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Another Floor Tile Job

Finally finished tiling the 270. Took me almost a day and a half. Just kidding! Used Karndean loose lay. Tiles measure 24"x19.5" and each weighs almost exactly five pounds. Came out pretty good. The dark tile goes well with the light oak interior. I used 1 1/2" stair nose on the entry, peel & stick tile along with 3/4" corner guard trim (Koffler) on the starboard side race and toilet throne. Carpeted the bed sides and bed end with a pleated charcoal product.
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Re: Another Floor Tile Job

Reply #1 –
Jor,
Looks great!  Nice job!
John M.
John & Carm Morales

"We travel not to go anywhere, but to just go.  We travel for travel's sake.  Our great desire is to move."

Re: Another Floor Tile Job

Reply #2 –
Nice job Jor! Wondering how much weight the floor adds.
Richard & Betty Bark & Keiko our Golden Doodle
2003 U320T 3820 PBDS
Build # 6215
MC # 16926
2016 Chevrolet Colorado 4X4 diesel

Re: Another Floor Tile Job

Reply #3 –
Quote
how much weight the floor adds

Not much. I used six boxes of ten. Had one tile left over and some scrap. Let's say the tiles probably weigh about 280 pounds. No telling what the old carpet and pad weighed. Personally, I think we make too much of the weight issue anyhow. I've had four of these things and each has been balanced and under weight. This one has an interesting weight factoid. The loaded coach (us, fuel and water) PLUS the actual weight of the toad weighed out to exactly the rated gross vehicle weight!
jor

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Re: Another Floor Tile Job

Reply #4 –
Nice look, JOR! You make the "Hard Way" look pretty easy. Good looking products and the trim effect is really fitting for your coach. I am with you for weight considerations—drop in the bucket, right?  Good job.
Paul & Kathleen
1995 U320c SE 40'
Build 4681 --Cummins M11 /17511
"That Irish Girl"
Red MINI " 40"

Re: Another Floor Tile Job

Reply #5 –
Looks great!
1993 U300 40ft GV SE
Build # 4344

Re: Another Floor Tile Job

Reply #6 –
Very nice, looks similar to ours I'm really loving it. My understanding is one of the PO had it done, and I couldn't love it more! Easy to sweep up and keep clean!  Nice job! Enjoy!
1996 36' U295 Build #4879 Motorcade #18088
2007 Jeep Liberty 4x4 FMCA #F474816
Foretravel Mid-South
There's no happy like Foretravel happy!

Re: Another Floor Tile Job

Reply #7 –
Nice work, John! Brett did the same thing to ours and we love it after having carpets in the Airstreams. Plus, it makes it easy to clean when you spill whiskey on the floor to test the propane sniffer!  ^.^d
1993 U-240 "La Villa Grande"..CAT 3116 w/ Pacbrake PRXB...Allison 3060 6-speed..
Previous: 1983 Airstream 310 turbo diesel, 1979 Airstream 280 turbo diesel
                                      Build # 4297
                                      PNW natives
                      Home base:  'Cactus Hug' (Ajo, Arizona)
                        DW Judy & Chet the wonder dog
                        Full-Timers 'Sailing the asphalt sea'

Re: Another Floor Tile Job

Reply #8 –
Quote from: mike leary –
Plus, it makes it easy to clean when you spill whiskey on the floor to test the propane sniffer!  ^.^d 

We generally use single malt to test ours but have been known, when guests arrive, to test with whiskey and scotch.  :whistle:
Bill Jackson & Kim Sweeney
2013 27' Lazy Daze RK
2002 U320 PBDS 36' Build 5941 (Sold)
1999 U320 40' (Sold)
2005 Country Coach Intrigue 40' (Sold)

Re: Another Floor Tile Job

Reply #9 –
Nice work!  The PO for my coach had white quartz tile installed about 5 years ago front to back. One of the reasons that I chose this coach. I am wondering what mastic you used as I need to replace two of the tiles that have cracked. I have been trying to contact the person who did the work with no luck so far.  I am surprised by how light the tiles that you used are as the 24 x 12 tiles that I have weigh considerably more than the ones you used.
2000, U320 36' with Cummins 450, Toad - 2016 Ford CMax Energi
Previous MHs; 1970 Winnebago, 1973 FMC 2900R, much later a heavily modified 1975 FMC 2900R.

Re: Another Floor Tile Job

Reply #10 –
Beautiful job!  Fooled me, I thought it was ceramic tile.  Looks like a terrific product.  I know how difficult it is to prep for a luxury vinyl tile like this, please share how you got is so smooth in the preparation.  I know all will show thru a vinyl floor not properly prepared.  I want to change out my carpet and was looking at a similar product, however, it is click together, also 100% watererproof vinyl.  I like the looks of yours better.  Please share the secrets, I can imagine how much time the prep took.  The trim matches perfect with the color and looks outstanding.
97 U295 40, Build #5040, 6C8.3 325 HP
Oregon Continuous Traveler
Samsung Residential #RF20HFENBSR,
Xantrex SW2012, (3)AGM8D Hse, (2)AGM Grp24 Eng, Victron BMV-712, 1800w Solar 4 LG & 2 Sunpower
Extreme Full Body Pt w/hdlmps, new furn/floor, 4 down Lexus 2004 GX470 AWD curb weight 4,740 lbs
Prev: 1990 Barth, 10L 300 2 yrs; 91&92 Monaco Signature, 10 yrs, 10L C 300 &  6C8.3 300; 1997 ForeT 6C8.3 325 since May 2017.  Employed by Guaranty RV 14+ yrs.  Former VW New Car Dlr/Service Dlr, Sales Mgr, Rv Sales, and Service Adviser from 1968-2017
"Don't criticize what you can't understand" Bob Dylan

Re: Another Floor Tile Job

Reply #11 –
KenK: Re the weight, it's vinyl, not ceramic.

