From: John De Armond
Newsgroups: rec.outdoors.rv-travel
Subject: Re: Help with Carpet Replacement
Date: Sat, 06 Jan 2007 15:17:23 -0500
Message-ID: <6j00q211gmfff4bqvsresh0cqfoa6ase3c@4ax.com>

On Sat, 6 Jan 2007 08:06:59 -0800, "Frank Howell" <fphowell@msn.com>
wrote:

>Wingnut wrote:
>> It's time to replace the carpet in the old MH.  It is a 99 Holiday
>> Rambler Admiral.  Since I know absolutely nothing about the subject,
>> any helpful advice or tips or caveats will certainly be appreciated.
>> Is it like buying carpet for the home, and does it require a pad?
>
>Since I am thinking about doing the same, I hope someone else with
>experience chimes in.

I did the carpet in my rig.  Then, with the benefit of hindsight, I
WATCHED the guy that we hired do mom's :-) We both installed linoleum
to get rid of the hated carpet but the removal process was the same.

The major problem in both cases, and I suspect with most RVs, was that
they laid the carpet on the unadorned floor before they installed
cabinets, bunks and other interior features.  If you want to do the
job right then you have to remove this stuff.  Major job.  I did it
with mine.

We let the installer on mom's rig talk us into letting him just cut
the carpet away around the furniture and install the vinyl back the
same way.  Bad mistake.  Despite gluing around the edges and laying
quarter round molding, the stuff started coming loose fairly rapidly.
Too much flex and temperature swing, I suspect.

Mom's was a fairly low end motorhome (Four Winds) so perhaps the floor
flex was worse than what would be in a better made one.  Whatever, I'd
not take the risk again of cutting around the furniture.

John

From: John De Armond
Newsgroups: rec.outdoors.rv-travel
Subject: Re: Help with Carpet Replacement
Date: Sun, 07 Jan 2007 13:30:40 -0500
Message-ID: <cre2q25sm6q9siuq3m5pli4sdlbp00kdtr@4ax.com>

On Sun, 7 Jan 2007 06:51:51 -0800, "Frank Howell" <fphowell@msn.com>
wrote:

>Neon John wrote:

>> We let the installer on mom's rig talk us into letting him just cut
>> the carpet away around the furniture and install the vinyl back the
>> same way.  Bad mistake.  Despite gluing around the edges and laying
>> quarter round molding, the stuff started coming loose fairly rapidly.
>> Too much flex and temperature swing, I suspect.
>>
>> Mom's was a fairly low end motorhome (Four Winds) so perhaps the floor
>> flex was worse than what would be in a better made one.  Whatever, I'd
>> not take the risk again of cutting around the furniture.

>John, did you have to prep the floor after carpet removal. Did you use solid
>piece of lino or did you use self adhesive squares?

I had a good solid plywood floor under the carpet so I didn't have to
add any underlayment.

Solid vinyl.  I just assumed adhesive squares would pop up like
popcorn in a hot skillet :-)  I followed the advice of a restaurant
customer who laid vinyl for a living and only glued around the edges,
leaving the center loose to move around, shrink or expand as it needed
to.  I don't know if that was good advice or not.  I think I might try
gluing the whole affair next time.

Actually, next time will involve some sort of hardwood.  I dislike
vinyl about as much as I do carpet.  I just wasn't ready for the work
involved with hardwood and I don't particularly care for the fake
stuff.

John