Replacing vinyl flooring - advice and tips?

[HarryHamsta]

Hi all,

Not sure if this is the correct part of the forum. We are looking at replacing the existing vinyl flooring in our campervan (Laika Ecovip 6) with something a bit less, well, horrible and creamy coloured! