New Wood Flooring

[chockwald]

Elaine and I travelled up to South Jordan, UT (just south of Salt Lake City) to my brother's home to have him install our wood flooring. It took him 4 days, and several hundred "cuts" to fit all the flooring and trim...as you all know, there are a lot of angles in a motorhome, unlike a regular home where most everything is pretty "square". We couldn't have picked a hotter 10 days to do this trip....there has been a high pressure ridge hanging over the western states. We stopped at Zion on our way there, and it was 106 both days we were there. It was in high 90's most of our 4+ days in South Jordan, UT.

Here are a few before and after pix. We used interlocking Pergo engineered flooring, Natural Oak. Really worked well with the existing faux wood in the 1982 Newell.

The stair area took the better part of a day, and lots of discussion about what would work best. We ended up taking out the hinged floor piece that lowers down to cover the stair area when the sofa bed is in use. To replace it, because we still plan to use the sofa bed, he fabricated a piece we can place in that space on the rare occasions it will be used. I liked the finished look that we came up with, which would have been more difficult to obtain leaving the hinged piece in place. He reinstalled the hand rail, as we still need that. Additionally, we had to leave the hinge for the under stairway storage area exposed, so we painted it with Rustoleum Brown. I guess this would have been easier if we had only used wood on the treads, and carpeted the fronts and sides like I have seen others do, but I like what "we" chose to do in this instance.

There is still al little more finish work to be done when he comes down for a visit in July.

[chockwald]

Here are a few more pictures....I can only attach 5 images to each post...

[Richard and Rhonda]

Cool !!!!

I saw a 2009 Newell a couple of weeks ago. Guess what? No marble........wood !!!

[fulltiming]

Looks great Clarke and Elaine. I love the wood flooring in coaches. We looked at 2003 with wood laminate flooring throughout that was drop dead gorgeous. I haven't tackled the stairwell yet in mine so I was particularly interested in yours. It looks wonderful. Are the steps slippery? I had thought of doing the sides and the vertical segments in wood and leaving the steps in rubber or some other non-slip material.

[encantotom]

question is...what did you learn?

tom

[Richard and Rhonda]

For those of you who have installed wood flooring, would you describe the particulars of how the floor is held together. For example, I have seen at least three different methods. One, the tongue and groove is engineered to lock when fitted together. Two, the pieces are actually glued at the tongue and groove. Third, a metal clip is used on the underside to hold the pieces together.

I am trying to figure out what works before I tackle mine. I know the look that I want, and I am just trying to figure out the best way to get it.

Here is what I want. Cherry, medium red to go with the grey laminate and white furniture. The hand planed look. Contrasting walnut dowel pins at the end of each board.

Here are the issues that I have thought about, and your comments are solicited.

As far as the dowel pins. I can either partially drill and dowel so that the pin is actually a fake. Or the more complicated approach is drill and elongate in the long direction of the board a hole. Use a screw to hold the board. The purpose of the elongated hole is to allow for expansion. Then a larger dowel hole would be centered on the elongated hole to hide the screw.

For the hand scraped look, I am evaluating two options. One is buy raw cherry flooring stock, install, hand plane, stain, then finish. Option two, which sounds absolutely nuts, is buy prefinished solid cherry flooring, install, plane, stain, and refinish. Huh? turns out the solid prefinished stuff is cheaper than the raw stock. Go figure.

In either case, given the small area of the coach, I would do a hand rub polyurethane. I am also thinking about putting in a compass rose inlay into the wood.

What do you think? Too much coffee this morning?

[chockwald]

Michael...I was concerned that the steps would be slippery. A few years ago we had wood flooring installed in our home (entire down stairs, plus stairs) and I did actually slip going down the stairs a couple of times. We have temporarily put some non-skid panels in each of the treads to prevent slipage and to protect the treads. So far, no slips. Do you have the same under stairway storage in your Newell that we do? All the pieces had to be glued to the metal in the stair way. This particular area of the coach is really built like a tank, and we are hoping that will prevent a lot of shifting, or "flexing" of that area while in transit.

Richard....originally we were going to install a floating floor using Bruce engineered flooring (tongue and groove, but glued together), but after research found that others who had experienced separation due to the natural "flexing" of the coach frame while in transit. Too much movement in a coach. The most successful applications are the interlocking type, which we settled on. Once they are locked together the odds of them coming apart is slim to none. We put a 1000 miles on them driving home and no problems so far. Your project sounds quite ambitious.

