Laminate flooring install

[Sarahdove]

Hello Happy Campers,

Has anyone pulled up the flooring including the carpet and replaced it with the laminate planks? We just purchased a used class A and would like to replace the flooring.
Thanks for any input.

Sarah and Nick

[jimj]

Thank you much for the helpful tips on the flooring install. That good info will help much
Thanks
JimJ

[craz_z]

You are welcome. Its a tough project but doable and gets kinda fun once you get the hang of it.

oh another tip Keep it clean. the tongue and groove should be vacuumed and blown out before installing the next piece. One speck of dirt and they will not go together. Some videos on youtube guys were so afraid of dirt they taped then untaped each groove before installing the next piece.

[Sarahdove]

craz z wrote:
Just finished up doing mine on a super C. Luxury vinyl. Laminate is taller and not waterproof. both are WAAAAYYYY heavier then the cheap garbage carpet and thinner then paper sheet vinyl they installed.

Carpet and vinyl is easy to get rid of and there are definitely alot of staples THAT MUST BE REMOVED.

If you decide on LVP Luxury vinyl plank here are a few tips.

1. Groove out. on the side and the rear. This stuff must be installed at an angle and then pushed down. YOU CAN NOT PULL IT LIKE LAMINATE. (more on this later)

2. When installing the skinny end to end Hammer the joints to lock them in. (use a rubber hammer or scrap piece on top so you don't damage your joints.

3. Starters. when starting. I got lucky by using the slide as a guide and it worked perfectly going across the room. However there are corners that need to be filled in or transitioning in a new room. use a scrap put the tongue in and throw a screw in it so it can't move. dont use the spacers they won't work. This stuff is so precise close enough will not work and pulling it will destroy it. Its either locked in or its not.

4. If you don't have a vibrating multitool get one. They are a must for undercutting transitions to other rooms. use a scrap and zip out the material so the floor has a seamless look. Dont try to measure, it will look awful and cuts will take hours.

5. Transitions and undercuts. well now what do I do? you said it must be at an angle to lock it in. This happens when you get to the finishing side of the project. This is the most important lesson of all. You are under a doorway perfect under cut and now need to lock it in. Take a mini hand planer or what i used was a wood chisel and knife off the groove's lip. This will now let you pull it like laminate with little effort to lock it in. Since its under a door and locked in next to a wall. the lock isn't that important as you just removed it. if you feel compelled for leaks sake add some glue in the groove to waterproof it.

6. Don't be lazy anything in the way take it out label it and put it back. I'm talking about vents and trim coverings go under them not around them. you can only hide so much with quarter round.

7. It may not be correct but I did it anyway. The number one reason to choose LVP over laminate or stickon is its not supposed to expand and contract as violently with extreme temperature changes that are in rvs.
I did not gap anything. tight as possible around walls shower radius's toilets you name it. that gap is where water will migrate too and rot the subfloor. If a gap happens caulk it. like around the toilet flanges oh yeah remove the toilet don't go around it.

8. Templates. take the time and do it right. I had so many weird cuts in a tiny mid bath I spent a whole day in a 3x3 foot space.
paper is your friend cardboard is your next best friend. cut your shapes perfectly before transferring to LVP. I even deployed one of those contour gauges to help with shapes. RV's love to round everything nothing is straight. If you can under cut that's the fastest templates are a must for certain spots.

9. I almost forgot. Tapping blocks. Don't use them If you do use the full square edge. Better yet take a scrap insert the tongue and bang on it. Tapping blocks are better for laminate not for LVP.

I've done several laminate projects over the years and this is nothing like it. I spent alot of time on youtube and removing and replacing pieces until I figured out that this is nothing like laminate or even hardwood install.

My last rv I did the stick on and would never ever use it again. looks good until a season or two down the road and the expansion and contraction on stickon is so extreme it looks terrible a year or 2 down the road.

No matter what you choose I firmly believe that flooring is the most dramatic upgrade you can do for the least amount of money. I was forced to do LVP as the cold winter literally split the wafer thin sheet vinyl everywhere. Exposing raw wood subfloor. and the amount of dirt under the carpet was enough to fill a shopvac.

I had my husband read your response. Thank you so much!

[craz_z]

double post

[craz_z]

Just finished up doing mine on a super C. Luxury vinyl. Laminate is taller and not waterproof. both are WAAAAYYYY heavier then the cheap garbage carpet and thinner then paper sheet vinyl they installed.

