Styrofoam on Floor

[nbking]

We have removed the carpet from our motor home and will be installing sheet vinyl in its place.

I was thinking this morning, not a good thing for me, that maybe I should put a 1/4 inch Styrofoam on the floor before installing the sheet vinyl. I would nail it so it would not move, then just lay the sheet vinyl over it with some type of fastener at the edges.

Would that make it quieter in the motor home? Would it provide any better insulation? Can you see any drawbacks to that idea?

[DutchmenSport]

As promised, here's the photos. Of course we picked the colors for a specific look. But if you selected a different color, ... well .... who knows? Anyway... enjoy!!! if nothing else:

[nbking]

A little too expensive for my 2004 motor home.

I would also wonder if they would fly around when making a hard stop or if in an accident.

But, I will look at them when I am at Lowe's.

Thanks.

[Pepperoni]

Rigid foam and high density foam are available. styrofoam may compress and split under load

[JaxDad]

Not to ruin a perfectly good bad idea, buuuuuut.

1/4" thick engineered wood or padded vinyl will probably give about as much insulation and sound deadening but without all the other issues.

[gbopp]

TNGW1500SE wrote:
You're asking for trouble. For all the reasons stated above.

Yep....

[DutchmenSport]

Hey nbking! I just had a brainstorm of a thought! This may help all your problems. My son and grandson live with us. I remodeled the grandson's room, pulled out the carpet, down to the sub floor. I then put these down. No nails, no glue, nothing, just cut and fit around the edges. Got them at Lowe's. We got Teenage Mutant Ninja colors (multi color), but they do make them all solid one color too. It' just a thought! It would give you the floor covering, the insulation value, no glue, nails, or nothing, and if you want to change the floor, simply pick them up and toss them and start all over:

Lowe's, click here.

I'm at work right now. Later tonight when I'm home and have access to my photos, I'll attach a photo of my grandson's room. You'll see what I mean.

I started laying these squares down in my garage (my wood shop) so I have a warmer and softer floor under my feet when I'm working. I'm seriously thinking about re-doing the entire garage floor with these too. It not used for the car, it is my wood work shop! They just lay down on top of whatever surface already exists. Very, very easy and very, very light weight too.

[doxiemom11]

Plus, dropped heavy items can puncture the floor more easily with the soft layer underneath.

[nbking]

I accept your wisdom. I knew I should have never tried to think in the morning. I will abandon that idea. Thanks.

[dons2346]

What they all said

[TNGW1500SE]

You're asking for trouble. For all the reasons stated above.

[ScottG]

1/4" will have just about zero value and will cause all kinds of issues because of its softness.

[DownTheAvenue]

Nailing the styrofoam to the floor will cause visible indentations on the vinyl floor.

Just follow whatever guidelines the vinyl flooring manufacturer has for installing their product. They know the best.

[nbking]

That is my concern as well. Don't think I could put both styrofoam and plywood on the floor before the vinyl.

May have to rethink my idea. Thanks for your help.

[DutchmenSport]

The only draw back I see, if you put Styrofoam on the floor and then cover it directly with vinyl, and then you walk on it, over time, the Styrofoam will get squashed and you many end up with a bunch of dimples or footprint depressions in the Styrofoam.

I have an access port under the shower in my Outback. I can see how the floor is put together where it's been cut out for the plumbing that comes through the floor.

There is a layer of 1 inch thick Styrofoam, on top of that, there is a 1/4 inch sheet of plywood, on top of that is the vinyl.

About insulation value, yes it will help and it will make the floor warmer in the winter, but it will also make it feel squishy under your feet.

It's really 6 of one / half-a-dozen of another. I don't think 1/4 inch Styrofoam will hurt anything, just not sure how it will hold up under the weight of a someone's foot.