My wife and I are trying to decide on what type of flooring to use in the front lounge/kitchen area. We have looked at carpet/wood/ vinyl/tile and just cannot come up with something we would be happy with. What are you using and are you happy with the decision ? ??? ;D
Steve,
We are using an engineered oak. So far we are happy, but we haven't used it much since I put it in. I am intrigued by a new vinyl plank product my neighbor used in his 5th wheel, which might be a good choice also--more friendly to water.
Vinyl. Have installed it two houses now. Easy to work with. Flexible. Water proof. Tough. You can buy it to look like anything you want: wood, tiles, whatever. I would use it in the bus if I was doing flooring.
JC
Engineered oak here also. If I had to do it again, I'd consider the vinyl planks.
We went from the dry AZ climate to Texas where it rained for 3 weeks with the 100% humidity our engineered oak flooring swelled and raised, it is going back down since returning to AZ. The humidity didn't affect the solid Teak Wood for some reason though
Solid 9/16 split bamboo. Glue the joint's then water proof, just about indestructible..rdw
I plan on also using bamboo in the living room and bedroom; if it's water-resistant enough I'll use it everywhere, including the kitchen and bathroom, but if it isn't I'll use vinyl in those areas instead. We'll see.
John
Quote from: gg04 on June 12, 2016, 07:31:25 PM
Solid 9/16 split bamboo. Glue the joint's then water proof, just about indestructible..rdw
That sounds like a good idea as long as it can take standing pools of liquid, which is the big problem with a lot of the choices out there. What kind of glue worked for you, and how did you waterproof it?
Bamboo is not really a wood it's woven weed we had it the family room it Scottsdale it was sealed and glued down.
The upstairs AC the drain stopped up and leaked while we were gone and we founded out from 6 flooring companies Bamboo cannot be re finished so the whole floor was replaced.
Vinyl planks is the way to go Walmart has used it for 20 years in the clothing area and the stuff holds up nothing will damage it
We are installing the thickest cushion step vinyl flooring you can buy. Armstrong makes it and so does traffic master.
Anyway, ours is thick and cushy. We have it in our 9 bedroom. we loved it so much we are putting it in our 102c3 entire coach
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
We bought cheap bamboo laminate flooring. Looks great and cost about 400$ to do the whole coach.
Now after traveling for 3 years ... It contracts and expands alot more than you think it will. We installed in in Wilmington NC and left about a 1/4" gap on each side. By the time we spent a month in Las Vegas there were 1/4" gaps in the horizontals all over. Some of the seems pulled as well.
It also allows mold growth if you spill water and it gets underneath from the top.
If I did it again I would use the pre-molded Vinyl Plank Flooring http://www.lowes.com/pl/Vinyl-plank-Vinyl-flooring-Flooring/4294608591?refinement=4294515177 (http://www.lowes.com/pl/Vinyl-plank-Vinyl-flooring-Flooring/4294608591?refinement=4294515177) that look like wood . Thats the way to go. Will not shrink, expand, waterproof, if its a smooth finish you can usually sand out any imperfections, wont stain, mold or delaminate.
Thats where i'd go.
-Sean
if you had access to scraps/remnants and tools you could make a one piece floor out of commercial weldable vinyl.
very durable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNdA67SKRRQ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNdA67SKRRQ)
We used a vinyl product from Mohawk subsisiadey called Mannington Adura Max - http://www.shop.riverwoodsflooring.com/product_detail.aspx?p=4695&s=596&b=42&d=3 (http://www.shop.riverwoodsflooring.com/product_detail.aspx?p=4695&s=596&b=42&d=3)
It was about 2x's as much as mid-range engineered products.
The initial install looked great and has weathered well.
However...the product expands/contracts in length, and ironically not width.
Our bus sits for extended periods of time w/o the AC or heat running and thus the flooring is subjected to extreme swings in humidity and temperature.
So, even though everyone who comes on-board loves it and comments on it....I notice the tiny gaps and it drives me crazy.
