Yes I replaced my carpet also with the floating wood floor. I was surprised as to how much the old carpet weighed when I removed it! I think the removal was the hardest part of the job. The sub floor should be plywood so just make sure there are no screws or staples and it is clean! put down the vapor barrier and start laying the floor. I removed the seats which helped, but still had to allow for electrical and bolt holes. Not much cutting, (except for length) involved. Plan on two days to remove carpet, chairs and clean and another couple of days to lay down the new floor, Good luck!!
We used Armstrong's best grade of laminate. We picked it based on some
tests that Consumer Reports did that showed it had better wear and
scratch resistance than Pergo. It's 3/8 inch thick.
We were surprised to find that a Carpet Time store had much better prices
on the best grade than Home Depot or Lowes had on the middle grade which
is all Lowes and Home Depot carried. The best grades were special order.
We did the installation of our flooring ourselves. We couldn't find an
installer willing to do the job. It took us about ten day’s altogether (we only worked about 4 hours a day though). It wasn't terribly difficult but did require a lot of cutting and trimming because of all of the corners.
There were some challenges involving the front of the slides, around the
stairs, underneath the dinette, the transition piece between the driver’s
area carpet and the laminate, and the trim piece along the back wall.
Before we did the installation we did a test by removing a square of
carpet and making sure the slides would ride over a piece of T molding,
laminate and under layment.
Some people try to cut the carpet back under the slide, but we cut the
carpet in front of the slides leaving enough carpet to be stapled down. I
was afraid the slides would catch the carpet when the slide went back
out. A Tee molding covers it so it doesn't show.
If you do the job yourself I would recommend a few things to have:
1) Table saw, 2) Chop saw, 3) Good saber saw, 4) Rotozip tool, 5) Air
brad nailer, 6) Air stapler, 7) Utility knife and sharp hook blades, 8)
Screwdriver type staple puller.
There were two grades of the foam under layment available. We used the
best grade - more expensive but thicker and provides a moisture barrier.
We also used a special waterproof joint glue in areas that are prone to
getting wet - like in front of the sink, refrigerator, and around the
stairwell. (This is used to glue the joints so spilled water can't get in
the joints - not to glue the flooring to the subfloor).
We also used silicon caulk to fill the 1/4 gap at the edges in those areas.
The caulk and waterproof glue are both recommended in the instructions
from Armstrong.
Regarding the project; we are extremely happy with the results. It is
very easy to clean and it looks good.
As far as the slides coming in goes, we have had one problem. The first
few times we operated the slides everything was fine. Then we had a
scratch show up in front of the dinette. The next time we brought the
slide in we put a thin piece of plastic (flexible cutting board) down at
that point. When the slide went back out the plastic was badly scratched
and it left two paper clips on the plastic
Apparently Damncat who loves to steal and play with them had batted them
under the slide before we got the quarter round fixed to the front of the
slide in that area.
We added door sweep strips behind the baseboard trim in front of the
slides to keep pebbles and paper clips from getting under the slide shoes.
Since then we have had no more scratches. We do vacuum carefully before
we operate the slides. The good news is that the scratch is not
noticeable and if you don’t know it’s there I don’t believe you will see
it.
Clay (WA5NMR), Lee (Wife), Katie (cat).
Full Timing in a 2004 Winnebago Sightseer 35N, Workhorse chassis, Honda Accord toad
We got rid of all the old carpet from front to back, then installed new carpet in bed room and living room, and the snap together flooring in kitchen and dinning area. We are very pleased with the way it turned out and is holding up.
Rex and Rose
Wood flooring installed in our Discovery is beautiful and just wipe to clean. A small thin strip of carpet glued to the bottom front edge of the slide outs rides on the wood, does not mark it in any way and sweeps it clean for no scratches when moving in and out. The only carpet is up front between the front seats and the bedroom. No carpet for us!
Our snap together flooring is not truely floating as it nailed down in three places. I was worried about not letting the flooring float, but so far in 6 years we have not had a problem. Perhaps its not a big enough area to expand and contract for it to cause a problem.
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