New laminate floor over thin gray carpet?

[Stavig]

Originally Posted by k corbin

I would not overlay old carpet in a little travel trailer. There is a reason for my opinion on that. Any residual dirt in the old carpet fibers is a breeding ground to feed mold spores and mold does happen in tiny fiberglass travel trailers. It would be better to begin with a clean subfloor base, brand new mold resistant foam padding made for the purpose and then your new flooring. Plus remember that the old carpet fibers will wick up and retain moisture for a considerable length of time if there is a spill that allows water to drain through the cracks. The foam padding flooring won't absorb moisture.

What people do in a fiberglass trailer should NOT be based on what you see people doing in their houses. They don't have kitchen sinks and one piece bathroom showers in their living rooms where they are installing laminate flooring over their carpet. Their living rooms are not typically subjected to the types of moisture condensation issues found in a fiberglass trailer. I don't think you want to create a mold trap that could create ongoing smells that can't easily be remediated without pulling up the plank flooring.

IF---Then (what happens next) thinking is always required when redoing the interiors of the FGRVs

Yep, that's what I was going to say; if you have any kind of condensation in your trailer (and if you don't get condensation, let me know how!) that carpet's gonna get wet and moldy and then the whole camper will stink to high heaven! The po of my Casita covered over the carpet with vinyl flooring and when I took it out, the carpet and subfloor were completely rotted. If your subfloor is good now, it would be so much easier to just remove the carpet and lay the flooring over that.

[k0wtz]

vinal =cold floors hard to figure

bob

[TheWanderers]

I would not recommend covering any old flooring. Someone, sometime, covered the old carpet in the Scamp we renovated and the old carpet and old pad under the new carpet was like powder when we pull all of the previous flooring. Some the old stuff had deteriorated to such a degree that it took a scraper and a vacuum to get it all out. Some of the old stuff had been wet and had hardened into some type of new world carpet rock-formation that was no fun either. Better to ensure a solid foundation and smooth base.

[Tim in AR]

We've traveled about 3K with the trailer now and have learned a lot. Fortunately we have no leaks and leave our Fantastic fan vent open most of the time, but it is amazing how moist things get with a simple meal being prepared. We now cook outside almost exclusively if not raining. I really like the Casita and we have more trips in the planning stage. I'm going to leave the carpet for now and remove/replace when it shows more wear.

[LyleB]

I pulled my carpet in my 1999 Scamp last winter. That was the worst part of the job, getting the old carpet out. I found cutting it into foot wide strips was the easiest, then use a hand held, 4" floor scraper (available relatively cheap at Home Depot) to scrap the glue/pad as you pull the carpet. I'm glad I pulled the old carpet - TONS of sand and dirt held underneath it, plus I got to do a through inspection of the condition of the floor. Ended up replacing a 12" X 18" section of floor right in front of the door that was pretty soft and punky. I reassured myself that the rest of the floor is in very good shape.

I sanded and painted the floor to help seal it from the inside, as well as completely covering the replacement section of floor with fiberglass resin(both sides and the edges) - that should never have rotting issues again. Laying the Allure vinyl plank floor was a breeze, only took a few hours, working alone with no previous experience. AS I said, pulling the carpet was the most difficult and time consuming part. Well, replacing the floor section took a while also, but would be much easier if I had known what I was doing. :-)

It has held up very well, and is MUCH nicer and easier to keep clean. For cold weather comfort, throw rugs or foam kitchen mats down to make the floor very comfortable