Saturday, February 27, 2010

RV Remodel Completed

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Our carpet removal in the RV and replacement with Allure Vinyl flooring took us nearly a month, but we are finally finished!

Ok, I admit it.  We are slow!  We started February 3rd and finished it today.

Most of the work was done either on our knees or sitting on the floor.  That  kills your knees and back and is very tiring.  I guess we’re out of shape.

We would have been finished a lot sooner if I hadn’t chosen the tile look, verses the wood look.  There was a lot more cutting and matching up “grout lines.”

We replaced all the carpet in the motor home, except a small piece underneath the gas and brake pedals, and a square that cover the base of the driver and passenger chairs.  There’s not much else you can do with that because the base is not flat and has large bolts on it.  Of course we left the carpet on the doghouse.

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We also replaced the carpet on the backs and sides of the inside step area.   We used pewter color metal thresholds to frame up the top of the steps. There were some issues there due to big screw heads sticking up which caused a few problems.
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We bought new black colored stair treads that we got from Brad and Hall RV Furniture.  They were about half the price of the other ones I found, but after getting them, we found they were made of  a lot thinner material than the original we had on the MH.  It’s okay though, they look nice now and if they wear out, we can replace them.

Our new recliners fit nicely, although we have to pull them away from the wall a little to recline.  The comfort factor is worth the little bit of extra room they take up. They recline, swivel and rotate, and are very comfortable.
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We used brown rit dye to color the carpet area on the doghouse. The old carpet was faded so we used dark brown dye and it made a big improvement. If it ever gets faded by the sun, I’ll do it again.  I used the black rubber weather sealing strips around the doghouse to cover the gaps in the flooring.  It was easy to put down and I think the black looks very nice.  It doesn’t really show up well in these pictures but it looks nice in person.

We have two levels in the bathroom. The one where the toilet it is curvy and very small.  I needed to remove the toilet to do it right, but found out I would need to replace the seal afterwards.  Since I didn’t know where to find a new seal and by that time, I was losing my enthusiasm for the project :)  I just re did the bottom floor and I’m happy with the look.  I used the brown rubber strips for trim.  It’s easy and looks good.P1010030
I also used the rubber trim around the shower stall area. We used quarter round or the rubber strips, depending on the area.  Some areas didn’t lend them selves to quarter round.
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The bedroom area looks so much cleaner with the flooring all the same.  Before we had carpet in the bedroom and vinyl in the shower/bath/kitchen area and then carpet in the living area. 

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We are very glad we did this job, but it was a lot of work.  We’re very glad it’s done.
Our next RV remodeling project will be to mount our new LCD television, but not for a week or so, at least.

I came across some photos of the rv when we first bought it.  Quite a change huh?

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Al just said, “I wish we had the TV done.”  I can see another project starting!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Picked up new Recliners

We went into Tallahassee this morning to pick up our new recliners for the motor home.

It was supposed to be clear today, but when we left it was cloudy and looked like it could rain any minute.  We knew we couldn’t bring them home in the truck if it was raining, so we were hoping it would clear up.  It did and it ended up being a warm sunny day.

We went  to lunch at Five Guy’s Hamburgers for lunch.  They make a pretty good burger. 

After lunch, we headed to  Haverty’s to pick up the recliners.  They were in boxes and thankfully both boxes fit nicely inside the truck bed.

Once we got them home, we were pleased to find out they were in two pieces so they fit easily through the small RV door.  The back snapped right on and they were ready to go. The color was what I had expected and they were as comfortable as we remembered.

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I worked on the trim around the dinette set, and Al worked on the trim around the stairs.  We finally decided how to trim that area. I still need to put the Allure down on the sides and fronts of the steps and then once we get the new rubber stair treads that part will be done.