[fulltiming]

Clarke, yes, the early 2000 series Newell's had the same understair storage area with the metal full length hinge across the second step. On my coach, the opening step is cut back on the sides to clear the wood support for the glide on the air powered step cover. To make it work properly, I will have to fasten wood to the sides to build it out flush with the glide rails to make it look right.

Richard, I used the wood laminate that has interlocking grooves. I an using it as a floating floor without it being fastened down to the subfloor and with the interlocking grooves holding the planks together. It has been down for over a year of full time use and over 12,000 miles and is holding up well other than in one area where I did not leave enough space on the edge for expansion. I will have to remove those planks and replace them with planks cut about 1/2" shorter. Not a difficult job, just takes some time.

[chockwald]

Michael....you're right about the expansion. My brother left about 1/2" around the edges, covered by the 1/4 round molding, and did not fasten it down, so it is a floating floor. We left in the padding that was under the carpeting, which acts as a moisture barrier, just like you would put down over concrete if you were installing the flooring in a slab foundation home. Really gives the wood a "soft" feel, and deadens the sound considerably. We left carpeting in three places: 1) driver and passenger area, 2) on both sides of the queen bed island, & 3) around raised toilet area in bathroom.

[fulltiming]

I didn't have the luxury of putting down quarter round as virtually every corner is curved rather than a 90 degree angle. Other than under the kitchen and in front of the couch, I would have had to have some type of flexible molding that I am not aware exists. I used the heaviest underlayment padding I could find between the linoleum that Newell used as a vapor barrier and the laminate. My toilet mounts directly on the flat floor so that wasn't an issue. I also left the small carpeted areas on the sides of the bed but I did replace the carpet all the way to the front of the coach.

[chockwald]

I, too, have the rounded corners. What my brother did was cut the 1/4 round as if the corners were right angles, and then filled in the gap with brown colored caulk used for that purpose, and it is almost unoticeable. Here are a couple of pix to illustrate.

[Neweller]

Clarke, it looks very nice. Look forward to checking it out in person some day. Tell your brother he did a great job too.:thumbup:


Ken

[fulltiming]

Good job on filling in the gaps Clarke. I would have to really to have filler with mine.

http://www.patrick-irish-wolfhound.com/fulltimersrv/Newell/CouchCurve_4829.JPG

http://www.patrick-irish-wolfhound.com/fulltimersrv/Newell/KitchenCurve_4831.JPG

[chockwald]

You've got some long curves to fill there. Little tough to finish with 1/4 round trim, too. I'll ask my brother and see what suggestions he might have. Between he and his father-in-law they have a lot of wood working skills.

[chockwald]

Michael, out of curosity, how do I attach pictures in the format you did, where they are not tumbnails, but full size? I must be missing something, because I wasnt able to figure it out when I origginally posted my pictures.

[fulltiming]

I size the photos to fit on the page then upload the photos to one of my website. I then use the Insert Image icon to insert the proper web address/URL (Uniform Resource Locator).

[encantotom]

it sure looks good on both coaches. i have seen michaels up close and it is really nice. clarke, yours looks better than mine.

tom

[KimnKim]

Clarke, Richard and Michael:

First time I am jumping into one of these discussions - have to say I enjoy reading them a lot. Recently completed the flooring portion of my '87 interior gut/modify/rebuild. Chose to use 3/4" T&G prefinished hardwood versus laminate and have to say that, while it took a great deal of time and patience, it really added 'grade' to the upgrade. I went with the advice of a friend and screwed it all down as opposed to using the more conventional nailer. Great advice. I have the same flooring in my home (nailed) and the coach floor is noticably tighter. Also, while I was at the tear out stage (I too had the air powered step cover that Michael describes), I rebuilt the steps from a three step system that came from the factory to a four stepper and then added the more conventional hinged drop down insert. The additional step makes a huge and positive difference.

As this is my first post, I'll give photo attachment a try but not sure if I'll succeed. If not, I'll try again on a follow up in the near future.

Cheers!

[Richard and Rhonda]

Ok, you've done it now. Based on that DIY job, NO MORE LURKING !!!!!

It looks fantastic, what hardwood and finish did you use? Great job on the step and step cover. Nice detail.

Tell me a little more about how you screwed it down. Did you drill through and plug the hole, and did you use a screw where you would normally use a cleat nail on T&G flooring. Did you make any provisions for the linear contraction/expansion?

Now your bathroom pic raises more questions. Is that the original laminate and cabinet, or is that something that you upgraded also?

So, from the sig, are you a Canuck transplanted to Texas, or a Texan transplanted to the Great White North?

