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Topic: New Flooring for Older LD (Long) (Read 13 times) previous topic - next topic
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New Flooring for Older LD (Long)
Yahoo Message Number: 47924
For those with older LDs, I have posted some "before and after" photos in an album called "New Flooring for Older LD" which shows some improvements recently made in my 1986 Front Lounge.
 The standard floor layout in my 1986 model was wall to wall carpeting throughout.  I did not like the idea of carpeting in the bath and kitchen and wanted to get hard flooring in these areas and replace the dirty brown carpeting in the front lounge and van portions with a lighter and brighter carpet that still had some ability to hide dirt.
 At a local flooring store, I located a fine quality 9' x 12'"Princess Cut" carpet remnant in a color called "Casa Blanca", which was very light but had brown sprinkles in it---enough I thought to prevent any piece of dirt from standing out.  The cost was $226.

For the kitchen and bath, I chose a vinyl Nafco product called Permastone that came in 16" x 16" tiles.  They are textured and I believe the name of my tile was Flagstone. Although my idea was to go much lighter, I settled on a darker tile that complimented the carpet and still retained some dirt hiding ability.  I ended up ordering the product on the internet, paying a lot for shipping but saving on the overall cost if purchased at my local flooring store.  The tiles and glue were shipped directly to the installer.  Two boxes were just enough to finish the job (lot of waste involved).

I have no experience in carpet or floor installation and it was no easy feat to find an installer.  The carpet and hard flooring installers recommended by the store didn't want to work on an RV.
However, I eventually found a guy who specialized in Auto and Marine Upholstery who agreed to do the job.  I saw the work he was doing on classic cars and was very impressed with his workmanship, ingenuity and his neat and organized workspace.  I placed no time limit on the work as I was not going to use the LD for a few months.

To save on expense, I agreed to remove almost all the old carpeting and padding myself.  The hardest part of the job was removing the endless staples that had been used to affix the carpet.  During carpet removal, two problems came up.  First, the LD had at least 12 bolt heads used to affix the coach to the chassis.  These rounded bolt heads were all in the kitchen and bath, and stuck up high enough to prevent any tiles from laying flat.  The second issue was the exposed plastic water piping that ran along the walls in the bath.
The factory simply ran the carpeting up the wall to hide these exposed water pipes.  This also would have prevented tiles from lying flat.
 My installer suggested the use of a new subfloor with cutouts around the exposed bolt heads.  With regard to the water pipes, a wooden, removable enclosure covered in vinyl would be placed over the pipes.

The new subfloor was made of heavy particle board and I had some concerns about the added weight.  I had just replaced the original toilet and decided to go with plastic instead of china simply because of weight considerations.  The subfloor had to be installed in sections because of the crazy dimensions and limited space in the bath and kitchen.
 The installer had a difficult time installing the plush, thick carpet over the engine shroud and I'm not looking forward to having to remove and replace that shroud because the carpet is very thick.
 The installer also replaced the carpet strip just below the overhead cab by covering it with a vinyl similar to what was used in the bath to hid the pipes.  The vinyl was actually installed over the carpet strip and neatly stitched in the center.

I still have champagne plans for further renovation of my LD but I have self imposed, beer budget, limitations.  Thus, new upholstery, mirrors in the kitchen (goal = brighten, enlarge)and walls will await another day.

My thanks to all in this group who gave me the ideas and motivation to build a better mousetrap.

Jim Sacramento, CA 1986 FL
Re: New Flooring for Older LD (Long)
Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 47926
Quote
For those with older LDs, I have posted some "before and after" photos in an album called "New Flooring for Older LD" which shows some improvements recently made in my 1986 Front Lounge.
Jim,

I don't have an older LD but I wanted to look at your project.  It looks fabulous!  I'd never guess it to ba an "older LD".  Good choice of colors , patterns and materials.

Tom Riley
'04 RB
 
Re: New Flooring for Older LD (Long)
Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 47929
Quote
For those with older LDs, I have posted some "before and after" photos in an album called "New Flooring for Older LD" which shows some improvements recently made in my 1986 Front Lounge.
Hey, Jim:

Congratulations! Very good taste, practical, well done! You could please, post info about the materials and installer in the group's services database... It can be useful for many...

Eudoro "needing (myself) some updating, too" Lemos, Jr.