Vinyl on the fiberglass floor.

[rgrugg]

In talking with Jim Palmer about another issue, another discussion came up about allergies. He mentioned that putting vinyl on the fiberglass creates a great spot for mold to grow. That's why he puts carpet in Egg Campers instead of something else. He mentioned someone, being allergic to the carpet, used the carpet as a pattern for a custom rubber mat.

[cpaharley2008]

I painted my floor with some paint that had an additive not to support mold before covering with a floating Pergo floor. I used the carpet on top that in the winter.

[Pomfritz]

CPA,

So you put a new floor over the old one? What type of trailer was in? Any clearance issues? Did you use any trim at the edges or any sealant?

Our BF has the original vinyl floor, good shape and think it wouldn't be much work to put a cork floor in it. I was planning to remove the old floor but perhaps it would not be needed.

Thanks,

Gary

[cpaharley2008]

I did it twice, once in an Egg Camper. I painted the subfloor, trimmed the wood and secured it with molding around perimeter. Any rounded corners I used matching caulk. In my Lance I installed over the factory tile floor and used caulk one one side and molding on other. The caulk allows for expansion and contraction due to weather.

[jlbails]

I found that carpet got wet too easily, and laminate was too much trouble, so I went to a remnant store and got a 3 x 10 section of linenoleum for $1, cut it to fit and laid it down. I thought about taping the edges, but because it was cut exactly to fit the main area, it does not move around. I stuck the extra piece under the dinette area. Also, my Boler has the original fiberglass floor and I didn't want to mess it up with sticky glue or tape. When this piece of linenoleum wears out, I'll just slap down a new one. Dirt sweeps off great, and I can lay down a rug or two for comfort. The rug is easily shaken off when dirty. I'll post a picture if anyone is interested.

[Pomfritz]

Okay. Now I'm thinking cork floor over existing and use colored caulk around the edges for expansion. Besides I hate cutting trim.

Gary

[Bob Miller]

Mold??? Can't say that I've ever heared that said about tile over fiberglass.
I personally strip out all carpeting in RV's because it collects so much cr@p underneath.
A new one isn't bad, but a 10 year old RV is a trashpit when you pull out the original carpets.

BTW: It's a lot cheaper to put down carpet when building that any kind of solid flooring or tiles.
But Mold????

Speaking of flooring.... I often use laminate but, just this weekend, at a yard sale, I bought 3 bundles of 1/2" thick solid oak flooring (the real stuff), more than enough to do 2 FGRV's, for..... $5.00. I feel soooo bad!

[cpaharley2008]

Ollie's has Pergo flooring, $16/box, you will need 1.5 boxes for an EggCamper

[Pomfritz]

Thanks, love the minimal cost when it comes to jobs like this!
Gary

[RogerDat]

I find "solid" floor with a throw rug that can be taken out and cleaned with a good shake to be my preference. Vinyl, pergo or what have you that is easy to sweep and clean with an area rug to catch dirt and make the floor more comfortable on bare feet. Not really a fan of trying to maintain installed carpet in a camper.

[Pomfritz]

Went to Home Depot to check out cork flooring. The samples they ahve are about close to but less than 1/2" thick with a click lock. I think this could cause some clearance issues by the entry door and bathroom door, though I am think of removing it.

Even if I remove the existing vinyl it is much thinner than what I would replace it with.

So did any of you have these issues come up?

Did you use any padding they recommend?

Is it floating?

Any problems from the motion/flexing of the trailer?

thanks!

[Bob Miller]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Ollie's has Pergo flooring, $16/box, you will need 1.5 boxes for an EggCamper

Is that genuine Pergo or a more generic brand. Most Pergo brand runs more like $60 a box.

[Bob Miller]

Be Prepared "THESE ISSUES" wll continually come up and haunt you when least expected. The easiest to find parts suddenly become unavailable, the part you just cut will be 1/4" short, the prices on anything will have doubled this week due to gas prices going up and standard parts, that look exactly the same, never fit.....

[Ryan P R]

I really wanted to use click lock cork flooring- probably the exact same stuff you got a sample of. I love the look of it, and it's feel.