[encantotom]

wow, that is fantastic! if you want to share any experiences please feel free to private message me and i will give you my phone number. i did a total gut and restoration on mine as well. there is a lot of things i learned as i did it as well that may or may not be of use to you.

my motherinlaw lives in crossfield and my wife is from lethbridge....

later

tom

[fulltiming]

Great work Kim. I chose to install mine side to side rather than the more conventional front to rear since I replaced everything from the dash to the bed but your installation looks fabulous. Congratulations on an excellent job. The stairwell cover looks terrific.

I did not allow quite enough room for expansion in a couple of places and will have to remove and replace about 4 planks that have started to buckle from the lack of adequate free space around the edge. I have an uninterrupted run of laminate for 39'. Oh well, live and learn.

[SharkRacing]

Kim and Kim Corrigall, It would be great for a lot of people if you could post about it right here in this forum. That would be much better for the multitudes.

Thanks for your consideration.

[KimnKim]

Richard...the material is Gunstock Oak - Golden Select. Purchased it through Costco. The installation process was quite simple and, given the relatively minimal square footage of the overall floor space, relatively manageable. You need to pre-drill 45 degree holes through the tongue (2 holes for short and medium boards, 3 for longs) using a bit with a coutersink bud. The screws to use are coated deck screws (these have very small diameter head size - barely larger than the shaft of the screw itself). I used 2-1/4 inch, I believe. The screw is installed so that its finished depth is just below the 'V' at the intersection of the board and its tongue...in other words, allowing for the groove of the next board to fully mate with the tongue of the board you've already screwed into place. Once a center line is established and the guide coarse is laid, it's simple row over row progression until, of course, you run into the many, many nooks, crannies and curves of the Newell. A note of interest...you will likely have to begin in a spot that is not adjacent to a wall or fixture. In mine, it was the top of the stairwell which is essentially in the middle of the coach. So, in order to construct coarses on either side of the original coarse, you will need to cut some material to duplicate the size of the tongue so that you can turn the grooved edge of the first coarse into another tongue. That can be glued into place when the opposite coarse is ready to be laid.

Regarding allowance for expansion/contraction, I managed to find opportunities under the dinnette, in closet door openings and by installing a kick plate under the kitchen counter, allowing an eighth inch spacing there. In some spots however, it simply wasn't possible. I will have to wait and see the effects of a full four seasons for the results.

The bathroom cabinets are the only laminated surface within the coach that didn't see a coat of paint. And, to be honest, if the shower/tub hadn't been 'Dusty Rose', it would have been changed as well. It retrospect, we are delighted with the final appearance of the bathroom.

Finally, I'm a Canuck who purchased a long time Texas coach (first owner was NY State).

Tom...what a small world. The rest reading this are going "Crossfield, Lethbridge, what the...?" Once I figure out what private messaging is, I'll shoot you a note. Would be grateful to hear of your experiences.

Michael...sometimes you just have to go for it, don't you? Thirty nine feet of laminate is a hefty project though.

I've delighted in reading of your many experiences throughout this site and appreciate the insight I, and many others, derive from your penchant for sharing. Thank you.

And thank you all for your kind words and making a 'newby' feel welcomed.

See further attached photos of my Texas Treat as it was on the PPL lot in Houston a year ago last month.

Regards

[Richard and Rhonda]

Kim,

Thanks for the detail. The use of "finish" screws with the small heads certainly allows you to essentially use them in the same way that flooring nails would have been used. Great idea on predrilling the holes.

The coach looks great, another fine example of the product withstanding the test of time.

I think I told the other guys, but I had the chance to go in a 2009 Newell this summer. Guess what the floors were? That's right, it wasn't marble or carpet.

When the weather cools off here, I am going to get started on mine.

Welcome to the merry band. We love to hear about your coach adventures.

[Neweller]

Wow is right! Kim and Kim it it truly is gorgeous!:thumbsup: Thanks so much for sharing.


Ken

[Luvolekars]

On the 90's coaches with the rounded corners, what is the best way to install the laminate? I have never used anything other then the traditional 1/4 round trim

[fulltiming]

I just tried to cut mine as close to the original curve as possible but allowing sufficient space for expansion (worked except the bath that I will be redoing to allow an extra 1/8") with non-hardening caulk in the seam will work.

[folivier]

This might work for trimming the floor: http://www.armstrong.com/commflooringna/product_details.jsp?item_id=386
I've seen it on commercial tile floors, the right color might work for you?

[Ernie Ekberg]

If you happen to install engineered wood, those rounded corners can be made to fit. Sometimes, since this material has a tongue and groove, you may have to shave off the bottom groove or tongue.

[JohnC]

I have been in Mike's coach and the floors are gorgeous

[fulltiming]

Thanks John.