Al needs to undercut a door jam in the bathroom and I have a small little piece that will fit in and I think I will call the bathroom good.  I have about decided not to do the upper level of the BR….but that can always change.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Rain Today

Yesterday we worked  trying to finish up all the trim work on the flooring project in the motor home.
Al worked on covering the gap between the slide and the beginning of the Allure.  He had to shim up the part of the front where the table sits because it came in a little bit from where the benches are.  He mitered the edges and it looks nice.  He had to use a baseboard and a piece of quarter round so that it is covered properly.

We had to trade off working on our  individual projects because I was working on extending the flooring under the captains chair, and we kept getting in each other’s way. We had a little argument when I didn’t like the amount of clearance over the carpet and suggested he take off the trim and “redo” it.  I’m sorry, but I am a worrier and I worried that too much rubbing on the carpet that is still under the slide, may cause it to come up.  Better safe than sorry.  Then another time, he was trying to layout the trim to measure for his miter cuts, and I kept bumping his trim pieces.  I was sent “to my room”, which was okay because my back was killing me and I needed a rest! We survived the day without killing each other, but it was iffy for a while!

I initially planned on ripping out ALL of the carpet and even replacing the flooring under the captains chairs.  I had no problem under the passenger chair.  It turned out real nice and looks even better now that I finished dying the carpet on the doghouse and the front wall.
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On the drivers side, once we started ripping up carpet, we found some special heat shield insulation that was pretty thick.  I figured it was there for a reason and was hesitant to remove it.  I had decided to just leave it there and didn’t think it would show much after the chair was put back.  BUT….it kept bothering me.  I finally decided to just put the Allure down right on top of this stuff.  It’s only a small area.  My concern was the sponginess would cause the Allure to separate when you step on it.  I finally decided, so be it and it wouldn’t show much anyway.  Separated Allure would be better than that nasty carpet!  When I ripped it up it was amazing how much sand was in that carpet!  That’s the reason I hate carpet. That area was particularly hard to vacuum anyway and could only hand vacuum it while standing on your head.  So out it went (most of it).  I had to remove a few pieces of Allure that I had trimmed up around the chair, and with the help of a hair dryer, it came apart easily.  Of course now, I had to re-cut more pieces and with the pattern in our flooring, it wasn't easy, especially with that darn chair base right in your way.  It had a few well placed bolts on top that felt just lovely on the boobs when I had to lay on top of it while standing on my head on my knees!

I decided NOT to try to do around the gas and brake pedals and fuse boxes. I am NOT a complete glutton for punishment.  I stopped about a foot and a half  back from the very front.  I spray dyed the little remaining piece of carpet and I think I will get a black rubber floor mat type of thing for that spot.  That way I can remove it to clean and it will transition okay.

Here is what I have done, without the rubber floor mat.
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The carpet piece you see around the chair base has to stay.  I think once the chair is there you won’t see it at all.  I spray dyed it and I think I need to put some kind of trim around the carpet to keep it from fraying.  I think I may use brown duct tape??  I don’t know what else to do.  I read someone else’s blog and they turned the carpet over at the ends and just stapled it down.  I can’t do that to mine though because I cut it too small and it would have to be stapled to a hard metal base.  I think the duct tape will work and I don’t think it will show much anyway.

Anyway, I have convinced myself that I will be satisfied leaving it like I have it, but as I have done before, it may start to bother me and I could still put another row of tile in.  It shouldn’t be hard but with that darn chair base there, it is physically challenging! I think I will probably leave it like it is though.  I’m pretty happy with it.
Al found some nice pewter color metal trim strips.  He replaced the ugly gold trim piece in the bathroom that is right under the door.  It looks so nice.  It matches perfectly with the “grout”.   I may just leave the upper level of the bathroom as it is and maybe even put a rug.  I think I can live with that, however I can always change my mind.

Our next project will be the steps.  I  ordered some black stair treads from Brad and Hall RV Furniture .  These are the rubber covers for the inside steps.  We have a light brown currently that has gotten stained over the years.

