Lexington Flooring Change?

[oldsmasma]

Has anyone undertaken a change to their flooring? We have carpet in the living room and bedroom areas and vinyl in the kitchen and bath. The vinyl has split over the winter in front of the stove. I would love to get rid of the carpet in at least the area between the front slides as well. Any suggestions?


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[00buck]

I removed the heavy carpet in the front section of my 235. It was stapled to the floor. I had to cut around the dinette with a razor knife as the carpet was laid under the seat boxes. I also cut a line where the living room transitions to the cab. After cutting just pull it up. You have to check the floor for staples. I replaced the carpet with a tightly woven thin berber and stapled it around the edges with a carpet bar at both ends.

I didn't replace the vinyl flooring because the spouse liked it for reasons that remain a mystery to me. If I had your problem, I'd consider a few options: sheet vinyl, pergo, or vinyl strips.

Personally, I'd use sheet vinyl. because it would probably look the best. It would be the most difficult because you would have to wrestle it around all the corners. You can mitigate the problem by cutting the general dimensions of the floor before laying the vinyl. It's still going to be a PITA. Then trim the edges. I'd probably staple the edges and cover the staples with molding. You might also be able to let it float and fix it in place with molding.

The strip vinyl is another option. It's probably the easiest - no wrestling with an unwieldy piece of sheet vinyl. Cut the individual pieces with a razor knife and lay them in place. There's a glue strip that adheres them to each other. You may need molding, but if you trim it well you could escape without it.

Lots of people have replaced the floor with Pergo or a similar product. You'll need a saw with a good fine tooth blade. You can buy a special table saw that's designed for laminate flooring. (Mine cost about $160.) This is probably the most expensive route. The companies beat you to death on the molding price - and you'll definitely need it. (This stuff looks nice, but I would not use it because of all the sand and dirt that gets dragged into an RV. It also does not like water.)

Removing the floor would be relatively simple. The vinyl in my 235 does not appear to have been glued. Cut the edges along the walls and cabinets with a razor knife. Remove the toilet and step well then just lift up the vinyl and take it out.

Overall, this is a pretty easy job that requires a minimum level of skill. The hardest part is the beating your knees will take. Good luck.

[RickLSmith53]

I replaced most of the flooring in my 255GTS with ceramic tile. It especially looks great in the bathroom where all the aluminum corner bead was used. This would not be a project for everyone, but if you are handy, it is worth it! But my best project yet was my recent kitchen remodel. It looks like a million!

[grumpy0374]

I replaced the flooring and carpet in our 283ts in 2014, using the Allure Vinyl Plank Flooring.
Some have posted that the Allure "buckles" when it gets hot or "shrinks" and leaves gaps when it gets cold, but I haven't had any problems at all with ours.
Looks good and easy to keep clean, especially with two dogs tracking stuff in.
Did the entire floor, and bathroom, using the floating floor install, with quarter round moulding at all walls.
Unfortunately, the Lexi is up for the winter and I can't pull slides out to take pics. Maybe early next month if no snow is forecast, I'll try to take some.
Grumpy

[LEXINGTON2004]

Hi, I also have a Lexington with the need to replace the carpet and would love to do it all in the allure. My question is, how did it go with the slideout and how did you make the transition?

Thanks,
Lexington2004

[00buck]

Originally Posted by grumpy0374

I replaced the flooring and carpet in our 283ts in 2014, using the Allure Vinyl Plank Flooring.
Some have posted that the Allure "buckles" when it gets hot or "shrinks" and leaves gaps when it gets cold, but I haven't had any problems at all with ours.
Looks good and easy to keep clean, especially with two dogs tracking stuff in.
Did the entire floor, and bathroom, using the floating floor install, with quarter round moulding at all walls.
Unfortunately, the Lexi is up for the winter and I can't pull slides out to take pics. Maybe early next month if no snow is forecast, I'll try to take some.
Grumpy

+1 This what I was thinking of when I wrote about strip vinyl. It is the easiest solution. I've used it in a basement bathroom and hallway. I agree that it looks good and wears well. I put it down 8-9 years ago & it's still in great shape.

