New Flooring-Laminate or Vinyl

[Tim Wood]

OK, I've started working on the Horizon since its been nice weather, although its been snowing the last couple of days. But I'm going to tear out the carpet and put in either laminate or Home Depot has a flooring that looks like laminate but is vinyl. It looks just like wood. Has anyone used this vinyl type from Home Depot ? And if I were to use a laminate, does it hold up OK in wet weather ? Thanks

[Rick Brown]

OK, I've started working on the Horizon since its been nice weather, although its been snowing the last couple of days. But I'm going to tear out the carpet and put in either laminate or Home Depot has a flooring that looks like laminate but is vinyl. It looks just like wood. Has anyone used this vinyl type from Home Depot ? And if I were to use a laminate, does it hold up OK in wet weather ? Thanks

Tim
I have used the flooring from Home Depot and it was one of the best floors I have ever put in. I have a Compact Jr and it took about 1 1/2 hours from start to finish. Plus this floor will not be damaged by water and since it is a floating floor you can remove it with out any problems. I put laminate flooring in my house and I wish I would of seen this floor first.


This is a picture of our floor

[Jeanne and Steve]

This post made a big impression on me. I read it after we had already installed laminate flooring in our Casita. Our laminate flooring is beautiful and we haven't had any problems so far, but I'm very careful to wipe up any spills. If we were to do it again, I think we'd go with vinyl.

Jeanne

[Randya]

Every thing I have read about laminate flooring, it is very durable, but moisture is a killer. It's ok if you keep the spills wiped up. I have 1000 sq. ft. in my house and never had a problem, but I am careful with spills and wet. I never put it in the kitchen or bathrooms. I would go with the vinyl.

[Jim Bennett]

I plan to do cork flooring in my trailer once I get it. If you wish you can use an adhesive that seals the joints. It will add warmth and beauty to the trailer.

[Tim Wood]

Thanks Rick,Jeanne,& Randy I appreciate your feedbacks. I kinda thought this post might go this way, as I was looking at the vinyl [at] Home Depot the other day. I thought man this is just the ticket for a camper. Rick by the way I'm still looking for a compact, but I have to sell one of two campers before I pursue one. I'm thinking after I get the mods done on the Horizon I may sell it, and also my 16' side dinnete Scamp too. But I will have to give that some more thought, if I do keep one I don't know which it will be.Jim I just saw your post, I'd like to see that cork. That should be a very durable floor and weather resistant too.

[Jim Bennett]

Tim, you can see cork flooring at a lot of lumber/finishing supply stores, or at any flooring store. It is becoming real popular around here. We install lots of it on basement floors, as it gives an easy way to add a real wood floor, plus the added benefit of it being real warm to the touch (of the feet). It costs around $4-5/sf AD, but you don't really need much, and install just like a laminate or any other engineered wood floor. The finish is a polyurethane, just like vinyl or other wood floors.

Cork is also a renewable source. They just strip the bark off the tree, and it regrows itself back again in 9-10 years.

[Tim Wood]

Jim, Thanks for the info I will check it out.

[Don N]

I installed that laminate vinyl in our bathroom over a year ago and absolutely no problems at all. Even with moisture from shower, etc. Real easy to cut and install and priced reasonable. I think it would be ideal for a trailer floor.

[Raya]

Jim,

Does the cork flooring you know of ever come in a sheet, like vinyl? I ask because in a quick web perusal, I only came up with tiles or "planks." I like the thought of one big sheet in order to not have to think about cracks or seams.

Raya

[Jim Bennett]

Raya, it does come in tile or plank shapes like you found, just like any laminate or other engineered wood flooring. It is real wood on a structurally stable engineered base. The joints fit real tight. We have put it in in a bunch of kitchens in customers homes and have had no issue. As mentioned, with some brands you can use a glue/sealant between the pieces when you put them in to achieve a sealed bond. I plan on having a nice mat inside the door and always have a ground mat outside as well. We only wear shoes inside if it they are clean and dry.

I pick up my new trailer in a month (exactly, but who is counting ). I will be installing it almost right away and will take some photos of the installation, and report on how it went.

[Tim Wood]

Jim, I'm going back to Home Depot this weekend, but I will check into the cork today to see who has it in my area. Don, I too think that vinyl would be just the thing for a camper. I found a place that sells both types of floor, so I'll take a look maybe tomorrow.Thanks,Tim

[Carolyn Patterson]

My Vote is for Vinyl too..

When I brought my 'new to me' trailer home, the first thing I did was take out the carpet. Went to Home Depot (I'd already shopped both there and Lowes for the "hardwood look" I wanted) bought the size I needed off the roll, came home - grabbed a piece of plywood (used to cut the vinyl on) used the carpet as a template, and within less than 30 min I had a 'wood look' floor that takes no time to wipe up. Mine lies there (isn't attached) but this summer I might think about putting trim pieces around the edges. For the past year, it looked fine without it.

Laminate would be wonderful, but my husband isn't real handy when it comes to things like that, so I had to have something I could do on my own. I had laminate installed in my home, and the first thing the installer told me was to be careful about 'mopping' the floor due to the possibility of water seeping thru the cracks.

[Booker B.]

Are you talking about the Traffic Master Allure vinyl laminate? Here are a couple of threads on installing it:

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/index.ph...7&hl=allure

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/index.ph...1&hl=allure

[brendadave]

We changed to a Glueless Vinyl after our first year, it has been wonderful, it does not require glue, the edges don't curl up, was easy to cut, and realy easy to keep clean, even as it gets wet on rainy or snowy days.

Oh, and it does look like wood, most people think it is laminate when they look at it.

Best part, it was a remnant we picked up cheap from out local End of the Roll.

[Bobbie Mayer]

We changed to a Glueless Vinyl after our first year, it has been wonderful, it does not require glue, the edges don't curl up, was easy to cut, and realy easy to keep clean, even as it gets wet on rainy or snowy days.

Oh, and it does look like wood, most people think it is laminate when they look at it.

Best part, it was a remnant we picked up cheap from out local End of the Roll.

Do you know the brand, Brenda? I'm looking for something for inside the house. I have to go check out Home Depot and see what's available.

Bobbie

[Jim Bennett]

Just to add, if it was a choice between vinyl and a plastic laminate, I would choose the vinyl hands down. The only type of floating floor I would consider myself, is an engineered wood one, to get the beauty and added warmth.

[Tim Wood]

Booker, Yes Traffic Master is what I was looking at Home Depot. Thanks for the link. I'm not too worried about installing as I use to install carpet many years ago, and I've done some hard surface also. BrendaDave, I'm going to go with a floating floor , just so its easier to take out should anyone have to or want to.

[Gail S.]

I went with vinyl. It may not be as durable as laminate but I worried about spillage. My house has laminate and my cats knocked over the water dish while I was out. Well the laminate lifted and I was not happy. Vinyl isn't that hard to put in - took me about 1.5hrs - not including flooring prep - but my floor was very ugly and needed a lot of work. If your worried about fitting it I came up with a great idea to make a template. I used newspapers taped together. Here is a link to my boler reno project. There are photo's of my floor install.

Boler Reno

Gail

[Owen Lindsay]

Hi
Just in case you haven't picked up on it, Trafficmaster planks in the light oak was my choice, and I managed to get the full installation in our Dolphin in a day and a half. First time I ever used it and the results were superb. We chose the textured finish and are tickled with it.