Jack: My prep was pretty much the same as what others have done. There are a number of threads and some excellent photos which you will find when doing a search. I'll post a bunch with this reply too and if you need something specific, just PM me. Anyhow, here's what I did:

Remove Furniture: I disassembled and removed the couch and also removed the cup holder assembly and magazine rack next to the pax seat. Also removed the little table behind the pax seat and the kitchen table top. I unbolted the driver and pax seats and moved them around during the job. Removed the toilet.

Pedals: I removed the accelerator pedal and the firewall cover pieces along with the Allison ECM cover piece. Documented where the pedal was.

Remove Carpet: Just slice sections with a utility knife and rip that stuff out. The carpet trim on the side walls is just stapled carpet with no backing. It tears right away from the wall and because the staples are small, you won't notices where they penetrated the wall covering. When you pull the carpet from the floor along the side you will expose the race which is just a plywood box measuring 3.5" x 3/4".

Remove Kitchen Wood Floor: This is a pain. On our last coach I left it in place as I really liked the look but in this one, I went with just tile. I found the best way to remove that stuff was to use a crow bar and a big ole hammer, attacking it from the side.

Fill the Holes: The floor plywood is bolted to the metal frame. The bolts are counter sunk so I filled those holes and a couple of other places with Durham Water Putty. I had to grind down a couple of the bolt heads that were sticking up a bit. I also used the water putty to repair the damaged plywood under the kitchen hard wood. Then I used leveling compound to level that area. Prep does not have to be perfect as the Karndean is thick, flexible and cushioned.

Cover the Race and Toilet Platform: I used an inexpensive closley matched peel and stick tile for both.

Lay the Tile: This is Karndean Loose Lay tile (Karndean). It's a commercial product which has a great feel when walking on it. It is not affixed to the floor, nor are the tiles attached to one another. The backing keeps it in place. I screwed it down, however, on the driver's side under the couch when I reattached the loomed wiring. This stuff is tough to cut. You will use about one utility blade per cut. Lots of difficult (for me) cuts to make around curved wood pieces.

Trim the Race and Toilet Platform: I used the Koffler trim which comes in other colors. Lots of 45 degree cuts which I did with a utility knife (to score) and tin snips to cut. I used six 4' sections. I would recommend you buy seven as I got lucky and ended up with literally a handful of scrap.

Carpet the Bed Sides and Back: I used inexpensive ribbed charcoal colored carpeting and affixed with that carpet sticky stuff. Put it on the sides and cut the speaker and outlet holes after with a utility knife. On the back you need to measure and cut for the electrical stuff before affixing. I used the same carpet for the firewall and Allison cover boxes.

Put It All Back Together: I found that the original placement of the pax seat was twisted about 3/16" rather than being straight on. I replaced the original bolts with shorter ones (3" grade 8s) to adjust for the lack of carpet and backing. Also the little table was off center by 1/8".

It's a big job but you'll like your coach better after you throw that nasty 20 year old carpet!
jor
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Re: Another Floor Tile Job

Reply #12 –
I , too , used Kardean tile in our floor renovation. Everything said is accurate. Taking up the wooden floor was the most difficult part of the demo. I pulled up lots of existing plywood substate, which was later filled with a professional quality leveling compound. My old pal Randy, who was my flooring subcontractor for years, told me to install 1/4" ply over the existing substrata. At first, I was against it. Too much extra work. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to " do it right the first time". It wasn't as bad as I thought, and helped to take up the difference between old carpet and new tile.
Just a couple of thoughts:
After watching a lot of videos on You Tube, I learned that you should us a torch on the back of the tile to make the cuts easier. I did this. You can buy an inexpensive heat gun at Harbor Freight, instead. In hindsight, I would have gone this route.
My Kardean instructions told me to glue the tile down. Even though I thought it was a friction laid tile, I followed the instructions.
My biggest concern, and one that did cause some problems, was with the angle iron on my slide. After posting LOTS of questions on the forum, I just took a deep breath, and removed a length one at a time, glued 1/4" 4" x 6" felt pads the entire length of the metal with high grade 3m contact spray on glue, and reinstalled. It helped take up the change in height and acts to protect the tile when I move the slide.
We LOVE our new floor. Came out real nice. Thanks to Andy 2 and Pete for telling me about Kardean. It is a really top notch product. I could post pictures, but like to show it off in person. What a difference from the carpeting. 16 years of whatever in the pile. First thing to be remodeled. Real easy to clean.
Glenn and Amy Beinfest
2001 36' U320
#5812
2014 Honda CRV

No Whining on the YACHT