Wood floor installation

[super_rep]

We purchased a 2004 Monaco Signature 45' 4 slide Castle IV in 2013. This coach, while mechanically sound, had not been well maintained as far as the slide seals and canvas slide toppers were concerned. Farther more it had been stored in an open storage lot in the south east and had been broken into and all the entertainment electronics, satellite receiver, radio, and backup camera display were stolen. We bought the coach fully realizing that extensive repairs were going to be needed and the price we paid reflected this. Luckily I possess the skills to do a great deal of the required repairs.

After getting all the home entertainment system and accessories, installing HD satellite TV's and antenna, and replacing all the canvas awnings, we managed to get an appointment with Ernie Ekberg in Weatherford, TX ( http://www.ernieekbergflooring.net/ ) to get a new engineered hardwood floor installed. Ernie specializes in the installation of engineered hardwood floors in coaches and trailers and is a master craftsman who takes pride in doing a perfect job.

The original coach floor was about 50% tile with at least 6 tiles that had been cracked do to flexing of the rotted sub floor. The removal of the tile was a slow job – it was chiseled up about 1 sq. in. at a time. The subfloor consisted of two layers of 5/8” OSB. All the rotted sections were cut out and repaired using 5/8” AB marine grade plywood. The entire floor project took 16 days of Ernie's and my time. When I wasn't running for plywood and picking up odds and ends we needed, I was helping with the removal of the old floor, repairs and clean up. It was a BIG project!!

We selected commercial grade 9/16” engineered bamboo wood flooring for the replacement floor. Wife loves the ease with which this floor can be cleaned and it is sure good looking and wears well.

We have lived full time in this coach since June 2013. The floor was done 1 1/2 years ago. We have driven 25,600+ miles in that time and have been across the country 5 times. After completing the repairs and the new floor, we have a reliable, good looking coach that will definitely last us until we are ready to hang up the keys and settle down.

The following photos show the rotted floor, repairs, tile removal and installation of the bamboo floor. The color variation in the floor is do to 3 different cameras that were used in taking the photos.

[tomckeon]

Looks Great! Engine access/step especially. We also used Engineered Bamboo in our stick home, it looks great and wears wonderfully.

[firedoc]

Looks great. Wish I had your skills, could use them on a Bounder😜 . We just had Ernie install engineered Acacia 1 week ago. Love it. But Bounder has cheapa@@ slides so it's a bit of a pain to try and keep them from getting scratched. Our pics


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[leshchat]

I've got an 06 monaco diplomat...part tile part carpet.. What do you think a project to replace all with engineered floor would cost in round numbers, so I know what to budget for...want to get this done after first of year
TIA

[KRum]

Curious?... Are people gluiing down the flooring or doing the floating method?... What if any shrinkage/expansion issues has anyone had?

[Davdeb1]

We did ours with vinyl plank. Left it floating. My justification was vibration, bumps, etc.

[Ernie Ekberg]

Engineered wood adhered with urethane adhesive- no problems. Cuts right up against the walls and cabinets- no issue. Engineered wood is dimensionally stable. If you have heard different- you have been misinformed.

[hardy1000]

Looks great!

[cbilodeau]

Originally Posted by firedoc

Looks great. Wish I had your skills, could use them on a Bounder�� . We just had Ernie install engineered Acacia 1 week ago. Love it. But Bounder has cheapa@@ slides so it's a bit of a pain to try and keep them from getting scratched. Our picsAttachment 110902Attachment 110904Attachment 110905


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The wood should have been from side to side instead of Front to Rear. We want the floor to look wider, not longer. This is what i did.

Also the wood should be bigger to make the floor look bigger. One could think that thin wood in a small area will look bigger but it is the opposite we have to do. So put wider wood.

[cbilodeau]

Originally Posted by KRumm

Curious?... Are people gluiing down the flooring or doing the floating method?... What if any shrinkage/expansion issues has anyone had?

I use floating method. I drove more than 10 000 miles no problems. I have purchased an extra box. If I get a problem I can fix it.

[Ernie Ekberg]

Carl- to each his own.
100% of my installs are lengthwise- and 100% of clients are happy.
and 100% is adhered, not floating
to each his own~

[cbilodeau]

Originally Posted by Ernie Ekberg

Carl- to each his own.
100% of my installs are lengthwise- and 100% of clients are happy.
and 100% is adhered, not floating
to each his own~

Ernie,

The job you do is very good looking this is why they are satisfied.

[530ktm]

Originally Posted by cbilodeau

The wood should have been from side to side instead of Front to Rear. We want the floor to look wider, not longer. This is what i did.

Also the wood should be bigger to make the floor look bigger. One could think that thin wood in a small area will look bigger but it is the opposite we have to do. So put wider wood.

Personally I can not imagine having the wood run side to side, would look very busy I think but as mentioned to each his own.

[cbilodeau]

Originally Posted by 530ktm

Personally I can not imagine having the wood run side to side, would look very busy I think but as mentioned to each his own.

In Florida, in a campground I saw a Fleetwood Pace Arrow vision 36.5 same year and same color as mine. I went to see the owner. We shared all our tricks. Then I visited his and he visited mine.

Both of us were very surprised to see how much his living space looked smaller. It was like if he had lost 33% space compared to mine.

The best would be to go 45 degree but this was to much work.

Anyway, there is no debate here, any decorator would tell you to put it side to side. I don't know about USA decorator but here in French Quebec they would all go side to side.

Look by yourself at the pictures shown here in this thread and then look at a floor on a 500k or more Allegro Bus:



Click on the picture.

They put bigger pieces (well, it is a fake vinyl but still). And they don't go front to rear. Going 45 degree strech the lines in two directions.

In my opinion another mistake in the current thread is that he did not put a "4 to 5 inches ceramic" strip on the floor in the kitchen (8 to 10 inches on a four extensions). This is mandatory to separate visually the kitchen. Just a few inches and it is like magic. But if you put more than 6 inches then the living space will look smaller. Just try it with newspaper for a test.

Click on this image to see an example of ceramic strip:


But he put wood under the driver's seat and this is very very good in my opinion. It expand visually the floor up to the front. And the job he has done is simply perfect and very professionnal. Very nice looking and clean.

Finally, a floating floor is more adequate in a motorhome. A glued floor can not expand anywhere else than between each piece of wood. So on the long term you will see cracks. You could glue a small area of wooden floor on a single piece of thick plywood and have the plywood floating on the floor on sticking tape. Let's say 3' x 8' in my opinion would be the maximum. Bigger than that the plywood would not resist the torsions.

For a floating floor, you put a sticking tape on the first row in the kitchen and then the rest is floating and will adapt with the vehicule torsions. And there are torsions. Don't trust any other suggestions about it, there are torsions because it is not a house but a moving vehicule.

Hey, this is just my opinion, I am not an expert.