Ultimately I decided I wanted something that could stand up to MORE water/moisture and handle abuse more than real cork. It was a tough decision for me NOT to use real cork flooring. In fact, I had my denit card in my hand ready to order the cork on 2 separate occasions while in Home Depot or Lowes- I forgot which one actually had it, bu only one of them did.

If water sits on top of the engineered cork flooring for an extended time, or a leak gets underneath it somehow sewerage damage seems pretty likely to me. After all, it's substrate looks very similar to MDF which fares terribly with moisture.

While the cork works okay with spills and such (especially if you use the special laminate seam glue to seal of its seams) I figured that one day one of my young boys would drop their wet bathing suit on the floor and leave it there all day long. That could cause some damage. Additionally once you factor in the seam glue, as well as the underpayment, plus tax the cost starts to approach $200US. Not a ton of cash, but more than I wanted to gamble on.

The Home depot allure plank flooring is available in a cork pattern that looks pretty nice, but my wife and I decided that "fake cork" flooring should at least fell soft like sort flooring. Allure is not soft like real cork- so we ended up buying a "wood" look Allure plank flooring.

The thickness of engineered cork flooring was also a bit of a turn off- it can be worked around, but the other factors steered away on their own first.

If I didn't have kids using my trailer, or my kids were older I may have gone ahead with the cork. It may work for you depending on how worry free you want your trailer flooring to be.

[Pomfritz]

Thank your for that! Good points. We are now empty nesters but will lug a big black lab around and I've noticed she has a drinking and drooling problem. I'm will look at if you can seal it. I've heard of others using it in an RV so maybe it works.

I wish my trailer was nearby so I could check and see what my clearances are like. I like hassle free as much as how it looks. So bamboo is an alternative, prefer the real thing but if I gotta stick to something of the same thickness it is replacing I've seen some nice laminate stuff that is really thin.

So you used an underlayment? Notice any issues from being laid in a moving vehicle?

Gary

[Ryan P R]

I have not installed the Allure yet, but it does not need any underlayment what-so-ever. However, I did use Drylok paint to completely waterproof my wood subfloor. I didn't want water to get trapped under the impervious vinyl floor then slowly and secretly rot away the subfloor.

The flooring under the table be trapped under the dinette neck edges, and the rest of the floor has such a shape that if I install it accurately it won't be able to really shift around.

[Pomfritz]

For those of you interested in cork, I found a link that could be promising. Cork tiles 3/16" thick, need to be glued down on to a substate and cannot be laid over vinyl. I am getting some samples, they send you three for free.

Natural Cork Flooring - Globus Cork - Colored Cork Floor and Cork Wall Tiles

[Landman]

I am about to install allure vynil plank on the floor if our new ct-13
What has anyone else done about the lip created where the molded interior pieces meet the floor, also has lots of staples and screws with big heads.
I was thinking, uses vynil to make up the lip and remove or grind down screw heads.

[mmeyer]

On my VT I just trimmed it to fit against the interior Fiberglas. I then used an antique white caulk to seal the gap. I found a threshold strip that matched the allure pattern trimmed to fit the doorway and screwed it down with the dreaded silicone caulk under neath. Been real happy with the allure after I caulked it. Had to take the original up because before I reset the windows and installed new rubber channel and they leaked so badly the water soaked the cushions and ran over the bench and got under the allure. Had to take it up to get it dry. If it had been caulked I would have been OK I believe. Definitely get rid of the screws and I leveled the center seam using a good caulk and a drywall knife. Any thing under it will eventually show through. Will try to get Picts of the thresh hold tomorrow.
Michael J.

[Roy in TO]

In my Trillium I ripped out the carpet and laid some of that foam mesh no skid carpet underlay. It covered the FG seams and screws. It gives the floor a "cork" feeling.
http://www.homedepot.ca/product/non-...premium/914228

Then I laid the tongue and groove allure vinyl in a cork pattern, no trim or caulking, just fine trimming all the way around on the main kitchen floor area.
Under the dinette/bed, we laid a small carpet that does not cover totally from side to side. Attached with velcro over the small step so we can access the water tank.

There is a small mat at the door with rubber backing that is a pick up and shake type.