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Old 07-06-2016, 01:47 PM   #1
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2003 Newmar Kountry Star Floor Replacement

Hi Folks,
Pulled the rug and padding from the MH today and found that the floor on the passenger side forward of the seat is water damaged and buckled. Going to put new flooring down so obviously that area needs to be replaced. Question I have is what is under that area? Is there an underlayment or is it fastened to the MH frame? Hate to start deconstructing without a plan and material on hand to fix what I destroy.

I think we will all be happy when the MH makers start using composites like the boat mfrs have.

Keep Smiling,
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Old 07-06-2016, 03:19 PM   #2
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I have worked on a couple floors in that era coach. They were plywood on top of about 1" foam core board.
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Old 07-07-2016, 01:50 PM   #3
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2003 NewMar Kountry Star Floor Replacement

Took out the passenger chair and pulled out the rotten part of the floor. Turns out the floor was 1/2 inch OSB and under that a plastic membrane. Had to saw VERY carefully. Going to put down 1/2 inch treated exterior plywood. Oh, one other thing for those of you getting ready to re-floor. That passenger seat weighs a ton, I was prepared for it to be heavy, but not that heavy.

Thanks to all... and keep smiling!
Bob
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Old 07-07-2016, 03:14 PM   #4
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Old 07-08-2016, 01:38 PM   #5
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What material of flooring are you installing? I re-floored the KStar a couple of years ago with 7mm laminate. It was easy once I figured out how to jack the slides up. Yes the pilot and copilot chairs are heavy. I also recarpeted the drivers side slides and the dog house. That is the only carpet in our rig now.
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Old 07-08-2016, 02:24 PM   #6
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2003 Kountry Star Flooring Replacement

Haven't picked out the material yet. Will take my beloved to Lowes in the next few days. Yes I will take pix as I go along.

More news... Turns out there is a thin metal sheet under the plastic. That's the good news, the bad news is that it is loose and sagging under the side windows. Got under the wheel well and you can push it up easily so put some Starboard wedges under there to hold it temporarily. No wonder everything was rotted, the front tire was pitching water directly into the interior.

Don't have a clue how to repair it since there is nothing to fasten it to. One thought is to get sufficient thickness Starboard and wedge the whole thing into place. Then use 5400 Adhesive/Caulk to seal it. Can drive some screws down into the Starboard to keep it in place. Anyone got a better idea?

Not so happy camper
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Old 07-09-2016, 08:26 AM   #7
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2003 Kountry Star Flooring Replacement

After more thought came up with a new plan. I failed to mention there is a metal bracket just below the bad area in the wheel well that I will use as the base for the repair. Rather than using Starboard (which is plastic based and will not seal with caulk) I'm going to use pressure treated 2x4 cut to the height and width I need. I will shim up the metal caulk temporarily with pieces of 2x4 and caulk the opening between the shims with rain gutter sealant (it doesn't run like rv roof sealant) then force fit the permanent 2/4 in sections (putting more caulk on the side of the 2/4 to force the caulk into the area thereby increasing the seal. Then I'll remove the temporary shims and repeat the permanent repair in those areas. Once that is done I'll caulk the inside and then spray the 2x4 (in the wheel well) with several coats of Flex Seal. Then I will repair the floor and get on with the original objective.

I did gingerly pry up the old laminate and it is indeed free floating, I am using the Dremel to cut close to the cabinets (not too difficult) and should be able to easily remove it. I'm trying to convince my self that removing the old laminate from the bathroom is necessary. Did remove the carpet from the entry well and will put wood in there.

Would appreciate any thoughts anyone can offer to this problem.

Keep Smiling,
Bob
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Old 07-09-2016, 02:07 PM   #8
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Bob, I made box Jacks out of 2x3s put them on top of the slides. When you bring in the slide it holds the top in place and the bottom inside floor of the slide comes in and lifts off the floor. You are then able to get underneath cabinets. I had to totally disassemble the bed (not the slide mechanism just the cabinet) to get the carpet out and the laminate flooring down. Good luck with your floor repair. If you have any questions PM me.
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Old 07-11-2016, 06:58 AM   #9
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Craig,
The kitchen cabinets are not on a slide, so I'm just cutting the existing laminate with the Dremel and I'll dress it with quarter round.

Got the 2x4 pieces installed to shore up the sagging metal, going to give it a couple of days to dry thoroughly before I proceed to the encapsulating step.

Found that there were metal screws in the way so I had to cut the 2x4 into pieces to get around that problem. The level of the metal is still below where it should be to support the flooring but I don't want to apply more force than is necessary. I may have to add an extra piece of material to make sure the subfloor is supported by the 2x4 pieces. I will also get some roofing sheathing clips to help support the forward area of the repair. It's hard to remember that the objective was to drain the swamp when you're up to your butt in alligators.

Keep Smiling,
Bob
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Old 07-11-2016, 10:31 PM   #10
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That's usually the way it goes Bob.
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Old 07-13-2016, 02:13 PM   #11
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2003 Newmar Kountry Star Floor Replacement

We had a big storm yesterday. Good thing, found out the window on the passenger side was also leaking. Pulled out the rubber glazing and caulked the whole thing. Put in the floor repair today, as I thought the 1/2 inch plywood had too much spring in the middle. I added another piece of 1/2 inch which rests on the 2x4 blocks and supports the subfloor. All good now.
Did the second coat of Flex Seal on the 2x4 blocks. Works great!
Don't you just love it when a plan comes together?

When I was ripping out the old floor I found out that Newmar had used spots of glue about every four inches. I'm thinking I will put in the flooring without adhesive except in the areas that I can't use quarter round, like next to the slide. I will use the same method I used to install regular wood flooring which is stainless steel nails. Since the other end will float under the quarter round I should have no problem with buckling.

Since I learned that there is not a hell of a lot between the cabin and the wheel well I have really been interested in add some sound reducer/insulation in the wheel wells as well as the dog house. I know I had read some posts about this in the past, but couldn't locate them using various search terms. It would be great if there is some sort of spray on product.

Went to Lowes yesterday to special order the flooring, turned out someone had special ordered the same flooring and returned it, so I got it right off the shelf. God smiles on me again. Life is good!

Keep Smiling,
Bob
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Old 07-13-2016, 02:27 PM   #12
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I'd use bedliner instead of flexseal... You can get it in a rattle can.
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Old 07-14-2016, 09:35 AM   #13
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Here is a couple of links # 1 & # 2 from the Newmar QT's # 3 that will give some help and ideas.
Enjoy and have fun by all means.
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Old 07-17-2016, 05:27 PM   #14
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Well I can say I made a lot of progress getting the floor in today. I'm right at the edge of the slide and I'm puzzled about the right method for installation. I can understand how you can install the front half of the slide (in front of the couch) but what about the part next to the dinette? There is almost zero clearance there and I fear the edge of the rug would catch on the flooring if I install it too close. I see many pictures of flooring installed in that area, but haven't figured it out yet. Can anyone give me a little guidance?

Keep Smiling,
Bob
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