Replacing Carpet with Wood Laminate

[fulltiming]

With our Irish Wolfhound, carpet is not the optimal floor covering. After looking at a number of alternatives, including ceramic tile, granite, wood, etc, we decided to try a wood laminate.

We chose the Shaw Rustic Maple VersaLock, Click Here (http://www.shawfloors.com/LaminatesDetails.aspx?R=KA023_00140&N=4294966961+4294967024&DN=93,4,Documents), to brighten the interior of the coach and complement the dusty rose interior laminate.

The numerous curves in a Newell make the installation of new flooring time consuming but the results are worth the effort.

For before and after photos of the new floor, Click Here (http://patrick-irish-wolfhound.com/fulltimersrv/newell.html). Each photo can be enlarged by clicking on it. The carpeting is shown in the photos at the top of the page (taken about a year ago) and the laminate shown in the photos on the bottom half of the page (taken at the Wine Country Rally about two weeks ago). I replaced the carpet from the front of the coach through the salon, kitchen, bath and to the foot of the bed. I left the carpet on the sides of the bed. Installation requires a space around the edge of the laminate for expansion. I filled this space with a color blended sealant available from Shaw.

[Mikeh]

Michael, You are da man. Looks really good. I helped a friend install a wood floor in a square room. It was not easy. I can't imagine doing this in a Newell with all the rounded corners and shapes. How does Patrick like the new floor? Mike Haddox

[fulltiming]

Thanks for the kind words Mike.

Patrick prefers carpet since he tends to slide around getting up from ANY smooth surface but the addition of the non-skid rugs visible in the photos have returned him to being a happy camper.

I have about 60 hours of labor in removal of the carpet, padding and tack strips and installation of the laminate. Much of that time was spent fitting around the curved surfaces.

[madson95]

I was wondering how you handled the front slop under the brake and gas looks about a 25 degree slope this on a 85 newell

[chockwald]

We're headed up to West Jordan, UT where my brother will spend two days removing the carpeting in our '82 Newell, and replacing it with hardwood flooring. We are really excited about this update. Will post pictures of before and after in about 10 days! We were so happy with his work in installing hardwood floors in our home that we "hired" him to do our motorcoach.

[fulltiming]

I was wondering how you handled the front slop under the brake and gas looks about a 25 degree slope this on a 85 newellThere was a slope (actually more of a mound) around the steering column on mine. I was able to solve that problem by 1) cutting out the laminate for about 1/2 of the top most part of the slope since the steering column cover would hid that portion and 2) by taking a router to the underside of the laminate and trimming it down on the bottom so it actually matched the increase in slope of the metal plate on the floor. The total area affected was about 10-11" wide and about 8" front to back. I was able to
leave a hole about 5" x 5" and taper the remaining amount off of each side so that the laminate actually lays almost flat.

[fulltiming]

We're headed up to West Jordan, UT where my brother will spend two days removing the carpeting in our '82 Newell, and replacing it with hardwood flooring. We are really excited about this update. Will post pictures of before and after in about 10 days! We were so happy with his work in installing hardwood floors in our home that we "hired" him to do our motorcoach.Clarke, do let us know how it works out. I think you will be very pleased with the results. Looking forward to seeing the before and after photos.