Carpet and vinyl is easy to get rid of and there are definitely alot of staples THAT MUST BE REMOVED.

If you decide on LVP Luxury vinyl plank here are a few tips.

1. Groove out. on the side and the rear. This stuff must be installed at an angle and then pushed down. YOU CAN NOT PULL IT LIKE LAMINATE. (more on this later)

2. When installing the skinny end to end Hammer the joints to lock them in. (use a rubber hammer or scrap piece on top so you don't damage your joints.

3. Starters. when starting. I got lucky by using the slide as a guide and it worked perfectly going across the room. However there are corners that need to be filled in or transitioning in a new room. use a scrap put the tongue in and throw a screw in it so it can't move. dont use the spacers they won't work. This stuff is so precise close enough will not work and pulling it will destroy it. Its either locked in or its not.

4. If you don't have a vibrating multitool get one. They are a must for undercutting transitions to other rooms. use a scrap and zip out the material so the floor has a seamless look. Dont try to measure, it will look awful and cuts will take hours.

5. Transitions and undercuts. well now what do I do? you said it must be at an angle to lock it in. This happens when you get to the finishing side of the project. This is the most important lesson of all. You are under a doorway perfect under cut and now need to lock it in. Take a mini hand planer or what i used was a wood chisel and knife off the groove's lip. This will now let you pull it like laminate with little effort to lock it in. Since its under a door and locked in next to a wall. the lock isn't that important as you just removed it. if you feel compelled for leaks sake add some glue in the groove to waterproof it.

6. Don't be lazy anything in the way take it out label it and put it back. I'm talking about vents and trim coverings go under them not around them. you can only hide so much with quarter round.

7. It may not be correct but I did it anyway. The number one reason to choose LVP over laminate or stickon is its not supposed to expand and contract as violently with extreme temperature changes that are in rvs.
I did not gap anything. tight as possible around walls shower radius's toilets you name it. that gap is where water will migrate too and rot the subfloor. If a gap happens caulk it. like around the toilet flanges oh yeah remove the toilet don't go around it.

8. Templates. take the time and do it right. I had so many weird cuts in a tiny mid bath I spent a whole day in a 3x3 foot space.
paper is your friend cardboard is your next best friend. cut your shapes perfectly before transferring to LVP. I even deployed one of those contour gauges to help with shapes. RV's love to round everything nothing is straight. If you can under cut that's the fastest templates are a must for certain spots.

9. I almost forgot. Tapping blocks. Don't use them If you do use the full square edge. Better yet take a scrap insert the tongue and bang on it. Tapping blocks are better for laminate not for LVP.

I've done several laminate projects over the years and this is nothing like it. I spent alot of time on youtube and removing and replacing pieces until I figured out that this is nothing like laminate or even hardwood install.

My last rv I did the stick on and would never ever use it again. looks good until a season or two down the road and the expansion and contraction on stickon is so extreme it looks terrible a year or 2 down the road.

No matter what you choose I firmly believe that flooring is the most dramatic upgrade you can do for the least amount of money. I was forced to do LVP as the cold winter literally split the wafer thin sheet vinyl everywhere. Exposing raw wood subfloor. and the amount of dirt under the carpet was enough to fill a shopvac.

[4x4van]

Be ready to remove about 10,000 staples holding the carpet down!

[erniee]

Still installing engineered wood

[Sarahdove]

Thank you all for your response. 🙂

[phillyg]

The only negative I can think of is the planks weigh more than carpet, so if you're close to your max weight it might be a consideration.

[jdc1]

Be sure to use a waterproof membrane before laying the planks. I took my carpet from the slide to a carpet place. Picked out a decent carpet, and the cut to fit and finished the edge the way it's suppose to be done. Worth the $300 (including carpet). It just staples in place.

[wa8yxm]

Yup.. Now I did a slide. it's not that great with a slide as the "lap" ..well. that's kind of different. had to re-carpet that.

laid a carpet runner (cut lengthwise) down with furring strip on one side so it covered the joint.. Worked well. Looked good. (Cut edge under the strip by the way)

[MountainAir05]

We also did it.

[rgatijnet1]

I took on the task and the install was a day project. What took longer was that after I had pulled up the old flooring, I put on two coats of polyurethane to protect the floor from moisture and to lock out any odors that were in the sub floor. I used matching quarter round on the edges.