Flooring

[Karen Fisch]

We just bought a new to us 17' Boler with lino and I would love to put in Hardwood Parquet or laminate flooring but am concerned about how either if these types would hold up. Anyone done this and has it pass the test of time? Thanks!

[Bill MacDermod]

We have the laminate that I put in almost 3 years ago and we love it, ez to clean and wears excellent

[BillNKC]

We just bought a new to us 17' Boler with lino and I would love to put in Hardwood Parquet or laminate flooring but am concerned about how either if these types would hold up. Anyone done this and has it pass the test of time? Thanks!

I have 3 boxes of All Lok laminate flooring that is not a glue together like pergo or parquet and it will be installed in my 13' in mid may. The whole reason to use it will be ease of cleanup ease of repairs and it wears like iron in our kitchen here at home. It isnt cheap ( $7.00 a sq ft) but its so easy to assemble and take apart if needed.

[CD Smith]

I am in the process of adding laminate flooring to my Casita 17' SD.

The floor went in pretty smoothly, but the molding around the base of the seats/walls has become problematic. Not the construction of the molding, its the way the Casitas are built. Nothing is square and nothing is level. Also the wood blocks that the fibreglass seats are fastened to are just that, blocks. They are not installed the full length where the seats meet the floor.

When I finish I will upload some pictures.

[Christi V.]

Bill..
Very nice... i would like to put that in one of these days also.... I dont particually like the carpeting.... Leno or flooring like that is sooo much cleaner and less odors and dirt to tend with..

[Brian B-P]

A Search is definitely in order here, since this is one of those common topics. I tried putting
+laminate +flooring
in a search of all FiberglassRV forums, by post (because sometimes the flooring is not the main topic of a thread), and got a few matches. Try terms like "Pergo" and I'm sure there are more.

I'm not a laminate flooring fan, but many others are. Personally, I would rather have new premium sheet vinyl ("lino").

[AndyW]

We put in some cheap laminate ($30 a box) from Home Depot in our Burro. It was a floating floor -- just snap together with no nails or glue (we used a thin foam underlayment). I did screw in the edging around it with the fit problems CD Smith noted.

I thought it might bounce apart, but it's been just fine on some pretty rough roads and long hauls.

I really like it -- it looks great, cleans easily and doesn't smell like cat pee like the old carpet did . And it only took maybe an hour to put it in (first time one of my projects ever finished ahead of schedule!).

[Bill MacDermod]

CD, One of the guys from Canada who comes to rock Crusher saw mine last year and went nuts over it so after he put his in he bought 1-1/2" plastic latice from Home Depot and put that in. I asked him how he got around the corners and he said he back cut it, looks real nice, I think if latice was used you could make a nice looking job by bending it around the corners by heating it with a hair dryer. When I did mine I used 1/4 round for trim for the same reason you said and thats because the cabinets are not square etc.

BillnKC, my laminate came from Laminate Liquidators and I have $48.00 in it, The 17' Casita takes about 38 sq ft

[CharlynnT]

The previous owners of our Boler 17 put in laminate, it's lovely: sweeps out well, with all that sand that comes in even with "no shoes" rules. (Cat doesn't wear shoes, and she wouldn't obey that rule if she did!)

OMG! Where is the Cat? The Cat is in, on the rear gaucho, having a leisurely wash.

OMG! Where is the Cat? The Cat is out, stalking water beetles in a puddle under the Boler.

But back to flooring/laminate: it wasn't quite finished off, no baseboards. I grit my teeth thinking of the sand stuck in there. We should've done that last bit of work ourselves right away, but you know how it is, we had to go camping....

[Benny K]

I put in laminate in the 13' last year and still haven`t put a base board in, so maybe this year....I got it for $10 for the box and have a couple pieces left over....figure at that price I could always toss it if it was no good.....We have it in one bedroom at home and it holds up well.....like it except that it`s slippery and don`t get it too wet or it`ll swell and will have to be replaced.....You can see it on my webshots Album 3.......Benny

[Tom Trostel]

Karen,
I put in laminate flooring 1 1/2 years ago. It is maple color and I purchased it from Sam's Club. I've been very pleased with it. It looks good, cleans up easily, and seems very waterproof. One of my best mods. Tom Trostel

http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/ViewPhoto?...0373&p=70829465

[Suz]

Re: baseboards and molding

After I pulled the carpet and installed lino sqs, I need some type of trim/molding. What my older Casita had was pitiful. I had a back up plan if this install failed, but I did it when I got my trailer in 2002 and it's been though extreme heat, cold, and some pretty rough roads and I haven't had to go to my back up plan yet.

I used the faux wood available at Home depot. I installed it using double stick tape and something like liquid nails for plastic. The double stick tape held it in place while the glue cured. To compensate for the rounded corners, I got some countertop seam sealer that blended with the wood.

Unfortunately, all those older pictures are stored on floppies and I found out while converting them to CDs that I can't open most of them anymore.

[Suz]

I actually found a couple of the pictures. Hope this helps.

[Charlie C]

Karen, the laminate floors stand up just great!!

Here is a link to some Photos of My Floor Installation

Hi Bill, thanks for the nice comments on the lattice trim. I think your idea of heating the plastic lattice with the heat gun and moulding it would finish the corners nicely, would save having to hide the edges back cuts with caulking.

Couple of notes, I bought a clearance end lot of the flooring, If you cut real careful 2 boxes should do the job. Laying crossways is an easier installation, but I believe lengthwise is a better look. Just put down a layer of foam and layed the flooring over the existing carpet (after I steam cleaned it 3x) For the table legs I left the socket where it was and just cut a hole through the flooring to insert the leg into the socket. I also replace the board covering the plumbing and electrical with a floor panel and installed it so as to gain about another 3" of toe space under the table.

If you want to see a nice floor installation in a 17' Boler, check out Raymond Brodeur's site (a member on this forum)

I think his is real hardwood, a beautiful installation

[Raymond Brodeur]

Thanks Charlie for your reference.
I made several long trips since I installed that floor, and I had no problem with it. It's still like a new one and very easy to clean. I highly recommand this type of flooring.

[Ed Harris]

I used 1"x2" pine and rounded the edges over for the moulding.
It is not stained but just Poly coated and screwed into the fiberglass with countersunk drywall screws.I could have gotten fancy but it looed OK like this to me.

[Ed Harris]

Here is another shot.

[Karen Fisch]

Thanks all, we have decided that Laminate is the way to go after seeing the fabulous job many of you have done. Will be sure to post some before and after photos of the job!

[evan]

I actually found a couple of the pictures. Hope this helps.

Beautiful floor Suz, nice color. We think the lino. squares may be the way we are going to go in our Scamp although the wood laminates look great also. We already realize carpeting is not the way to go.....

[Suz]

I really like the wood laminate and considered it but the vinyl squares are just so easy to take care of. For those that are glueing or using self stick anything, make sure you have a solid, clean surface and use additional (proper) adhesive for self stick anything. I removed my carpet, glued and screwed a piece of luan (thin plywood) down, then used the peel and stick tiles with a recommended additional adhesive. It would actually have been much easier to lay down the laminate wood, but I was just afraid that some of it wouldn't hold up since both my dog and I are known to track stuff (mud and water) in. I also keep a matt sealer on it so that the joints stay sealed and water can't seep between.

There a lots of options. I think the floating wood/laminte floor might be the way to go as far as ease of installing AND repair. I'm still glad I put the carpet on the raised portions. Kinda the best of both worlds.