Anyone considering Allure Ultra sold at Home Depot for a flooring upgrade? It is a new snap and click vinyl based wood laminate looking stuff that seems like it would work well in an MH flooring upgrade.
ottoblotto's blog: Allure Flooring Stinks (http://ottoblotto.blogspot.com/2009/08/allure-flooring-stinks.html) And I have heard this from my son who is a municipal code enforcement officer.
I have what appears to be a hardwood, similiar to Bruce, in my U225. Like it very much.
The batch in question was made in China. Just think. China is now making RVs.
I'd heard this too about their trafficmaster line that sticks to itself. The new Ultra clicks together and floats...no glue. It is on display at my Home Depot. It looks like it would be good in a MH. Doesn't need a vapor barrier or underlayment unless you wanted it for the insulation. Very lightweight compared to wood or laminate. My only concern would be how it would do in a coach stored in a hot climate. Basically it looks like vinyl that really looks like wood made into strips like a wood or laminate product. It has a thin rigid material under the vinyl layer that has a click lock edge. I don't think there is anything else just like it on the market. I'd like to be rid of the carpet, particularly along the section in front of the sofa where everyone puts a runner only my carpet is in great shape. I'm fairly sure it is the original carpet, which is astounding. Looks like it could have been put down last month. I just hate carpet. We only have it in two of our secondary bedrooms. The wife usually gets ill around any carpet but oddly the carpet in the coach doesn't bother her at all. She is why we bought the MH. Staying in a motel room is a crap shoot for her, not just carpet but cleaning agents and detergent too can make her sick. We went to Las Vegas last summer (in the coach) and she could only spend a very short time in any of the casinos even the newer ones. The carpets in Vegas are totally toxic according to her.
I installed DuPont Real Touch in our previous DP coach. It is a floating, click together flooring product. I was pleased with the result. I can't comment on how it will hold up. We bought the FT and sold the other coach. We didn't travel in the "old" coach with the new floor except to deliver it to MOT for sale on consignment.
We want to put a "hard" floor in the U295. We plan to have FOT install a high quality vinyl product to replace the original carpet.
Does a solid floor increase the noise level much while driving?
Our coach came to us with new off-white carpet. It still had the plastic protector stuff on it. We have replaced the plastic, but know in our hearts the carpet is doomed. We do a lot of dirt camping, and we travel with two dogs. My dream is hardwood flooring (probably imitation stuff for durability) and furniture covered in distressed tan leather like they use in the King Ranch pick-up trucks.
oldMattB
We talked to Dave Flanagin (spell?) at FOT about flooring. My recollection is that he said solid flooring would be a bit louder than carpet. On a remodel, he puts carpet in the bedroom. The hard flooring is not compatible with the materials that line the floor in the bedroom of a 1997 coach.
I asked what he thought would be the best practical flooring in our coach. He recommended a high quality vinyl tile.
We travel with only one big dog and don't spend time in especially dirty places. We still want to get rid of most of the carpet in favor of something that will clean up better. Replacing the flooring is at the top of our list of remodeling projects.
Jeff and Carol S had Dura Ceram installed in their U225 by Dave Flannigan's crew. It is a Vinyl tile with ceramic fillers and looks very much like hard tile but is more flexible and a little quieter. You might want to contact Jeff or JOR for more info. JOR now owns that coach.
Mine had the hardwood from one end to the other, including bed room, when we got it. We find it very quiet when traveling compared to our old gas rig with carpet.
But have laminate in the stick house. There is a sound/vapor barrier between it and the subfloor. Not as loud as the subfloor by itself was.
My 95 has the original ginger oak finish flooring front to back (including the bedroom) that the original owner special ordered. It has a few swell/warp spots forward of the kitchen but still works great. It is the same flooring they put in for years in the kitchen.
I spoke to Dave Flanagan at FOT about replacing it. He said he would just replace the 3 or 4 bad pieces and refinish it. Since they rip it out all the time they have plenty of spare pieces.
It still looks great - but when you stand in the kitchen looking forward you can see the uneven spots.
Matt,
Carpet is equally effective at trapping sound waves as it is at trapping dirt. Sound will bounce off of a hard surface. In addition, carpet will muffle any noise coming from below your floor. A hard surface material will not do this as well.
I have seen some durable and good looking CORK how would it be for sound and thermal transfer? jc
Check out Karndean flooring, FOT used in some of there coach's.
Cork is pretty durable, low flame propagation and provides pretty good sound attenuation. The biggest problem is it is traditionally very expensive when you get it thick enough to equal other flooring product properties. It also gouges easier than other products.