Laminate Floating Floors?

[grantgoold]

What is your opinion? I have seen several that look great and seem like a reasonable option.

Your ideas?

Grant
Sacramento

[Ncbob]

Grant....I have mixed emotions about 'floating' a floor in a moving bus.  There was a great deal of discussion with our Son-in-law over this during our visit last week end.

I will be finishing the installation of a laminate hardwood floor in our bus this spring and putting it down like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle doesn't give me the greatest feeling of security...knowing how a bus works going down the road.

I plan to use a rubber type Mastic, spread as thin as possible, to insure that the individual pieces won't unlock and/or shift.  I took a tip from Jack Conrad and Ace and am installing it at a 45 degree angle to the fore/aft line in order to cover any boo-boo's or twists in the bus.

I will watch this thread with interest and wish you the best......

NCbob

[Hartley]

I just installed laminate flooring in the lvingroom of the bus.

Found a deal, A flooring guy had a stack of excess inventory that he wanted to unload because they changed brands.

Gave me a Pallet full of mixed stuff, In that was several boxes of GreenKett flooring which is laminated to plywood backer
that interlocks with a 1/8 Inch Brazillian Cherry surface. I only actually put holding screws in the edges along one wall and
the rest locked in and wouldn't move even with a prybar and hammer.

2 days for 32 square feet.. Whipped my Butt!!!, Laid it directly down on 3/4 Inch plywood base. So far So Good...

I have a bunch of the Mohawk flooring and it sucks and is difficult to lay because its really made of MDF (fiberboard)
a Note: Any laminate flooring that is made from MDF ( fiberboard ) will not tolerate the least bit of moisture, Even from
mopping with a sponge mop. It swells and distorts and falls apart after about a year with only getting accidentally wet once.

Also, Most laminate is a cheap backing with a painted or plastic laminate surface. Even the $3.75 sq ft. stuff...

If it looks like fiberboard, Run Fast.... You will not be happy later... Get only real wood and it will last....

Sorry... Didn't mean to jump in there.. Just have reservations after spending $5,000 for laminate in my house and my
wife forgot and used water to clean it a couple of times. Bad Bad Bad...... that 5/16ths thickness is now 1/2 inch in one
place that water didn't dry up immediately. Had to cut out a whole section and replace it......

Dave.... I always do stuff the hard way....

[Chaz]

I too want to do this so I will be watching very intently also. I hope it's ok for you to give brand names as I will be interested in what you used.

   Floored,
         Chaz

[NJT5047]

I used Armstrong ceramic floating floor (ceramic coating on cheap panel) in the bath and kitchen.  Outcome was good.  It looks pretty decent, and has held up well.  However...always something huh?  The cost was much higher than anticipated.  Nothing new there!

The area that I installed flooring is sorta abstract because it cuts between walls and around a 36" Neoplan shower.  The waste from such cuts cannot be used anywhere else. 
It was recommended by Armstrong to glue the panels together if they go down in an area that may get wet.  This was done and so far, after 3 years of shower door dripping on it, no problems. 
If you are going to cover a square area, the panelized floating floor works well, and is easy to install.  Once you start cutting around things, it gets expensive and more complicated. 
Probably be good to install the floor in hot weather...for maximum expansion.  Don't jamb it in.  It grows a little with heat.  Not much in an 8' wide bus. 
I've got a 30' wide square of Pergo in my home and it doesn't move much at all. 
Again, at only 8' wide, twisting isn't likely (IMHO) a problem for laminate interlocking panels. 
The ends of the interlocking panels have to be installed carefully or they'll distort and you'll see every end...don't "bump" the ends together.  Gluing the panels together make most laminates waterproof...at least from water incursion from the topside. 
If you have leaks that wet the floor...laminates are a bad idea. 
And, it is easy to tear out if necessary. 
i spent about $400 bucks on the panels I used. Lots of cut scrap. Lowes...
This sort of floor will lay nice and flat.  It sits on a foam pad that one would swear should allow the flooring to move when walking on it, but it doesn't.  Feels solid. 
Anything that causes the finished floor panel to "move" is going to break all your bus-bound prized possessions too.  The floor will be the least of your concerns. 
One other thingy...any furniture or such that sits on the laminate but must be fastened to the coach, such as sofa, tables, etc will have to have a hole saw hole cut out and the plug from the hole saw and maybe a washer or two, can be stuck back into the hole for a spacer.  Just the saw kerf will allow movement of the floor.  You cannot fasten thru these floors and compress them.   They must "float".   One can set heavy funiture on them, just cannot "clamp" the laminate with hold-down bolts.  Small hole saw solves this problem. 