I found them at several places (once I found out what they were called) and Brad and Hall was half the price of the other places.  Of course I didn’t see a picture of what they had and just went by what they said, so hopefully they will look nice.  They should be shipped today.  I think the black will look nice with the new flooring as it does have some black in it. I called them and spoke to “Brad”, I don’t know if he is THE Brad, but he was very nice.  They are based out of Elkhart Indiana, so I guess they can use the business!  He said they have played host to Obama several times and actually saw Air Force One fly over his house!  How cool would that be.  That’s an amazing plane.  If you ever get a chance to watch the documentary on it, watch it!  It’s very interesting.

Anyway, next main project will be the stairs.  I have to put Allure to the sides and back of the stairs, where it was previously carpeted.  It’s going to be tricky because: 1.  There is a little wire thing that has something to do with the stair retractors.  I can’t tile right over that, so we will have to put some kind of wood trim in there to attach the Allure to and still leave room for the wiring.  I think I will use some kind of insulation piece and Al has some little wood strips I can glue the Allure to. The second issue there is matching up that darn grout!  We bought plenty of Allure with the idea we could return what we didn’t need.  I have multiple small pieces and 4 complete boxes!  At $50 per box, I hate to use one piece of the box and have to keep the rest, however…I would like to have a piece or two as a space in case I need to replace some in the future.  So we need to see what will be needed for the stairwell.  We’ll probably have to get into another box and only be able to return 3 boxes.

Today doesn’t look like a good day to work because it’s thundering and raining pretty hard.  We may go into town for a grits cup and pick up some brown/black duct tape.  I don’t want to put the captains chairs back until all that is done.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

The Recliners Are In!

Well, they will be on Tuesday.  I just got a call from the saleswoman at Haverty’s and she said the recliners will be at the store on Tuesday, ready for pick up.
Perfect timing!  The flooring is mostly down and the chairs will have a place to live!
We had seatbelts underneath the old couch and had thought we would reinstall the seatbelts so that we could use them to strap down the recliners when we’re traveling.  However, I am having second thoughts.  I hate to drill holes in my pretty new flooring and I hate to have the seat belt straps show.  They were hidden by the couch, but they will not be as easily hidden by the chairs.  Now I just need to figure a good way to anchor the chairs when we travel. 

No Flooring Work Today

I went up to the RV this morning with the intention of making a template for the upper level of the bathroom floor. Even making a paper template is difficult in this small area.  First, it is very small, second, the toilet is there and has a water valve and curves in the back that I can’t even see, so everything is done by touch alone.  I decided the toilet will have to be removed and I am not about to tackle that job without Al being here…to clean up my mess :) and to remove and replace the toilet.  Also it seems once you move the toilet you need to replace the seal, just like on a home toilet.  Since we don’t have the seal and the RV is winterized, I think it is a job best left for Mr. Al.
I decided to just piddle around with my blogs today and I have found a few sites that I think are helpful in writing a blog.  This first one was a tip from my friend Margie, who writes this interesting blog.
Our Life and RV Adventures
She had written a post about Windows Live Writer being easier than Blogger to write your blog.  Also, if you have no internet you can write your post there, then upload it to blogger  whenever you get internet again.  I have been using it most of the time.  I have had some issues lately with my links not working though…I guess I need to check that before I continue!
Okay, those seemed to work, so I will continue.
Windows Live Writer also  makes it easier to post your photos and resize them.
This is another site I have been exploring,  which  helps you to 
Spice Up Your Blog
They give you step by step instructions on how to add gadgets  and they even show pictures.  I think it is much more helpful than Bloggers help menu’s.  I never can figure out what Blogger is trying to tell me. I haven’t really done much with Spice up Your Blog yet,, but have recently been looking at a few of their gadgets.  They seem pretty easy.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Allure Flooring Continued..

There is a lot of little piddly things that have to be done to complete the flooring installation.  The main part is done but I still need to do the bathroom, the stairwell, and under the dinette.

Today, I decided to do something easy, so I worked on the area under the dinette.  It’s not hard, but I had to match up the “tiles.”  I got it done but was unable to use any of the scrap pieces I have left. 

This is a before picture

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And this is the after.  Note the perfect match on the tile?