[grumpy0374]

Originally Posted by LEXINGTON2004

Hi, I also have a Lexington with the need to replace the carpet and would love to do it all in the allure. My question is, how did it go with the slideout and how did you make the transition?

Thanks,
Lexington2004

Don't know what model your is, but on ours, I removed all the carpet and removed any staples left in the wood floor. The carpet does go under the slides, but I was able to remove all the carpet from under them.
My slides had a piece of carpeted trim attached to the edge of the slides, which when removed had enough space for me to get my hands under and work, removing the carpet and placing the Allure.
Would need to see what model yours is, but just check the front of the slide and see if there is some kind of trim, maybe covered with a piece of carpet. It's removable and should give you access to the floor under the slide.
Grumpy

[LEXINGTON2004]

Thanks for the quick response grumpy0374...mine is a 2004 GTS 27. So did your couch cover the enter slide area or was there carpet infront? Or did you just use some type of trim piece to finish off the slide edges?

Thanks again

[oldsmasma]

Thanks for the info. Grumpy I did some searching and found the pictures you posted back when you first installed the flooring. It looks wonderful and is just what I had in mind. Glad to hear that it has held up so well. Now first to convince DH that the carpet needs to come out too along with our damaged vinyl and secondly for it to warm up enough to tackle the job. Thanks all.


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[grumpy0374]

Thanks olds. What heading did I post the photos under. I knew I had but didn't remember when or where. Unfortunately I had deleated them from my computer files.
Grumpy

[grumpy0374]

Originally Posted by LEXINGTON2004

Thanks for the quick response grumpy0374...mine is a 2004 GTS 27. So did your couch cover the enter slide area or was there carpet infront? Or did you just use some type of trim piece to finish off the slide edges?

Thanks again

I looked up a floorplan of the 270, and it looks like you only have one slide to worry about. The trim piece I'm referring to is a piece that is attached to the front lip of the slide where your couch is. Held on by 2 or 3 screws, but they'll be hard to find as the heads are buried in the carpet. If you can find them, remove them and the trim comes right off, giving you access to underneath the slide.
Grumpy

[oldsmasma]

Grumpy it was updating vs personal preference on 2015 06 01Thanks again. It looks great.

[grumpy0374]

Thanks. Looked it up...was posted under the Georgetown forums in reply to a thread started on 5/31/2015.
If you decide to go with any of the vinyl plank type, wait till weather warms up...you do not want to install it in cold weather. Also, get a good, heavy duty box cutter type razor knife, like an original Stanley, and lay in a good supply of blades. A new blade edge will only give you 6-8 cuts before it needs to be replaced. You basically cut into the vinyl several times to score it, deeply, and it will snap apart along the score. I used a piece of 2" x 12" x 3 foot long piece of lumber as a base to cut it.
A good, metal straight edge, like a two foot metal level will be needed.
For our 283ts I needed 4 full boxes of the Allure. Oonly area I didn't cover was the raised carpeted area around the bed. Wife wanted carpet there.
I used the Allure with the glue type edge attachment. Be aware that once you lay one glue edge over the other, thats it...if you try to remove it you'll screw up both pieces...so, measure 3 times before cutting, and place them carefully.
It sounds harder than it really is. If you take your time it will turn out great.
Grumpy

[RickLSmith53]

I am including the link to my tile floor project, plus the tile surrounding my bath vanity. I left my carpet in the bedroom and under the couch, it was still in great shape. I just used a carpet strip as a transition. My main reason for tile was the cheesy aluminum strips in all the corners of the floor in the bathroom. With tile as you can seen in my pics, I was able to make it look like a high dollar Class A! Not to mention it is now basically waterproof. I understand tile work is not for everyone, but I too am just a home handyman like many of you. For sure you will need access to a tile saw. Either rent one or get a cheap one from Harbor Freight. My total cost to tile the floor was about $150.
Rick Smith

Lexie 255GTS Ceramic Floor Project - My Photo Gallery

[AWF1945]

On

[oldsmasma]

After much discussion we decided to use sheet vinyl. I have posted pictures in an album of the process and the result. We are very pleased and can't wait for Canadian spring!

[oldsmasma]

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