FWIW, JR

[prevost82]

I put laminate flooting floor in the salon and galley area with 1/4" cork under it. It been in for 3 yrs and I haven't had any issues with it at all. It is wearing great ... we boondock alot and track dirt and sandy in by the buckets ... well not really, but you get the idea. We just give it a sweep and if it's really dirty give it a mop with water and soap ... and it comes up like new. We also put ceramic tile in the bathroom and use a material that looks like heavy-duty bubble-wrap and have had no problems with cracking ... even with 5000 mile of Mexican roads and hwy's. The picture below is after 2 years of uses

[NJT5047]

Sorry about the multiple posts.  But I thought about another situation that one should think about before installing interlocking laminates....and that's pets vs interlocking laminate flooring.   Pets peeing on unglued interlocking panels is a nightmare.  
My brother proved (I, of course, saw this potential faux paw and suggested that maybe not a good idea, his dogs need Depends) this concept with his two poodles.   They had to remove thousands of dollars of 1 year old interlocking  flooring.  Unless glued, they are not waterproof, and any fluids will get underneath.  At a minimum this will mildew and distort the flooring....in the case of dogs voiding even once, now it REALLY stinks and there's no fix.  Floor must come up.  Unless it was glued together.   Could start smellin like one of those New Jersey Transits without the restroom!  
I'm done.  JR

[NJT5047]

I put laminate flooting floor in the salon and galley area with 1/4" cork under it. It been in for 3 yrs and I haven't had any issues with it at all. It is wearing great ... we boondock alot and track dirt and sandy in by the buckets ... well not really, but you get the idea. We just give it a sweep and if it's really dirty give it a mop with water and soap ... and it comes up like new. We also put ceramic tile in the bathroom and use a material that looks like heavy-duty bubble-wrap and have had no problems with cracking ... even with 5000 mile of Mexican roads and hwy's. The picture below is after 2 years of uses

Your bus is sooooo nice!  Wow! 
Best, JR

[prevost82]

Thanks JR.. I still have to finish the entry and drivers area. I will be installing Pete Papas air leveling kit this weekend
Ron

[captain ron]

I used lam floor in both of my buses and I will use it again if I ever do another one. I have spilled stuff under my couch and didn't even know it and it did not hurt my floor. I even used the cheaper stuff. The only place I had a problem is where I filled in the ramp area of my bus and a 2x4 warped and the floor cracked at the seam, entirely my fault. Water will not hurt it. I left a piece out in the rain and then cut it and put it together. The stuff is great.

[FloridaCliff]

Only a couple of things to add to the above.

I have laid about 1500 sqft in the house, and it is really tuff stuff. (two kids, need I say more!)

You can use a mop on it, but it must be a damp (well rung out, not dripping, sopping wet) mop.

I used a faux finish in the house (most everyone thinks its real wood), but I will use a real wood surface in

the coach.  A grained pattern will allow a unnoticed touch up if an accident happens.

Get the highest surface rating you can get, the coach is one hallway and will receive alot of wear

in one place.

The material is user friendly, but really think about how your going to snap that last piece in.

Last, but not least, have a cross cut saw that can span the width of the piece. If your chop or radial saw

has to cut down into the surface it will dull your blade fast, pulling through won't.

Cliff

[rip]

I layed lam flooring throughout my coach except for the entry and drivers area.Ive been fulltiming for over four years and I wouldn't use anything else.I used 12'x18" panels and glued all the joints. I used a 1/4" pad underneath making  it nice to walk on.I installed it before I put my cabinets in so install was a lot easier.I was concerned about using it around the shower,but I not had any problems.

           Don

[Chaz]

This "lam flooring" you guys are talking about........... is it all the same?? Is there anything I should be wary about? Or good features to look for?? Brand names??

  I intend to have a dog at some point so it sounds like glueing will be the best bet.

  Great topic!!!!!!!!!!!!!
      Chaz

[eagle10]

I used Wilsonart floating flooring with the thin foam under it and the joints were glued together. It has been in our Eagle 10 for over nine years and it still looks great.  I just replaced the bottom step as it got wet with the rug on it. The living room looks great but water created this problem on the step. I am hoping for another nine years.