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The carpeted area you see on the front will be covered up with trim.

The next area I worked on was the bathroom. It’s a small area where just the toilet it.  It’s 2 levels and the old white vinyl is on the side.  So in order to do it right, I need to install Allure on both levels and the side! 

Here is a before picture:

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The next picture shows the bottom level done, except for the trim. It looks so much better!

P1010013 We will need to remove the toilet in order to do the upper section. I haven’t a clue how to remove a RV toilet.  I have been doing some research on that and I guess I will wait until Al gets back in town.  That sounds like his kind of job.

As far as the side part that also has the old vinyl, I don’t know what to do about it. I may just try the easy way and paint or wallpaper it?? 

The next project will be the steps, but I probably will need to order some new step treads to replace the old ones that are stained.  More expenses!

Tomorrow I may work some more on the dye job on the doghouse and front carpeted areas.  We have just sat the captains chairs on their bases and they are not bolted down, so I can easily move them out of the way.

We’re getting there!  Our new recliners should be in around mid March.  If we get this done and get some nice weather, we may just have to plan a short camping trip.  The only problem is the coach is winterized and I hate to de-winterize it too early.  Also we are out of propane.  We used a lot of propane keeping the coach warm while we were installing the flooring.  Another expense!

Monday, February 15, 2010

Craig’s List and E-Bay

Along with installing the new flooring in the motor home, we have been putting a few things out for sale.  I just sold some hand carved nesting tables that Al’s Mom had bought in Taiwan some 40 years ago.  They were a larger item,  so I listed them on Craig’s List.  We also made a sale on E-Bay  of some hand carved Meerschaum Pipes that Al’s Dad got from Turkey or somewhere. Oh, and I think we sold a set of tires Al took off his truck when they started making noise. The tire guy said it was something to do with the tires, so we bought new ones to be on the safe side.  The new tires don’t make that noise, so I guess he was right.  We explained the issue we had with the tire, but some people just want tires…  Wish we hadn’t let the tire dealer keep the old motor home tires!  They were out of date but had excellent tread. We just replaced them to be on the safe side.
I guess I’ll work on getting some prices for the crystal, china and silver.  E-bay is good for getting an idea on how to price things.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Allure Flooring Step by Step Installation

We decided to remove the carpet from our motor home and install the Allure TrafficMaster flooring from Home Depot.
P1010017 Removing carpeting and installing new flooring in any type of Recreational Vehicle, would be a difficult job, but one with slide-out rooms just adds to the issues you have to deal with.


Allure flooring is a heavy duty vinyl flooring that is installed as a floating floor,  similar to laminate.  It comes in either a wood look, or a tile look.  The wood look planks are 6 inches by 36 inches.  The tile look is 12 inches by 36 inches. 
It’s made for Home Depot and to my knowledge cannot be purchased elsewhere.  However, I did see something very similar at   “Flooring America.”   They were priced about the same. 

We paid around $50 per box for the tile look, which covers 24 square feet.  The wood look planks are around $42 per box (24 square feet).  We  decided on the tile look because we thought it would give a nice contrast between the floor and our oak cabinets.  The wood look would have been much easier to install and with less waste because there would have been no pattern match.  If you’re undecided between which to go with and are 50/50, keep in mind the wood look would be much easier to install.

We are happy with the color (Sierra)  we chose and think it is very rich looking. We were concerned the dark color would make the motor home look too dark, but it doesn’t.

