New Floors

[Jim Stoltz]

As much as I like Paul's horizontal installation, the more I look at this the more I'm thinking long-ways is the way to go. Opinions?

[brian leibow]

yes to long!

[Jim Stoltz]

Thanks. The long is growing on me. It would seem like it would be quicker and would go over the ridges where the underlayment meets easier (since they run horizontally). 

I'm going to start hacking carpet out today. Not sure what kind of mess I'm going to find, but it did sit abandoned for at least 5, maybe 6 years before I got it. There were several leaks that had to have affected the floor underneath that carpet.

[Jim Stoltz]

I can do a lot of damage with a sheetrock knife in a short period of time! Found 2 leaks I didn't know I had. Found some dry but water stained areas where I had sealed up some leaks. And found that the reefer vent leak that I attempted to fix is worse than I thought. It's soaked under there. I need to let that dry and fix it for good before putting the floor down.

Overall it's in better shape than I had feared so far. The real problem area is back in the bedroom - I can feel it under the carpet. Not looking forward to that. I'll get to it later today.

[Rich Thomas]

Jim I'm with you, the long way works better IMO because of the paneling in the top picture. Paul's worked

for me with the white to contrast with. 

[Jim Stoltz]

I think that's it Rich - Paul had the white to contrast. I have paneling throughout so it would look funny installed sideways. 

Thankfully there aren't a lot of staples or other junk to deal with. Given the surprise leaks that I found, I'm going to put a moisture barrier down. Naturally I'm going to repair the leaks but I don't want the floor to get ruined by any other surprise leaks.

[Jim Stoltz]

The pic is a little blurry but some of you might recall that I posted a picture of a tube protruding through the carpet in the bedroom. Here it is with the carpet removed. They had tried half-heartedly to cut it off flush with the floor but enough stuck up that it made its way through the carpet over the years. I have no idea what it was for. It's directly above the fuel tank so I can't see it from underneath. 

The twin bed configuration was clearly an afterthought on these things. The queen bed was the default configuration. The twins appear to be factory given the routing of the plumbing, HVAC and wiring but they were definitely installed after the thing was built. I can only assume they tore the queen out at the factory to install the twins. There is no bunk in the back which they would have had with a queen and the paneling under the beds doesn't match the rest of the rig either. Whatever that tube is for, it was there for the queen configuration. I'm thinking freshwater drain but I can't be certain. 

All the carpet is now out of it. I have a bit of work to do removing nails and staples, plus some caulking, before I put the new floor in. Plus the new floor is supposed to "acclimate" for 48 hours before installing it.

[Rich Thomas]

Funny but your floor in the camper looks like my dining room. I pulled up the carpet a couple months ago for hardwood but I'm putting that off til my garage floor is poured because of all the mud around the house. I have it prepped and ready to pour but won,t be done for a week or so. It's getting old sweeping up mud every time I turn around too.

[Jim Stoltz]

My first trip out is to the Pocono Raceway in early June so I have to get moving on this project. I want to squeeze in a quick shakedown weekend trip ahead of the race to make sure everything is up to snuff. I have blisters on my fingers from pulling staples but I think I got them all. I'm going to let the leak spots dry completely before I put the poly down and start with the planks. It should go pretty quick once I get going.

[Michael Boyle]

I just did the floors in my chieftain. I went with longways. Looks really really good. 

[Jimco_W001]

Michael, could you post photos of your new floor?

[Jim Stoltz]

Yes! I'd like to see that too!

[Jim Stoltz]

Finally started the project for real today. Put down the moisture barrier and the first few rows of flooring. It starts to go pretty quick once you get the first couple of pieces in place. There's so much stuff to cut around it really slows you down but I should be able to get the majority of it done tomorrow. Then I'll have to cut in the step and do the 1/4 round. I like the way it looks so far, though. It feels so much bigger.