Wall paneling, vinly?

[davidb]

My wife and I were looking at lumber to work on the inside of our eagle and was looking at the paneling for some future time in our life when the inside is completed.  She did not like the options and asked, why not use floor vinyl.  You have many options on styles, if it works on the floor with all the walking, why not.  Well after looking at it I have to agree, if it could be done someone here should have the know how. My question is what is required if possible to attach the vinyl to the plywood backing I have already installed?

Just for a heads up this project is an 85 eagle 10 that we raised the roof 8 inches, spray foam insulation, new plywood on the floor, basement air.  As far as rust... After many hours of repair work there was none to speak of 1 1/2 years ago. 

Took it for a spin this Saturday and topped of the tank. OUCH  It was nice to know the fuel gauge is showing a little lower than what is in the tank.  It only took 100 gallons when the gauge showed 1/8 .

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Hi David,

We are glad you are posting.  I'm not sure how the floor vinyl would adhere to the walls. Maybe some of our members

have done this and can guide you. Also, have you ever concidered laminates? or formica? Both work very well on substraights.

Good Luck
Nick-

[H3Jim]

I'd just use the same adhesive / mastic that you'd use to attach it to a floor.   Contact cement would work as well with no waiting time.  Might have to put a heavy coat on the plywood, depending on how rough it is.

Carpeting, espeially short nap, dense carpet works well for walls too.  Makes it quieter, adds insulation, doesn't scuff, looks softer.  but whatever you have on the floor, you might continue it up on the walls.

[Ace]

Being in the flooring trade for the last 38 yrs I can tell you it WILL work and if your sub wall is smooth, you can use a good multi-purpose latex adhesive and you won't have any problems with it coming off. Keep in mind that if the walls are not exactly vertical you WILL have a problem with seams which can either be dealt with using trim or hidden behind things such as cabinets etc.. If the walls are bowed any, the vinyl will also bow and seperate at the seams.
HTH
Ace

[jjrbus]

Years ago we used vinyl for inside showers ect. When doing bus I decided it was a great idea. Over the years the product has changed. It allowed water in the shower to wick up behind the sheeting and ruin it. I now have a ceramic shower.
However the rest of the bath where I used it is perfect. I ran it up the wall past the radius onto the ceiling. While prepping for this I used Joint compound to smooth out defects in the plywood. At that point I should have used a sealer like Kilz to seal the compound. It would be best to use a smooth plywood as defects will show through the sheet flooring. When I applied the adheasive it softed the joint compound, I got lucky it does not show.I used regular sheet flooring adhesive, it has been up for 5 years with no problem.
The adhesive is like mayonnaise so makes a bit of a mess and putting up large sheets is a 2 person job. especially if going up on the radius. You also need to be rolling the sheets as you do this. HTH
Hard to come up with an original idea here isn't it?

[jjrbus]

Dont even think about trying to use contact cement. You will end up with a mess!!! Nick is right laminates work well for this . You can use contact cement on laminates.

[davidb]

Thanks for the replys. With all the information on this site all I usually do is search for the correct answer.   
My hope was by using this vinly I would not have as many seams.  The one we looked at comes in 12 ft lenghts and would cover the complete wall height due to pattern repeating at 27 inches having a few inches of loss.
Can you get laminates in sizes other than 4X8 sheets?

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Can you get laminates in sizes other than 4X8 sheets?

David,

Yes, Wilsonart can produce 6'x12' sheets. Check with a local cabnet supplier or go to wilsonarts web site.

They have a web section which you can view all the different pattern and finishes too.

Nick-

[RTS/Daytona]

Hi

I used Ozite indoor/outdoor gray carpet on the plywood below the window line and Formica above the window line

I also used the same gray Ozite for the ceiling

The carpet on the walls were glued with solvent based carpet adhesive - just let it get tacky - you can move the carpet around to get it perfect (can't do that with contach cement)

Pete RTS/Daytona

[skipn]

  David,

     Depending on what brand, color, and grade each can determine what size you can get

ie Formica brand for a type of white.
Grade            Sizes
10           4' x 8', 10'; 5' x 12'
12        2.5' x 12', 4' x 8', 10'; 5' x 12'
20           4' x 8'

  When I purchased my bus the prior owner had two boxes of 5X12 laminate that he ordered
through Home depot for the walls. Since I had the bill of laden with it I knew what color to get
to finish out the walls.

5X12 can be hard to handle by yourself but another person helping makes it a doable project.


Skip

[captain ron]

After owning a cabinet shop for over 15 years I can tell you all grades of laminate come in all sizes up to 5x12 Post forming, vertical Which I would recommend for walls and general purpose. You are better off getting it from a distributor or local cabinet shop. Also I used vinyl or naugehide as used in upholstery work and looks very good and is easy to work with.

[David Anderson]

Davidb,

Vinyl might not be a good option.  I installed wallpaper in the lounge of my Eagle 10.  It went on easy and great, but after 15k miles it began to show tears at every plywood seam from the flexing of the coach.  I also used wallpaper in the galley.  It was very thick, similar to vinyl.  It hasn't torn but shows a wrinkle or two at each plywood seam.   I remember reading a few threads on the boards of other coach owners who had the same problem; however, one or two said they never had a problem.  Manifestation of the problem may be a factor of how many miles travelled.   Who knows?

I ended up tearing all the wallpaper off the lounge walls and installed an automotive type carpet on the walls.  My wife likes it much better.  It has a warm feeling and quieter up front while travelling.

I painted my plywood with Kilz before installing the original wallpaper.  It made the removal much easier.   It would have been very difficult to remove the paper from bare plywood. 

David Anderson

[TomC]

I used a short nap outdoor carpeting from Home Depot and used Dupont series 90 spray contact cement to hold it.  It works great-the carpet is still on the walls after 7 years.  Good Luck, TomC