We thought it would be lighter in weight than the old carpet and padding, but the opposite is true.  Allure is  very heavy!  No weight savings here!
On the photo below, you can see the gray strips, which are the sticky tabs.  There are 2 corresponding sticky sides on the bottom of the each piece that hold the two pieces together. The directions suggest the flooring be installed in temperatures from 65 to 85 degrees,  to allow the glue to stick properly, but they also  say that if it’s not that warm, you can use a hair blower to warm up the glue strips.
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We started in the rear of the coach, removing carpet around the bed.
We were concerned about how to remove the carpet under the both the bedroom and the living room slide. The bedroom turned out to be easy.  The bed lifts up with storage underneath.  It turns out that underneath that storage area is a removable panel on top of the slide mechanism. Once that was removed it made it easy to remove the carpet underneath the bed, and see the clearance needed for the bedroom slide.
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P1010106 We got the carpet up and found a nice level wood floor, but signs of a former water leak by the slide. We remembered one night during a heavy rain and water was running in through the slide. We think the seal on the top of the slide wasn’t turned properly, and let water run down the sides.  Anyway, I put some Kilz down in those areas.

After we removed all the carpeting, and staples that held down the edge of the old vinyl, we installed the new flooring.  This is a picture of the bedroom.
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From the bedroom you go to the hall/shower/vanity area that originally  had vinyl.  We decided to leave the old vinyl there and put the Allure right over it.  We put felt roofing paper on the bedroom wood floor to bring it up to the same level as the vinyl.  We had a roll of 15 pound paper already on hand.  I had to use 3 sheets of it to make it the same level.  It was not a problem to put down. 
These next photo’s shows the kitchen back towards the bedroom. We’re working our way from back to front.
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We removed the carpeting from the sides and back of the steps.  There is a light light brown rubbery stair tread on the actual steps.   It has been stained and we would like to replace it.  I found some places online that have replacement stair tread, but we may just try to clean the stains. It's going to cost about $80 to replace the rubber on the two steps.  I really hate to spend that for two little steps...but I know I won't be happy unless I do.  Now, it's just a matter of deciding what style, color and where to order.  Wish I could find it somewhere that I could look at it and not have to order online and pay shipping.  Any ideas?

We weren’t sure how to remove the sleeper sofa through the narrow front door, but Al figured out how to remove the arms and back, and we were easily able to get it out of the RV.   We found 2 new recliners to replace the couch.    We found special smaller recliners that are only 32 inches wide, but are very comfortable.  They are on order and should arrive mid March. Al assures me they will fit in the door. I sure hope so!

This is  what the couch after we took it apart.  We had no clue that it came apart like it did.

P1010116 (2) Once the couch was gone, it gave us more room to work.  The photo below is where the couch was which is across from the living room slide.  The carpet didn’t look nearly as bad as the picture makes it look.  In fact this carpet was like brand new…really!
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Al continued removing carpet and staples and I continued laying the flooring, working my way up from the back.    I have been laying the flooring  sideways (east/west), verses lengthways.  It seemed the best way to avoid more difficult cuts.    It’s not hard, but you have to plan each piece to match grout lines, and there are a lot of cuts.  All you need to cut this stuff is a razor knife and a straight edge.  You just score it and snap it apart.  If you need to make an unusual cut you can use snippers to just break small pieces away…after you score it, or you can even cut it with heavy duty scissors if you need to cut around a curve. 
Our intention is to do the entire coach, and not stop where the captains chairs are like most people are doing. 
We had a little trouble figuring out how to remove the captains chairs.  It turns out there were 4 bolts holding them to the base. You also have to remove the wire that allows the chair to swivel, and the bolt for the seatbelt. 


I have read on different forums about people who did the whole project in  a few days.  That’s not going to happen here.  It’s very slow work and only one person can lay the flooring at a time.  There is simply not enough room for 2 people to lay flooring at the same time.  There are very few easy pieces, and most have to be cut.  With the tile pattern  we chose, you have to match up the grout joints with each cut piece.  The wood look would have made it easier with less waste, and we would have

been done much,  much quicker.  On top of slow going, if you’re over 50 it will darn near kill you!  Getting up and down constantly and working on your knees, is real tiring.  Of course we spent approximately 50 % of our time searching for: pencil, knife, snippers or straight edge!  No matter how careful I was laying these items down, they always seemed to move right before I needed them!