Here's a pic of the flooring installed.
Don't put carpet in , or my take on it. Have it in the front and bedroom and it's a pita. Vinyl in kitchen and bath. Gonna tear it out and install something else front to back. Gonna let you research and you make my decision!! ;D
My 102A3 was already floored when I got it. Carpet in the LV and bedroom, wood in the Kitchen, and some kind of linoleum in the bathroom.
I don't like the looks of the carpet or the linoleum, and the wood has contracted and shows some pretty good size gaps here and there.
I am looking around at flooring for the rooms here at the Lodge I am managing and, the more I look, the more I am liking the Loose Lay Luxury Vinyl Plank Flooring. If I end up going with it in the Lodge, I will put it in my bus too. Install is a breeze, 100% water proof, looks great, and if you manage to damage a plank you can just lift it out and replace it.
Quote from: Seangie on June 13, 2016, 02:42:17 PM... If I did it again I would use the pre-molded Vinyl Plank Flooring http://www.lowes.com/pl/Vinyl-plank-Vinyl-flooring-Flooring/4294608591?refinement=4294515177 (http://www.lowes.com/pl/Vinyl-plank-Vinyl-flooring-Flooring/4294608591?refinement=4294515177) that look like wood . Thats the way to go. ...
I was looking at some of that in Lowes yesterday. Yeah, pretty sweet.
Steve, have you thought about what our coaches had as original flooring -- sheet rubber from RCA Rubber? http://www.rcarubber.com/flexi/products/sheet.asp (http://www.rcarubber.com/flexi/products/sheet.asp) http://www.rcarubber.com/transit/products/transit.asp (http://www.rcarubber.com/transit/products/transit.asp)
When I was buying buses, I always specified RCA Transit Flooring. Talking with them at transit industry trade shows a few years ago, they still had the molds for step treads for some models - they had just junked the molds for 4107/8, 4903/5 step treads to make more room.
Arthur
We had tile in the Gm and hardwood in the Eagle. The hardwood is swelling off the floor in California. The tile in the GM never gave us a minutes trouble.
As for the "cushy" vinyl floors. They have one big problem. Don't drop a can on it. The dent never leaves. From what I have seen dents from rocks don't go away either.
We are planning on replacing the flooring in the Eagle. We have already repaired it once. We will be looking at some indestructible vinyl this time.
Don and Cary
As noted, the inside of a coach is exposed to dramatic swings in humidity and temperature, pretty much no matter where you park it.
As evidence, leave your maintenance manual sitting out on the counter open to a page....
It'll show you wrinkly from the wet the top pages have absorbed and shed after awhile most places.
Choose stable products for maximum smiles?
happy coaching!
buswarrior
We have tile in the kitchen. Something fell out of the frig while traveling once and cracked a tile, so I am not for that. The bedroom and living room are carpeted. I would consider doing the same again with some lifetime stain warranty. We put vinyl plank in the bathroom though and that has not had any issues. This was the floating type that has each plank adhering to the edge of the one before. The free floating one linked above looks pretty good, but it would seem that any liquid spills would seep under it.
We once did a rubber floor in a house kitchen. It was certainly comfortable, durable, and low maintenance. However, it did have an industrial look. Maybe there are more pleasing designs available now.
Don and Cary,
I've had cushionstep in our coach for years and never had that happen. No dents. Armstrong actually advertises it as resistant to debts from dropping things than normal vinyl sheet. The new stuff we just bought is a lot thicker of a cushion so maybe this one will dent? I'll find out and let you know haha. If it does, I guess I'll have to build a new bus
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The Loose Lay wont dent, and if you ever did manage to damage a plank you can just carefully slide your utility knife in between the edge of that plank and one next to it and lift it out. Drop a new one in and it is good to go.
I have been able to play around with some samples and I have been very impressed.
We used Armstrong premium vinyl sheet flooring the full length of the coach. No problems in 14 years. Still looks good. Easy to keep clean. If I did it again I would do it exactly the same