the rig.

I can not see 1400 worth of labor either. That would be paying 2 guys over 100 bucks an hour!! It shouldn't take 2 pro's more then 4 hours to do the job including clean up and coffee break!

your entire MH is only 240 sq feet! that includes the drivers area and under all the cabinets. and the estimated OUTSIDE dimension! are you doing every inch?

 
Ernie, as you certainly know Allure is not sheet and therefore I found it much easier (less $) to install. The way it overlaps results in effectively a single waterproof sheet.

Ernie
 
Ernie Ekberg said:
I wasn't aware the Allure was a sheet vinyl

sorry there Ernie, I hadn't had my morning coffee before posting last time.

I was a little surprised at the cost of labor that was quoted and was really just trying to say that the plank floor is easy to install.
and I guess I was also trying to say that sheet vinyl would not be that hard either. - for professional installer's

I was posting both idea's at the same time :)

So to clear that up for you. Vinyl plank is super easy for a do it yourselfer and that sheet Vinyl should be just as easy for a pro.

I can not see how a pro could come up with 1400 as a labor cost
 
I can not see how a pro could come up with 1400 as a labor cost

I can, easily. First of all,  that was a "sight unseen" estimate. Second:  owners, RV or otherwise, always think their install will be "easy" Pro's have learned the hard way to never, ever, low ball an unseen job based on the owner's description.  Third: If the bidder has every done an RV before, he knows they are often challenging. And if he hasn't, he has probably heard they are tough (they are). Fourth: Removing the old stuff, and disposing of it, is nearly half the job. Fifth: A pro has to earn more than his hourly wage and more than just the actual time on the job. He has tools, a truck, perhaps a helper, time to & from the job site, time to dispose of the old floor covering (and maybe a "tipping fee"), and has to earn enough on each job to average out a decent week's pay for himself and his helper (if any).  Does that add up to $1400 for a small job? Probably not, but the estimate may be just a back-handed way of saying "not interested" (unless you pay top dollar).
 
Pros are used to getting paid by the square foot or square yard. They cannot be asked to install a coach based on that. Therefore, a higher wage is warranted. I get $300 per day labor. AND- I do know what I'm doing. FYI
 
Vinyl rules -- no cracks to accumulate water or dirt, relatively low cost, great wear, and simple installation. I was looking at a padded vinyl at the flooring store last week and saw some that looked so much like tile I had to be right on it tell the difference, and can be laid loose over one layer of existing floor (does not require adhesive).  Moulding around the edges keep it from lifting and a high-friction back keeps it from moving. We might put in our kitchen at home.

Laying sheet vinyl is really easy for a reasonably good do-it-yourselfer.  I find caulking tile to be a lot harder than laying vinyl. (Of all the things I did in rebuilding my kitchen, getting the stupid caulk on the tile to look professional was hardest. Grout was easy. Go figure.)
 
Is this what y'all are talking about:

http://www.homedepot.com/b/Flooring-Vinyl-Flooring-Resilient-Flooring-Resilient-Vinyl-Planks/TrafficMASTER-Allure-Ultra/N-5yc1vZbzjzZdfz

Vinyl that comes in planks and snaps together like laminate?

Curt in KY

I see in one of the reviews that it's not recommended outside of 65-85 degrees or it will buckle?  I know my rv will be both above and below those temps.
 
That's the stuff.  Just did my S&B kitchen, and also did my TT before I sold it.  In a residential situation, it has a lifetime guarantee.
 
Be careful reading the reviews - they often lump the basic Allure together with the Plus and the Ultra. There is a lot of difference, most notably the thickness and the method of interlocking the planks.

Vinyl does expand with heat - that's one of the reasons that a floating type of installation is recommended.
 
Thanks a bunch to everyone on this forum, I'm definitely getting the high end Allure vinyl planks for my class A.

Curt Welling
 
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