Here is a list of the things you will need to install Allure Flooring.
1. box cutter knife
2. straight edge
3. needle nose pliers to pull staples, or a grinder to grind them down
4. hammer to hammer staples.
5. knee pads
6. aspirin
7. heating pad
8. cold pack
9. vodka and tonic and or beer


We have done a lot of research on different forums on the best way to handle the issues on the living room slide.  Our slide is a long slide, about 12 feet in length.  Part of it is the kitchen area which is over the old vinyl flooring.  That part of it rides about 1 inch on top of the vinyl.  The other half of it is where the dinette set is.  It’s carpeted and sits on a carpeted base that is about 2 inches high, and rides right on the carpet. There is very little room under this part of the slide where the carpet from the platform meets the carpet on the floor. 
These are pictures  of the front of the portion of the slide where the dinette was on.  You can see it sits up a few inches.
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Some people have managed to remove the carpet from under the slide.  They say to cut a few inches in front of the slide and just pull on the carpet until it comes out.
With ours, we weren’t sure it would be possible to get it out this way.  Our slide sits heavily on the carpet and it appears that it is a solid piece of smooth metal that rests on the slide.  We were concerned that if we didn’t get the carpet from under the slide it would bunch up when we pulled the slide in and out. 
A few other people said they just stapled the carpet in front of the slide right next to the slide, and then cut it off close to the slide.  Then they put some trim on the front of the slide to cover that, or a “t-molding” like is used for laminate flooring. The trick is to keep the carpet in place under the slide so that it doesn’t bunch up.  We decided  we will staple the carpet down right in front of the slide, cut it and them put some glue on the edge to keep it from raveling.  We will butt the flooring up close to this edge then cover it with trim.  Hopefully this will work.  We didn’t want to mess up the slide mechanism.  We think we can put some trim on the edge of the platform the slide is on and cover up the gap between the slide and the Allure.  It’s a work in progress, and you have to just work things out as you go.
The following are pictures  of the slide where it will meet with the Allure.  You can see it is a raised slide. The narrow strip of carpet on the side was an issue as well. We cut it off, and will have to use some trim to cover the gap. We couldn’t get the carpet up from under the slide.

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P1010041 Here it is after we cut the carpet in front of the slide.  We will remove the carpet on top of the slide where the table is and tile it as well.  The carpet under the drawers will stay.
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I am doing the tile installation, and Al is doing the carpet removal and trim work.  I have more patience to match up the strips and Al is better with the other part.   With the tile look,  no piece just lays down without a plan and some cuts.  It’s slow going, but we are getting there, slowly but surely. 
This is the outside of our motor home.  The slide comes out along with the storage bays.  It is difficult to get under the 12 foot slide to try to pull out carpet from the outside (as some people have done)
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We have a heat vent on the floor that previously came out the side of the sofa from the floor.
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We will attach the vent to the floor and leave larger holes for the screws into the Allure, so that the Allure will be able to expand and contract , as the floor floats and will need room to move.  Or maybe we won’t screw it back into the floor at all?  Still deciding! 
The seat belt bolts will have to be handled the same way.  We are only going to put them back so that we can use the seatbelts to anchor the recliners when we travel.  At least that is the plan right now.

