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whiteeye42's avatar
whiteeye42
Explorer
Mar 27, 2015

cracked kitchen flooring

The kitchen floor Linoleum cracked over the winter how do i go about fixing it without having to replace the whole floor the split is about 18 inches long and right in the middle of the floor it started at the floor vent and goes to the wall

15 Replies

  • whiteeye42 wrote:
    The kitchen floor Linoleum cracked over the winter how do i go about fixing it without having to replace the whole floor the split is about 18 inches long and right in the middle of the floor it started at the floor vent and goes to the wall
    Yes you can fix it with vinyl weld, they have not used Linoleum in years. The problem is as soon as it gets cold it will split again.
  • Cracking is common in some RV floors - especially the ones that come with cheap vinyl that are only glued/stapled on the perimeter. The ones that comes with better grade linoleum that are fully glued are suppose to be less susceptible to cracking.

    My linoleum didn't crack but when my carpet got old/tired I installed Allure flooring which was a fairly easy install - floating floor. It's a popular product used by many RVers - use forum search engine.

    http://www.everything-about-rving.com/what-can-we-do-to-stop-the-linoleum-floor-in-our-rv-from-cracking.html
  • If the sheet vinyl has cracked in the cold and the crack has now closed with warmer weather so that both sides of the crack are touching, you can repair the crack with vinyl seam sealer.
    You will need the sealer and the dispenser bottle that distributes the sealer against the sides of the crack (it has a special applicator nozzle). AFAIK, seam sealer and the bottle are only sold at flooring installation distributors. Every large metro area has one of these stores.

    Edit: I guess the big-box stores are now selling the seam sealer and applicator
  • Unfortunately this can and does happen sometimes due to contraction of the material over cold winters. Anywhere where there are openings or penetrations through the sheet flooring, this creates uneven stress points resulting in the material pulling away from itself. Cracks are often where there are floor vents...

    Sheet flooring in an RV is stapled around the perimeter of the RV and is free floating. It can be replaced, but will never be same as done at the factory. It should not be glued down either. Much easier IMO is to install interlocking vinyl laminate planks. With laminate planks, it is VERY important to ensure that it is fully free-floating throughout and will not get hung up anywhere. There also needs to be an expansion gap all around the perimeter. It's so much easier dealing with one individual laminate plank at a time, rather than trying to wrestle a large piece of sheet flooring into place and then trim it and not make errors in cutting it.

    If you wanted a cheap fix, you might be able to find a suitable size of sheet flooring under the bed storage, under a dinette seat or in a cabinet that you can cut a patch piece from. Then get a floor layer to seam weld the patch in where the crack is now. You could very well end up with this happening again tho.

    On the bright side, this might be the chance to install a really nice looking laminate floor and transform the interior. Sometimes the vinyl flooring they use in RVs isn't exactly that appealing. I installed laminate planks in a previous TT and the original sheet flooring looked like a 70s kitchen remodel.