westend
Shorewood, MN
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wiredgeorge wrote:Johno02 wrote:We redid our class A with Allure flooring, and had no problems. Just do not glue or staple it, as it needs to expand and contract some with the weather.
Has your RV sat in temps lower than 55 degrees and higher than 85 degrees when not in use? I am thankful that folks have chosen to answer and supply their opinions but I was really looking forward to hearing from someone who has actually used the stuff. I did read the manufacturer's warning about voiding the warranty if temps were out of range but not sure that I care about the warranty all that much. thanks wg I operated a flooring installation company for about six years. Let me simplify this for you: Don't trust the adhesive on any flooring product.
Allure comes in two varieties: The edge adhesive version (Traffic master) and Allure Isocore. There may also be Allure Ultra in your area, both of these latter are a click-lock joint. The click-lock joint will be more durable and will separate less than the adhesive strip. Installation ease is a non-issue, both are easy to install.
Let me make a case against Allure since I researched it for my own trailer: When this product was first introduced about 8-10 yrs ago, there were reports of owners , their kids, and pets having bad reactions to offgassing of the material. Since most Allure was sold through Home Depot, the bad flooring was returned for a cash refund, easily, and just some grumbling occured. It was found that Allure was being made in Indonesia and was made from 25% recyclable material (maybe more). Allure saved the brand by limiting the content to 15% recyclables and cleaned up the Indonesia operation. Your guess as to how their vinyl is still being made.
What I did for my travel trailer: Bought one of the cheaper vinyl laminated composite planks from Lumber Liquidators, on sale. It is 8MM thick, IIRC. Used a very high grade underlayment underneath the plank.
It took me a day to install the flooring, my layout is fairly straight and square. The flooring looks like the day I installed it, six years ago.
About perimeter clearances. I've installed a lot of floating floors and the 1/4" rule can be lessened in most cases. I installed a composite plank in my Sister's house, two blocks off the ocean. It is wearing well.
'03 F-250 4x4 CC
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TNGW1500SE
Oliver Springs TN
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Joined: 07/15/2012
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I put 1200 SF of 1 year old Alure in the landfill located 10 miles north of Knoxville TN just off interstate 75. If you want it, it's yours. The seams came apart and it "puckered". Take a shovel.
I now have Pergo in the house and RV. I'm happy with it.
* This post was
edited 12/20/17 06:45am by TNGW1500SE *
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BurbMan
Indianapolis, IN
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Joined: 09/20/2001
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We put the Allure flooring in our TT back in 2013. If you read the paperwork that comes in the box, it says it's unconditionally guaranteed for 25 years, unless it's installed in an RV in which case there is NO warranty.
The floor looked great for about a year, then the the seams started to separate. We were careful to let the floor float, and installed 1/4 round shoe molding around the edges to cover the expansion gap. I used a brad nailer to fasten the molding to the walls, not the floor. One problem is that the floor needs to be attached under the transition strip at the entry door. You want that edge secured so it's not a tripping hazard, so the floor can't float 100%.
With 5 seasons behind us, the floor still looks pretty good, but most of the seams have opened up at 1/16" gaps. Doesn't sound like a big deal, but a little dirt gets in between the tiles, and you can't clean it out because it attaches to the exposed adhesive.
The reason we replaced the floor to start with was because the sheet vinyl that came from the factory ripped in two after we got one of those "arctic blast" temp drops when we lived in Louisville. All the reviews I read said not to use Allure, it will separate, but it was what we could afford at the time.
So I saw the new EVP vinyl plank flooring that Big Kahuna referred to....we are getting to re-do the floor this winter and that's at the top of the list.
My thinking:
1. You want a floating floor, that's the best insurance against damage from temp changes.
2. Anything with adhesive is out, those glue strips on the Allure product just don't hold up in the RV.
3. Laminate flooring is too thick for under the slideout, plus uses a substrate with wood content, making it susceptible to water damage.
The EVP product is 100% vinyl, so no wood products and thus impervious to moisture. It's click-lock together, so it floats without adhesive, and at 0.16" thin enough not to be a problem with the slide clearance.
I can post some pics of the current Allure installation if you are interested.
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BurbMan
Indianapolis, IN
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westend wrote:What I did for my travel trailer: Bought one of the cheaper vinyl laminated composite planks from Lumber Liquidators, on sale. It is 8MM thick, IIRC. Used a very high grade underlayment underneath the plank.
The problem with 8mm plus underlayment is the clearance for the slide to go in/out. We are looking at the vinyl planking at HD, Lowes and Costco, they are all in the 3.8 - 4.3 mm range.
