Home Depot Allure vinyl floor

Johno02 wrote:
We redid our class A with Allure flooring, and had no problems. Just do not glue or staple it, as it needs to expand and contract some with the weather.

Has your RV sat in temps lower than 55 degrees and higher than 85 degrees when not in use? I am thankful that folks have chosen to answer and supply their opinions but I was really looking forward to hearing from someone who has actually used the stuff. I did read the manufacturer's warning about voiding the warranty if temps were out of range but not sure that I care about the warranty all that much. thanks wg

jplante4 wrote:
I've had Allure in the coach for 3 seasons now, stored outside in New England and it hasn't moved. It looks as good now as it did when I put it down in April. We've already been down into the 20s which is as cold as it gets here.

IMHO, you have problems with Allure or any vinyl when you don't let it float. I made sure there was an 1/8th inch space all the way around and I didn't nail or screw anything through the vinyl into the subfloor. I cut around things like the TV cabinet, the copilot seat and the couch legs and mounting brackets, and I used double stick tape to stick down the molding. I put red rosin paper between the subfloor and the vinyl as well.

This is what it looked like right after installation. Looks the same now. You can see the space inder the TV cabinet on the right where I put it up on 1X2s and cut around them.

Looks great. I know to let a space for expansion and thought to use 1/4" round above it to hide the gap. Did you consider this or is the gap just not noticeable enough to be an issue? Thanks wg

We also did our Class A with the Allure flooring. Loved it. One cautionary note though. Be fanatical about letting the floor float (ie be able to move). If it is in any way movement restricted it will separate leaving an unsightly gap or two. Don not nail it or screw it to the floor. Cut, leaving space at walls, floor cabinets and out side corners and you'll be fine. We have had it in freezing weather and 100 degree plus weather and had no problems. Go for it!

I installed Allure in our rig which is stored outside. Last winter's low temp was -30°F. This spring no movement at all and it still looked as good as new. Of course I left 1/4" where the flooring meets the walls. DO NOT glue, let the floor float. We did not walk on it during the winter. I am very pleased with the product.

wiredgeorge wrote:
Looks great. I know to let a space for expansion and thought to use 1/4" round above it to hide the gap. Did you consider this or is the gap just not noticeable enough to be an issue? Thanks wg

1/4 round will work fine. I used the pre-finished plastic stuff with a little profile. Just don't nail the 1/4 round through the vinyl. Either nail it to the sidewall or double-stick tape it to the flooring.

Like Frank said above, be fanatical about letting it float.

The manufacturers warning is IMHO a liability issue. There may be occassional issues with weather and movement in RVs and they don't want any warranty problems. Take the advise of the users here and go for it.
One thing I have heard is there may be some broken or cracked edges right out of the box. So pre-sort the planks so you use the broken ones for cuts.
Jesseannie

jplante4 wrote:

wiredgeorge wrote:
Looks great. I know to let a space for expansion and thought to use 1/4" round above it to hide the gap. Did you consider this or is the gap just not noticeable enough to be an issue? Thanks wg

1/4 round will work fine. I used the pre-finished plastic stuff with a little profile. Just don't nail the 1/4 round through the vinyl. Either nail it to the sidewall or double-stick tape it to the flooring.

Like Frank said above, be fanatical about letting it float.

x3 going on 3 years in Rhode Island and still looks good as new !

I installed some "wood look " stick on vinyl floor in our last truck camper and it shrunk quite a bit, I never put it together that the reason could have been from the extreem temp swings untill your post.

Installed the adhesive edge version when we lived in Northern VA. Had several places where the end (short edge) opened up 1/8". None of my long edges opened. Since the edge opened that little, we still have a waterproof floor which cant be said for the engineered click type.

wiredgeorge wrote:

Johno02 wrote:
We redid our class A with Allure flooring, and had no problems. Just do not glue or staple it, as it needs to expand and contract some with the weather.

Has your RV sat in temps lower than 55 degrees and higher than 85 degrees when not in use? I am thankful that folks have chosen to answer and supply their opinions but I was really looking forward to hearing from someone who has actually used the stuff. I did read the manufacturer's warning about voiding the warranty if temps were out of range but not sure that I care about the warranty all that much. thanks wg

I operated a flooring installation company for about six years. Let me simplify this for you: Don't trust the adhesive on any flooring product.

Allure comes in two varieties: The edge adhesive version (Traffic master) and Allure Isocore. There may also be Allure Ultra in your area, both of these latter are a click-lock joint. The click-lock joint will be more durable and will separate less than the adhesive strip. Installation ease is a non-issue, both are easy to install.

Let me make a case against Allure since I researched it for my own trailer: When this product was first introduced about 8-10 yrs ago, there were reports of owners , their kids, and pets having bad reactions to offgassing of the material. Since most Allure was sold through Home Depot, the bad flooring was returned for a cash refund, easily, and just some grumbling occured. It was found that Allure was being made in Indonesia and was made from 25% recyclable material (maybe more). Allure saved the brand by limiting the content to 15% recyclables and cleaned up the Indonesia operation. Your guess as to how their vinyl is still being made.

What I did for my travel trailer: Bought one of the cheaper vinyl laminated composite planks from Lumber Liquidators, on sale. It is 8MM thick, IIRC. Used a very high grade underlayment underneath the plank.
It took me a day to install the flooring, my layout is fairly straight and square. The flooring looks like the day I installed it, six years ago.

About perimeter clearances. I've installed a lot of floating floors and the 1/4" rule can be lessened in most cases. I installed a composite plank in my Sister's house, two blocks off the ocean. It is wearing well.