The next photo’s are what the flooring looks like next to the slide.  The slide seems to go over the flooring fine, no scratches so far!
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The gap where the carpet shows will be covered up with some kind of wood trim. That is another work in progress that we’re still trying to decide on.
This is the finished area by the passengers chair.  We have  added some brown flexible rubber strips along the wall and some black flexible rubber strips around the doghouse.  It covers the gaps where the vinyl met the wall or doghouse.
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The area around the doghouse is turning out to be a little more complicated than just removing the captains chairs.  Our intention was to remove all carpet possible.  We knew we would not be able to put Allure down on the doghouse and have been looking for other options.  One poster on the RV-Net Forum said he took rit dye and stained the doghouse.  We thought that might be a good idea, so I bought some dark brown dye, put it in a pistil grip sprayer and sprayed it on.  I rubbed it in and so far it looks much better.  The old carpet was kind of a khaki color and had faded from the sun.  The next picture is what is looks like partially done.  Not too bad huh?
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It’s a little uneven yet, but I think another coat will fix that.  Of course now that means I also have to spray the area in front of the seats on the wall! 
One issue we found in this area was not discovered until we had already removed the carpet from the passengers side.  We started removing it from the drivers side and found under the carpet was a thick padding with silver aluminum foil type of paper on each side.  We assumed it was to keep some engine heat out of the coach.  We (I) were  afraid to remove it…after all, if Fleetwood put it down, it was there for a reason.  Right?   Anyway we cut around the area and decided the captains chair flooring would have to look different than the passengers side flooring.  We’re not for sure what we will do yet though.  We figure once the chairs are there you’ll hardly see it anyway.  It turns out under the chairs is a pedestal that doesn’t sit level with the floor and is carpeted.  That carpet needs to stay there because there are big bolts and it would be impossible to tile over.  The chairs cover that little rectangular area anyway.  We also thought the area by the gas and brake pedal would be tricky to lay vinyl, so carpet might be better, and since the heat shield is there, we may just leave it. We thought we could put a black rubber mat down?  Now I see why most people don’t tackle the doghouse area!  Still a work in progress.  That is one thing we found out about this project.  If you try to figure everything out before you start, you won’t get started.  Just get a plan, the best you can, and figure the rest out as you go.  You don’t really know what you will find until you start ripping things out!  One thing, we have learned about how our motor home is built, and we have been quite pleased with the quality. But we have also found a few areas where we had some leaks we never knew about.
Here is a picture of the bedroom area with a piece of quarter round.  I don’t think Al had it tacked down yet though. You have to remember to let the floor float and not nail the trim to the floor.
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This is under the kitchen part of the slide. 
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This is the rubber stripping  we are using for trim in some areas.  There are a few areas that would be impossible for quarter round or baseboard. This will be used in those places. Some areas have too much curve, so this is perfect…easy too!
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This is what is looks like installed.
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The next photo is what the steps look like.  We pulled the carpet from the sides and back and are left with a rusty metal and some rubber tread mats that are stained.  This is another part of the install where we are still trying to decide how to handle.  One thing at a time!
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This is another example of something that looks really horrible now , but with the carpet on it, it didn’t look bad at all.
Here is a picture of the living area with the tile down.  Excuse the mess!
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One other area we haven’t discussed much is the bathroom where the toilet is.  The toilet sits on a raised panel that has the old white vinyl on it. The white vinyl is also on the lower lever. It’s a tiny bathroom, but in order to do it right, we may have to life the toilet.  That’s another area we will worry about it when the time comes!
This is as much as we have done so far.  It’s taken us a good while and we both have sore knees and pretty much are sore all over.  I guess it shows how out of shape we are. 
I will post more pictures as we wrap up the rest of the project.  I know a lot of people are wanting to remove the carpet in their motor home and this is our experience. 
We won’t be getting much done this week because Al is out of town and I also need a break to let my knees heal!  If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.  I know it’s a daunting project, but I think it’s one of those things you just have to figure out as you go.  Each motor home is different and there are different issues to address.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Allure Flooring Installation on Hold

It's raining pretty hard and we found a leak in the seal around the living room slide.  We brought the slide in....and it went right over the Allure flooring with no apparent problems.

I will not be able to work on the project any while it is raining and can't even take any pictures that may be of help to anyone else until I can get the slide back out.

So today looks like a R & R day....except of course for the housework that I have been neglecting while we were working on the RV.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Took the Day off

 

Installing the new Allure flooring in the motor home has really worn me out. We need a few days off, but really are anxious to finish.

The plan today was for Al to finish up removing the carpet from under the captains chairs, and I would work on the small piece on top of the slide where the dinette is. Then we would finish the last few straight rows before we got to the area under the captains chairs.

We went up to the RV this morning with good intentions, but shortly decided to go to plan "B", which did NOT include laying any flooring! I was just too exhausted and we needed a few more things for the project anyway, so we decided to make a trip into Tallahassee to get some more roofing paper. We used it to level the floor where the old vinyl ended.

