Laminate or Vinyl?

[AWebb3701]

Current floor is an exposed steel floor, painted with Jasco Prep and Prime to remove/prevent rust. Current plan is to throw plywood on top, followed by fancier flooring.

Hardwood is too expensive
Stone is too heavy.
Carpet is too high maintenance and I don't like how it feels on my bare feet.
Linoleum feels and looks tacky to me.

That leaves us with Luxury & Traditional Laminates and Vinyls, or some other creature I'm unfamiliar with.

What do you suggest for flooring? I'm concerned with ability to take any strain from being in a moving bus, durability, and water resistance. Price is always a bonus.

 

[raulaleman84]

I did my parents entire house using vinyl from Lowes. Tiles come in rectangular shapes that interlock to one another. It is suppose to be a "floating floor". Everything resistant.
So far so good. No experience in bus floor though.
I would personally stay away from the " peal and stick"

https://m.lowes.com/pd/STAINMASTER-...king-Luxury-Residential-Vinyl-Plank/999957695


Good luck


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[Blue-SKO]

I would like to know as well.

 

[AWebb3701]

I did my parents entire house using vinyl from Lowes. Tiles come in rectangular shapes that interlock to one another. It is suppose to be a "floating floor". Everything resistant.
So far so good. No experience in bus floor though.
I would personally stay away from the " peal and stick"

https://m.lowes.com/pd/STAINMASTER-...king-Luxury-Residential-Vinyl-Plank/999957695


Good luck


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No Peel n stick here. The stuff I'm looking at is all pre-attached boards of some kind or another.

 

[jazty]

My opinion? Modern vinyl sheet. You can get so many patterns and the contiguous sheet keeps moisture from working through. In a house's living space with an adjacent mud room you can get away with laminate. In a bus it will become a swollen mess (laminate doesn't do well with moisture). Vinyl sheet is durable and nice lookin' these days. Vinyl tile is also an option, but you may experience lifting with boot traffic (from the moisture seeping through, especially in freezing climates). Also, the fact that you can buy vinyl sheet in a tile print or board print makes it a bit redundant to be laying individual pieces... You'll never get them quite square

 

[AWebb3701]

My opinion? Modern vinyl sheet. You can get so many patterns and the contiguous sheet keeps moisture from working through. In a house's living space with an adjacent mud room you can get away with laminate. In a bus it will become a swollen mess (laminate doesn't do well with moisture). Vinyl sheet is durable and nice lookin' these days. Vinyl tile is also an option, but you may experience lifting with boot traffic. Also, the fact that you can buy vinyl sheet in a tile print or board print makes it a bit redundant to be laying individual pieces... You'll never get them quite square

So is that a vote FOR peel n stick then? That's what I think of when I hear "continuous vinyl sheet"

 

[jazty]

So is that a vote FOR peel n stick then? That's what I think of when I hear "continuous vinyl sheet"

No, that's a vote especially for vinyl sheet.

#1 vinyl sheet
#2 vinyl tile (or plank)
...
#70483 laminate plank

Peel and stick is a form of vinyl tile with an adhesive already applied. You can also get it without an adhesive.

 

[raulaleman84]

I'm with jazty,

Vinyl is the way to go.
I have never seen the vinyl sheet. The planks weren't too difficult to aligned when I did it.

The laminate is made out of the same material as kitchen cabinets, they will swell with moisture.
http://m.watermoldandfire.com/?url=...-water-damage-repair/&dm_redirected=true#2668

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[AWebb3701]

I'm with jazty,

Vinyl is the way to go.
I have never seen the vinyl sheet. The planks weren't too difficult to aligned when I did it.

The laminate is made out of the same material as kitchen cabinets, they will swell with moisture.
Laminate Floor Water Damage Repair | Water Mold & Fire Restoration

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Alright, pending new information from others, I'm going to research Vinyl Sheet.

 

[jazty]

Around here the Armstrong product's are readily available: Armstrong Vinyl Sheet

I also think Menard's carries Armstrong...

 

[jazty]

I'm thinking of going with Filigree from Mannington.. It's available locally and CLASSeeeee

 

[raulaleman84]

Here u go.

https://youtu.be/JvE0boR-ogA

https://youtu.be/fDUD36VPD_U


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[Tango-SKO]

Vinyl beats wood in an RV but I'm going with rubber tiles. Tough as nails, lasts for decades and is waterproof and easy to maintain.

 

[oredigger-SKO]

How are you attaching the vinyl sheeting? Gluing it down?

 

[AWebb3701]

Never even heard of Menards. I live in the Bay area, California. My local stores for this kind of thing are Home Depot and Lowes.

*research intensifies*

 

[prairiescot]

Laminate or vinyl?

In my experience with RV's, I have had to rip carpet outof aTrillium, and I replaced it with Trafficmaster Allure vinyl planks in the Oak color, Then that looked so good my oldest son bought it from Me.
In my next RV, a26 foot fifth wheel, I removed some sh***y peel and stick tiles, which was relatively easy, as they weren't adhering well anyways. I replaced it with Trafficmaster vinyl planks from HD, and it looked so good that I did the bathroom floor, hallway and kitchen areas in the house with the same product in a Hickory color.
It is a floating floor, not glued down, and it has adhesive on all sides of the plank to stick to the next one. The seal is so good that it is highly water resistant. I haven't had any planks come loose in any of the three projects.
Note: Stay away from the click type planks, as they are not sealed as well as the cheaper ones. This stuff has a good resistance to scratching from the dogs claws, and is easy to maintain.
Laminate has a tendency to swell with moisture as it accumulates in the unit, and I have had the edges break up.
The Trillium floor was put down in 2008, the Fifth wheel was done in 2011, and the house has been down for three years.

When you're retired, everyday is Saturday!
Somewhere over the Horizon,
Owen

 

[lucasd-SKO]

Sheet vinyl, the modern equivalent to what used to be called linoleum, seems to work pretty well in this type of environment. I've put it on an RV floor before with good results. The tiles just seem poorly suited for high traffic areas (ie the entire floor of an RV or skoolie). They peel, curl, etc.

 

[DoubleO7]

Look into "no-glue vinyl sheet flooring".
All you need is a smooth sub floor and double side tape here and there.
For a bus you can lay it into the bus in one continuous piece.
No seams, no joints.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwif3uf53IjSAhUIyoMKHc0xDmEQFgh9MAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.armstrong.com%2Fcontent2%2Fresam%2Ffiles%2F23444.pdf&usg=AFQjCNHmFb4rFOwVnNkLzHEvKUyUkFLIaQ&bvm=bv.146786187,d.amc

 

[REDD-SKO]

I used linoleum [barn board pattern] on front half of bus, I think most of the stuff comes in a 12 foot running width. Bought 8 feet and ran it sideways....$200. No seams, glued down, bolted furniture on top. The back half I used laminate flooring, not ideal for moisture..it'll swell. I tested a piece for a couple of weeks in a wheel barrel full of water to see what would happen. I got 900 sq. ft. for free, when it f 's up I'll redo it.

I would have like to do the whole floor in one piece of linoleum...30' x 7.5', but 4.5' x 30' is a lot of waste.

 

[lucasd-SKO]

I would have like to do the whole floor in one piece of linoleum...30' x 7.5', but 4.5' x 30' is a lot of waste.

There is heavy duty linoleum/vinyl flooring sold for trailers. It is only eight and a half feet wide, though the patterns seem pretty limited. The garage floor stuff seems to be commonly available in 9ft wide sections. That would be much less waste, though your choice of patterns seems pretty limited with either option.