wood flooring

[robertglines1]

Just talked to flooring salesman..I used granite last time..wanting to use laminate or real wood this time..his opinion was for laminate.he said solid wood especialy wide boards would be prone to warping;also the thicker boards would be more prone for trouble also.....so what are your experiences?? pro and cons..it's decision time..glued down or floating floor.. any bad results?   Bob                                                                Variable:I have 6 sets of slide roller to run on floor for 15ft front slide

[Ace]

Well my experienced opinion says your salesman is full of crap! Laminates are prone to fail if any moisture is present and as far as real wood, that depends on what wood, how it would be installed, and who installs it. I'm not an expert wood instler but have done my share and I have never heard that the wider the boards thw more prone to warping. If it were my own and I didn't mind the care and maintenence of real wood, that would be my first choice. If I were doing it in a budget and possibly change it out in the future, I would opt for the laminate.

[boxcarOkie]

Just talked to flooring salesman..

The last time I talked to a flooring salesman, he quoted me $6K to do a 10X30 room and tried to sell me everything under the sun in order to do it.  I ended up doing it myself with material purchased at the local lumber yard, for a fraction of what he wanted ($1100).  I have to agree with Ace, a lot of them talk out of their A** when it comes to flooring.

But we are talking bus floors, so here we go.  Two years ago, I stripped out all the carpet in my coach and replaced it with engineered wood, Montanna Butternut was the flavor of it.  

Bought it at a local wood store.  I glued and brad nailed it down, in runs front to rear (except the bathroom) and in the step wells.

Removing the furniture was the biggest obstacle in the chore.



Unfortunately, it is not cheap, but hands down, better than laminates.  Why not real wood?



As for wear and tear, throw rugs will do the trick, and they can be machine washed every now and then.



No problems to report, and I like it a lot more than nasty old carpet.



No warping, no creaking and no problems.  One of the rare occasions in the bus world, where you don't run into a lot of associated problems on a makeover.



Works for me.

BCO

[luvrbus]

Bob, not wood on my boat they used a light weight granite named Bellezza for flooring and counter tops the stuff is flexable I have no idea about the price but it sure looks good.
For wood flooring I notice Marathon is using engineered wood with clips and a floating system on their coaches now along with the Bellezza stone,ps don't confuse the Bellezza with the formicia Bellezza

good luck

[Dave5Cs]

Robert:
I have to agree with Ace and I am a Licensed building contractor (of course that and a dime will get you a cup of coffee)and started out as a carpenter many years ago. That guy is trying to sell you a bill of goods IMHO. They make big commissions off all the stuff that goes with the flooring... (Cleaners, Glue, pads, Trim pieces)

Wood if you don't mind sweeping and sometimes having to wax a little is much better product, or even use clear Varathane floor hardener.

If you have Laminate by any doorways it has a tendency to scratch up pretty well depending on what is outside that might be drug in. If you need to replace a piece then it is a real pain to replace.

On the other hand with Wood you can sand a scratch and re-stain and spray lacquer done.

The surface of laminate is very thin and the rest is generally particle board. But don't let me sway you. I have installed a lot of both and Wood is always my favorite.

Dave

[GP]

boxcarOkie, Man what a nice job!

[robertglines1]

first of all welcome George (GP) to the board .I met him a couple weeks ago and told him to join in..great guy works with his hands building mechanical things..So now decision time..I trust the experiences of board members rather than a salesman..I have several thousand board feet of white oak and a planner..problem is I'm not a wood worker.might be time to learn..also have more than that poplar..which would be best?ship lap or tongue and groove?

[cody]

There are advantages to both, laminate can be found with a particle board backing, I'd avoid that if I could, but you can also find laminate with a ply backing that seems pretty moisture resistant, the wear layer can be kinda thin on some, mainly the particleboard backed is pretty thin, generally when they use the term engineered wood it refers to a wood ply substrata under a veneered top surface, those tend to be pricey but hold up fairly well, the best is solid wood, wide boards can be more prone to warping and cupping but if you flip the board and see reliefs milled into the back it helps to stabilize the wood, I prefer a narrow hardwood for floors but it's more time consuming to install, shiplap is a joint where if the wood does cup can tend to lift a board and it can be a problem, tongue and groove is more stable and any cupping or movement is forced over a wider area of flooring and tends to lift and then set back down flat, kind of a personal preference but I would try to avoid the particle backed laminate if you can, even tho they claim that they are moisture resistant, my experience is that they arn't, some people claim to have great sucess with them in high humidity area, again my experince is that they arn't really intended for that application.

[belfert]

Unless an exotic wood, $6,000 for 300 square feet is a ripoff.  I have somewhere between 700 and 800 sq ft of solid oak flooring and I paid around $6,000 total installed.  This includes a sanding and refinish when I had a water leak.

Me personally I wouldn't do wood in my bus, but it looks good in a bus if you can care for it.  I get way too much sand, dirt, and dust on my bus floor to do wood.  I have vinyl tile.

[white-eagle]

we took out the tile floor in the kitchen area that cracked when a few things fell out of the freezer.  we were putting new carpet in the living room and the salesman offered to tear the tile out and replace it with some really nice looking tongue n groove wood laminate for $150 bucks.  we have a much warmer and nice looking kitchen floor now.

[boxcarOkie]

boxcarOkie, Man what a nice job!

Thank you sir, I appreciate it.

BCO

[boxcarOkie]

Unless an exotic wood, $6,000 for 300 square feet is a ripoff.

Like someone above said "they make money off the incidentals, plus the lumber."  This guy told me that I needed ... you will like this ... FIVE buckets (5 gallons each) of adhesive in order to do the job."  When I questioned him about it he said "don't worry, anything that you do not use, we will take back."  

(Less a restocking fee of course, and most likely, half price)

If I can do it for the bus or the house for that matter I am going to do it.  Currently I am stuck building a sun room for Mama and the Grand-babies, so future bus projects are now on the shelf.

If you can do it yourself ... Jump in there and do it ... It often is the best approach. 

BCO

[JackConrad]

Bob,
   We used prefinished solid wood (Australian Cypress) from Lumber Liquidators. We installed it using a floor nailer. About 7 years now and still looks good. Only thing I would do different is to put a layer of 15# felt under the floorng to prevent squeaks.  We nailed every 4-5" and still have a couple spots that squeak when you step on the spot.  Jack

[robertglines1]

Jack, old timmers put baby powder in squeak areas on floor and it quieted it down..Thanks to all for info-definite help  in decision making process..I like all the neat pictures..Bob    Ps another variable   I have weight of slide rollers 6 sets to run on floor.

[bottomacher]

When I installed boat cabinets and interiors with wood flooring, I always sealed all the edges and the BACK of wood flooring before installation to lessen the chances of moisture infiltration and warping. Minor pain in the @$# waiting for the polyurethane to dry before installing, but well worth it to me.