We also wanted to check out Home Depot for some ideas for trim. There are a lot of areas that require something different than normal baseboard or quarter round. We didn't know exactly what we needed, but once we looked around Home Depot we found some nice dark brown rubbery trim that will go around the curve in the shower. We found some larger curved rubber strips that may help trim out the doghouse. We also found a pewter color metal strip that may work as trim on the steps.

We're still trying to decide how to handle the area in front of the slide between the carpet and the allure. We have a few ideas.

Anyway, by the time we ran our errands and got home it was too late to do much. Tomorrow Al has to make a trip back to Tampa, so I might take the opportunity to recuperate and clean the house!

I'll try to post some more pictures of the project tomorrow.


Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Working on the motor home

We spent the day working on the flooring in the motorhome again.

I think I'm getting tired because I laid down just 3 rows of flooring and was wiped out. My neck hurt, I had a headache and most of my muscles were sore! I could sure use a vacation. It's also getting harder to figure out where to cut the strips so they align up!

Al's going back to Tampa next week to work his pest control business. He's looking forward to the rest :)

We have all the flooring laid up to about 3 feet behind the captains chairs. We finally figures out how to remove them today. We felt real good about that. With them gone, we will be able to do the flooring around them a lot more easily. We haven't figured out exactly what to do about the "doghouse) The carpet is glued onto it, and it's not flat enough to be able to put the Allure strips on it. I have read where someone used rit dye and just dyed the color. I thought that might be an option until we can figure something else out. A body shop may be able to come up with something. I'm not too worried about it, we can do it anytime.

We're haven't exactly decided how to handle some of the trim, like on the steps and in front of the slide, but once we get the rest of the floor laid, we'll work on those areas one step at a time. We'll figure it out.

Margie, I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow. The place is such a mess, you wouldn't hardly even see the floor!

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

RV remodel continues

We have the new flooring installed in the bedroom, bath area, hall and kitchen!
Today we have to finally make the decision on how to handle the living room slide.  We have carpet under half of the slide, and the old vinyl flooring on the other half.  The slide does not sit on the vinyl part at all, but sits quite heavily on the carpeted area.  We don’t think we can remove the carpet from under the slide and if we cut it, it will bunch up when the slide goes in and out.  We have about decided to cut it right up to the slide, then staple it down there and put some glue on the edges to keep it from raveling.  That way, the slide can still slide on the carpet until it gets to the new flooring area.  We will have to see if we will need to put something down on the new flooring when bring the slide in and out, to prevent any rubbing on it. We won’t know that until we get it.
We went to Lowes yesterday and got some trim pieces. They are light weight and actually appear to be made out of some kind of styrofoam.  They look just like real wood, but are light weight.  In a RV, you need to save weight any way you can!  I was completely exhausted yesterday and all my muscles were sore!  It was partly due to the fact that I got up at 4am to try to see the shuttle launch, and partly because this is hard work and it’s kicking my butt!  So yesterday was not real productive, but I did manage to finish the last 2 rows in the kitchen.
Today, it’s raining and then we’re supposed to have a cold front.  I guess we’ll be able to work okay since what we’ll be doing today doesn’t involve going in and out much.

Saturday, February 06, 2010

Allure Flooring Install

We finally decided on the flooring color we wanted.  We went with the tile look Sierra color.  The hard vinyl planks look like stone.  They stick to each other and the floor floats.  We have been working  the past few days and have made some progress.
We spent a few hours working on the motor home flooring replacement.  It’s very slow going because there are so many cuts and obstacles.  Al is removing carpet and staples, and I am laying the flooring.  I finished laying it in the bedroom and he’s working on the living room.
The problem is at our ages, we seem to get tired and sore very fast.  We’re in no hurry, so we’ll take our time, do it right and not kill ourselves.
Margie, here is a picture of the bedroom. How do you like the color?
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