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gondolaguy · (This post was last modified: 07-06-2013 10:48 by gondolaguy.)

Thanks to a mouse or two during storage, the decision needs to be made on what to do with the mess they did of my carpet. Seems they decided to use it for nesting material and for a bathroom around the driver seat. As they carpet is 13 years old, it is time to let it go.

My first thought is to remove it so as to salvage the intricate, Wanderlodge pattern as that area has never seen any traffic due to the plastic cover. I will get a carpet guy to edge it as a perfect runner.

Now for the more difficult decision, replacement material. We like the carpet in the bedroom and it is near perfect, but hate it in the frontal compartments. We will likely run the same material from front to rear and it will be a hard surface for easy cleaning and durability. The front runners are laminate (easy install, soft/warm on feet) versus stone (great look, modern, durable, but cold on feet and possibly slippery). There is also the installation time and cost to consider, but more importantly - weight.

Has anyone out there done a modern stone application (like in ll the new Prevosts/Newells)? Do they use a thinner stone veneer or regular ole stone tiles? I'm a real believer in the epoxy grouts, so would likely go that route. Epoxy just will not crack (even if the stone would).

Comments, questions, advice???

Just found this:
http://www.trimstone.info/rv.html

davidbrady · 07-07-2013, 09:51

Hi Corey,

I agonized over the same decision some years ago. I really wanted granite. I searched around and found a place that could supply what they called 'elevator tiles' which is a thin veneer of granite adhered to a honeycomb aluminum substrate. It saves considerable weight - something like 1/3rd the weight of solid granite. I'd like to hear what others have to say about the product, but the more I asked around about it (to the various converters and folks in the flooring business), the more I learned that it doesn't hold up in flooring applications in buses. I wanted a natural product so it had to be wood or stone. Lucky for me/us we have Ernie Ekberg who specializes in wood. I know it's a matter of taste so I can only say that it has worked very well for me, it's warm, soft, earthy, light, and natural. Also, it's very much in style especially the wide planks. All the major P-bus converters are hooked on it and their customers too.

gondolaguy · (This post was last modified: 07-07-2013 10:08 by gondolaguy.)

(07-07-2013 09:51)davidmbrady Wrote: Hi Corey,

I agonized over the same decision some years ago. I really wanted granite. I searched around and found a place that could supply what they called 'elevator tiles' which is a thin veneer of granite adhered to a honeycomb aluminum substrate. It saves considerable weight - something like 1/3rd the weight of solid granite. I'd like to hear what others have to say about the product, but the more I asked around about it (to the various converters and folks in the flooring business), the more I learned that it doesn't hold up in flooring applications in buses. I wanted a natural product so it had to be wood or stone. Lucky for me/us we have Ernie Ekberg who specializes in wood. I know it's a matter of taste so I can only say that it has worked very well for me, it's warm, soft, earthy, light, and natural. Also, it's very much in style especially the wide planks. All the major P-bus converters are hooked on it and their customers too.

David,

Take a look at the link I added to the bottom of my post. Sounds like the same honeycomb stone.

I've got some experience with the high end laminates, both wood and stone look, and I love their durability and soft feel too. What thickness of flooring wood did you use? I'm also intrigued by cork.

davidbrady · (This post was last modified: 07-07-2013 17:16 by davidbrady.)

Corey,

My wife (queen of the interior) and I really like cork. It has a lot of great attributes that align well with motorhome floor use. The characteristics that kept us away were durability and potential for staining. I could only imagine spilling a glass of wine on a cork floor.

My flooring is an engineered wood made by Mirage. It's a five inch plank but I see they now supply a 6.5" plank. It's 0.5" thick with a 4mm hardwood wear layer. The underlying plywood substrate is something like 7 ply. My coach actually lost weight after ripping out the resilient tiles and carpeting and swapping it with wood. Ernie installed it from front to back and side to side. (I tried to not get in the way too much)! My 2002 LXi has the metal floor that sits on top of the basement framing, then I have 3/4" marine plywood followed by 1/4" of cork followed by 1/2" of birch plywood which we then topped with 1/2" of engineered hardwood planks. I don't think you can go wrong with wood.

***ernie ekberg*** · 07-07-2013, 18:45

I can fix you up

gondolaguy · 07-08-2013, 10:06

(07-07-2013 18:45)ernie ekberg Wrote: I can fix you up

Hey Ernie, I've seen your work and you are definitely one of the only people I'd trust to doing my interior. That being said, I'm pretty much a do-it-myselfer as I'm always justifying buying exotic tools as well as changing my mind as I get further into a project. Pretty much, I love the challenge even if I don't always have the time.

But.......now that you bring it up.....how exactly does it work with you? You're in Texas aren't you? Do you go to the job, or the job to you? And rough cost?

***ernie ekberg*** · 07-09-2013, 08:51

Costs can vary. I prefer to work at home. Taking the coach on the road to work on coaches, I did that for a few years. All I made was fuel money. All the coaches this year come to me. I suspect for $5000, I can fix you up.
When I did Davids' coach, it took a month.