New Flooring-Laminate or Vinyl

[Booker B.]

Traffic Master Allure - To help people out I think it would be useful if our members could tell us how many boxes it will take to do the install.

In my Trillium 13' I used one box and I was one piece shy because of a bad cut.

[SherryNPaul]

I first saw the TrafficMaster Allure vinyl planks in my dentist's office in a dark cognac finish, and I couldn't believe it was vinyl flooring. When we replaced the ceramic tile in my husband's office, we used the Allure in a light maple finish. The Allure was easy to install, cuts with a knife, and looks quite real. It's flexible, and softer and more quiet underfoot than laminate. It cleans up very easily, and unlike laminate, the seams of the planks actually "glue" together, so there's no way for moisture to get under an individual plank. However, it's not glued down to the floor, so when it eventually needs replacing, it will not be the big chore that removing glued-down tile is.... The only downside for me was the strong vinyl smell that hung around his office for a few days after the floor was installed, but airing it out with open windows helped a lot. It would be a great choice for a trailer floor.

[Alistair Camelford]

Allure...two years in the Road Toad and no problems.
In the Keys this year the sand just sweeps out and cleanup is two "wet-wipes"
Installation was a breeze...about one hour.
Very pleased with the stuff!
Alistair

[paulw]

I put a floating cork floor in our Scamp using some click together laminate I had left over from our kitchen remodel.

I was looking for an easy to clean & warm surface that I could lay over the original carpet to protect it. Cork doesn't feel cold on the feet in the morning and should add some insulation.
(We didn't have any problems with water in the kitchen, but the Girls claws trashed several areas where they did "burn out" on a regular basis. The flooring guys couldn't believe it, but I have the old planks . We replaced the kitchen floor with laminate)

If I were going to pull up the carpet in the Scamp, I might have concidered the Allure.

[Tim Wood]

I just wanted to thank everyone for there comments, they are much appreciated. Well I went to a flooring place and looked at several laminate,and vinyl,cork floor types. They had some solid vinyl flooring that looked very nice and would be one piece, but it had to be ordered. Then I went back to Home Depot and looked at the Allure vinyl again, I almost buckled and got some laminate for .99 a sq. ft. But I came home with the Allure in Oak, and think it will be just fine. I couldn't believe how heavy that stuff is a box.
I also sent my Fantastic Fan that was on the Horizon back to the factory, and they rebuilt mine and sent it back within a week free of charge. They are the best people to deal with, why would you want to buy any other kind of fan. So now I can put the fan back in, and put in the new flooring. Next after those are done will be putting in all new pex pipping. I will try and post some pics on the way. Thanks

[brendadave]

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

All I can tell from the back is that it is made by Tarkett, no other information I can find.

[Bobbie Mayer]

Thanks, I've seen that brand.

I'm tempted to do Trafficmaster myself in the areas that need doing- I need to measure and get an idea of cost and compare to having someone do sheet vinyl (although lately I have not seen sheet vinyl.)

[Perry Mac Donald]

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

I purchased 2 rolls of cork at RONA , it's packaged in the tile format as we all know . The size i got is 1/8" x 36" x 96" and the cost is just over 40 dollars . One pkg is not quite enough to do the floor in my boler . I also am going to use it on my table . it acts as an insulation on the floor as well as cushion on the table . Plus the beauty of it adds warmth . I may even use it on the door and drawer fronts . Perry Mac Donald Kingston , Ontario .

[Greg A]

We put the Trafficmaster Allure from HDepot two and a half years ago and can't say enough about how good a floor it has been and how easy it was to install. You won't go wrong if you go this route.

[Janice M]

You'll be happy with the Allure. After putting it in the Trillium, I was so impressed, I ended up putting it in the bathroom we were reno-ing, and decided to go with the Teak colour in our kitchen. Just cleaning up the Trillium for summer outings, and the floor is none the worse for wear thru last summer and the winter.

[Tim Wood]

I'll be putting the traffic master in the coming weeks, but first I have to remove a piece of the flooring by the door. There was a piece of vinyl there but it was a little beat up and so water must have gotten to the sub floor. Its only about 16" x 24", once I get that done I'll be putting in the new stuff. I also got back my fan from Fantasic and I have to put that in also. I've had to put work on the Horizon on hold lately as I have someone coming to buy my Scamp on Thursday. But soon as its gone I'll be back working on the Horizon, and hopefully camping in it sometime in May. We will have to see as I have a lot of work to be done on it.

[francene]

So the Allure can take freezing temperatures that a trailer might endure outdoors in the winter?

Fran, considering Trafficmaster Allure

[Jeanne and Steve]

So the Allure can take freezing temperatures that a trailer might endure outdoors in the winter?

Fran, considering Trafficmaster Allure

Hi Fran,

Gord just reported some problems he had with the Allure plank fooring he installed in his Boler. The link to his post is here.

Jeanne

[francene]

Thanks, Jeanne, for the update on Gord's experience. I thought the low temps here in winter might be a problem. I am going to put in sheet vinyl, no seams.

Fran
Bellingham,WA

[Jerry Cranford]

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.

We just replaced the carpet in our Scamp 16". After considerable deliberation I choose
very thick cushion back vinyl called "Earthscapes-easy fit, acoustics plus". Easy to install and to clean. If there is a joint is impossible to guarantee it is water tight. I checked out the HD vinyl wood grain tile with adhesive joints and didn't trust it-especially in cool weather.
Seemless is best.

Jerry

[Eileen Miller]

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

Home Depot has Traffic Master Demension flooring. It is great. Easy to install, waterproof and flexible.... try it, also is pretty good price... Casita Owner Enee

[Garth M]

Interesting thread.... My wife and I just finished installing laminate in our 13ft Trillium. We had seriously looked at the Allure based on positive threads here last year, but after talking with the Home Depot flooring people decided against it. Although it seems to work very well in homes, with minimal temp fluctuation, they could not advise putting it into a trailer for exactly the same reasons that Gord mentioned in his thread. In our neck of the woods, the temperature extremes will go from -40C to +40C ( and we live here why?) - they advised the flooring would not stand up to those swings - seams would fail and the flooring could even break/shatter if we had to go into the trailer during the winter.

We used a 7mm laminate over a foam cushion - feels great on the feet and we're hoping it will stand up well. The instructions said to "just click and lock" but I glued the seams to be on the safe side (and for as much moisture repellancy as possible). It looks fantastic and did not add a great deal of weight. I was able to use just one box and had a plank left over, which I am keeping should any repairs be necessary - spent about a day on install , but half of that was removing the old and extremely ugly lino the previous owner had installed (and silicone sealed on all the edges - UGLY job to remove!!!). Another day was spent finishing and installing the oak moulding we used for baseboards (hooray for miter saws!). Time will tell on the durability.


For all of the above reasons, we plan to use laminate in our 5500 also - still has the original and very worn carpet that came with the trailer.

[cyndi H]

it may be too late to put my two cents in but i will anyway....... Cork is fabulous! i did my whole trailer for 20$ from a habitat for humanity store. it only took 2 boxes. it's light, insulates, and smooth so it cleans up easily. i hated the textured floor, it looked dirty all the time and was way too much yellow. the pic doesnt show a lot of the floor but i am too lazy to dig out the disks.

[Tim Wood]

Thanks Cyndi, I did go with the vinyl from Homedepot. In fact I did a few mods to my Horizon Trailer and after I get back from camping I'll post them along with some pics. I'm taking it out this morning for a 5 day camp out to the Adirondacks. I did think about using cork and if insulation was a factor, I would have. But my Horizon is well insulated, in fact under the floor it has 1 1/2" of foam. Got to to finish packin. Thanks,Tim

[Marilynn Pryor]

We have a 17' Casita Liberty and would really like to replace that grubby carpet with a clean vinyl floor. When looking at how the carpeting was installed, all the edge strips are put down with pop rivets. How has everyone tacked down their new floor?

Also, we wondered what we'll find as a sub-floor underneath the original carpeting. Is there any stripping of adhesives or other work required to get a good sub-floor for the new vinyl floor?

Thanks, guys.

Jack & Marilynn Pryor
Troup TX