03 Journey replace carpet with laminate

[Multiengine]

I've read all the posts I can find and still have ????
Journey has a flat floor slide when extended where do I start the laminate? Where the slide floor and the main floor meet on move back 3 or 4 inches on the main floor? What do I use for a transission? What do I use to hold down the laminate and still allow it to float?
Pic's would be great
Thanks
patriciaedwardsc21@yahoo.com

[HD4Mark]

I am also interested in this even though it won't happen until spring. Did see one post where they left some of the carpet and added laminate up to it but I would rather remove as much as possible.

Some of the laminate flooring we looked at had a much better selection of edging and other stuff to finish the installation. One other concern of ours is that the tile in the galley area is rounded where it meets the lounge area carpet and how would the transition be made to the laminate.

FWIW we looked at Allure flooring at Home Depot and although it is some kind of vinyl, not laminate it sure looks like wood and is supposed to hold up better to moisture. Brought some samples home to look at over the winter.

[smlranger]

I've been pondering the same thing for 2 yrs and about ready to jump in this winter. Watching the slide work, it seems to start 'up' pretty quickly. There is a bit of a 'ramp' configuration on the main floor at it's junction with the slide floor. So, I plan to fashion either a hardwood or aluminum trim 'ramp' at that area to allow the slide to ride up as it comes in. I plan to replace the carpet on the slide floor with new carpet, bind it at the main floor edge, and have it overlap the joint just enough to hide the joint. That is basically what you see in new coaches with tile floors....they still use carpet on the slide floor and that carpet overlaps the slide floor/coach floor joint just enough to hide it.

Now the real question for me is how will the metal runners on the underside of the slide treat the laminate floor? I've read of folks using thin strips of vinyl or other similar material to pad that area when the slide is in.

[jimmccreary]

Patricia,
Checkout the following thread:

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f101/replacing-flooring-with-laminate-vinyl-89378.html

I left about 4-5in of carpet extending beyond the floor of the slide when the slide is fully extended. Then I shaved the edge of the carpet with a pet grooming clipper. I ran the Allure vinyl just under the edge of the thinned sloped carpet. Then I used a staple gun to staple the carpet in place. I did try to put an aluminum transition strip over this edge but found that the underside of the slide caught on the transition strip. I found that the slide moves evenly over the stapled carpet and did not catch and for 6months I have had no problem with this type of edge. Also, the black plastic foot under the slide does not scratch the vinyl so I came out ok here. A thicker wooden laminate may be more problematic as it would provide less clearance for the slide than does the vinyl. Also, I did not lay new plywood under the vinyl as this would also cause a clearance problem.
Using this approach, the vinyl is not really floating anymore as it is stapled to the subfloor underneath the carpet edge. I did not have any problem of buckling or warping of the vinyl using this approach. Also, since my slide contains the sofa and the sofa extends beyond the vinyl-carpet edge, the staples are not visible. Neither is the edge of the carpet. See the attached photo.

SMLRANGER, if I understand your proposed approach then I would be concerned about 1 issue assuming that your slide is like mine. In my 04 Journey the slide contains both the kitchen and a sofa. Under the slide is a 4in wide, 8 ft long black plastic “boot” or curved slide that places a portion of the slide weight on the carpet. This boot presses heavily on the carpet. A ramp or transition strip might cause the slide weight to be unevenly distributed on the boot. This may be a problem. I believe that the correct operation of the slide requires that the boot evenly distribute its weight along the entire carpet underneath.

Hope this helps.

Jim & Debbie, 04 journey 3H