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DiskDoctr
PA
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Joined: 05/29/2006
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For floating floors, couldn't you use a compressible material around the edges instead of leaving an empty gap? (Under the trim)
After all, it only needs to give more enough to prevent buckling. I think a high density flexible foam could help secure the floor to help prevent separation from too much stress on the joints.
Basically a tension expansion joint.
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myredracer
No camping in the US now due to covid.
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First, never use a glue type of laminate floor. The key is that it MUST be allowed to free-float. If it can't freely move from thermal expansion and contraction, one or more joints can/will pull apart. Making it fully floating in an RV takes some effort. Cabinets and walls are very likely wonky or not parallel and you need to scribe the pieces before cutting them so that there is an even expansion gap all around. Where screws penetrate the flooring like at pedestal table flanges and door entry sills, you should make a hole large enough so the flooring can move around and not get "hung up". Same with toilet flange.
Sheet vinyl flooring and plastic based laminate planks have a high coefficient of thermal expansion. If you were to put your finger anywhere on the floor, as it shrinks, it will be pulling towards your finger in a 360 degree pattern. Put your finger in another spot and the two spots want to pull together. Same as what happens to concrete as it shrinks, leading to cracks. Because sheet flooring in RVs is stapled down around the perimeter and also has cabinetry screwed into the subfloor, when it's cold enough and shrinks, it pulls itself apart - especially at high stress points like floor vents where there are 90 degree corners in the material.
Westend mentioned a 1/4" expansion gap. Slightly less will probably be fine except it may be difficult to create an even gap (say 3/16") all around. Don't use caulk to fill the gap, as I've seen photos of online. A strip of 3/8" wood will work but may need to be run through a table saw. Note that flooring thickness may be an issue with the toilet gasket and you may need to use a wax one.
I installed 1/8" thick laminate flooring in our first TT that had an ABS core. Sold the TT to my BIL who's had it for 5 or so years in the interior of BC where it gets very cold in winter and hot in the summer. No planks have separated and he says it still looks like new. The cabinet doors where about 1/8" from above the sheet flooring and I had to raise all of them. Hardest part was getting an even expansion gap all around plus working on the hands and knees in a small trailer was painful... I used 3/8" oak as a baseboard and stained it to match the cabinetry under them and painted it biege against luan walls. Photos below. Original floor that looked like a 70s kitchen reno turned into a high-end looking TT. ![[emoticon]](http://www.coastresorts.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/smile.gif "smile")
![[image]](https://i.imgur.com/Nre3wEVm.jpg) ![[image]](https://i.imgur.com/uixFhDmm.jpg)
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stripit
Prescott
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We live in Arizona and almost always have low humidity. The package suggests not to use where humidity is less than 50%. I called the manufacturer and asked about that statement, the person said she had no idea, but if they put it on the instructions, you have to follow them, so we went with a real wood floor in our home. Didn't want to take the chance. I was going to buy enough to redo the Class c flooring when I did the house but didn't. Too much time and effort if that was a deal breaker for the humidity factor.
Stacey Frank
2016 Tiffin Allegro Bus 40AP
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GeoBoy
Bennington
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wiredgeorge wrote:I have used laminate snap together flooring but Allure looks to be so much more simple to install, thought I would like to hear from someone who actually has to find out how temps have actually affected it. I did read what the manufacturer said but wanted first hand perspective.
Why can’t you accept the manufacturers response, who manufactured the product?
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Ralph Cramden
Not on this rag of a forum
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We installed Allure in 96 2 bedroom townhouses @ 2009/10 which were rental units, at the request of the property owner. This was during a complete interior remodel of the entire property, and despite our recommendation not to use it.
All of it failed within a year after installation as the end joints of the individual pieces opened up from shrinkage. The property owner went to war with Home Depot who at first resisted, and eventually agreed to replace the material but not the labor. Good for us as we were paid to remove and replace........1100 sq ft X 96.
The second round failed also. Consistent climate control both times within mfgr specs. You get what you don't pay for and that stuff is cheap garbage as is most of the in house brand flooring at the big boxes. It may work well for a doghouse or an outhouse, or something.
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pianotuna
Regina, SK, Canada
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Ralph,
So what would you recommend for wooden flooring? Is there something that is heat resistant (I have electric heated carpets).
Regards, Don
My ride is a 28 foot Class C, 256 watts solar, 556 amp-hours of Telcom jars, 3000 watt Magnum hybrid inverter, Sola Basic Autoformer, Microair Easy Start.
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