Finally finished the floor replacement. The coach has cherry cabinetry with dark wood panels and the blue carpet that came with the unit made the interior too dark for our liking. The tile had some cracks and was not too appealing so I considered replacing both until I realized the tile was installed under the kitchen cabinets and would be almost impossible to remove without removing the slide itself. I got some aggressive grout cleaner and restored the grout to its original cream color. Cracked tiles were repaired with bone colored caulk. Looks good now.
We considered a number of flooring options, laminate, hardwood, and vinyl, decided on hardwood for a couple reasons. We wanted a floor that was light in color and had some gloss to it so that eliminated vinyl. Also I needed to be able to countersink screws for some access panels and laminate would tend to chip. Finally we found that Home Depot had a glossy natural maple hardwood in stock and on sale so we could return any unused boxes w/o a restocking charge.
Removing the carpet was a job. On my 01 Contessa, the carpet was installed after the cabinets, so the tack strips were easy to access and remove. Not so on the Marquis. The carpet was
installed first with the center console and left side driver’s console sitting on top of the carpet and tack strips. Additionally they used padding with an adhesive backing from about 6” behind the metal step cover plate to the front of the coach. I was able to remove the carpet under the center console but had to cut it at the driver’s left console.
To deal with the .25” thick metal plate that covers the step slide out and sits atop the OSB subfloor I installed .25” plywood on top of the original OSB, resulting in level surface. I used construction adhesive and screws every 3” on the perimeters and on a 10” grid everywhere else. I left openings for access to the step cover air cylinder at the driver’s feet and the wiring trough against the wall on the passenger side.
The actual wood installation went fairly smooth. Again I glued it all down with construction adhesive. It installed very similar to laminate, using the same tools but it sure cut a lot smoother. The afore mentioned removable panels turned out nicely. One is hidden by the sofa and the one just forward of the driver’s seat is hardly noticeable. I glued a vinyl transition strip between the wood and the tile as there was a slight height difference. I also had to set the center console up about a ¼” to make up for the difference in thickness between the carpet and wood. (Wood flooring material was 3/8” thick). This had to be done so the step closeout wouldn’t hit the carpeted trim on the console.
One added benefit was that I located an AC outlet behind the passenger sofa (meant for use with the desk option. I extended it an located it just behind the co-pilot chair.
I’ve attached before and after pics here. The in-process pictures are available at
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/xk5zndy8bpkhxnt/AABJw1IuT-IerHnH0Rho5M0ya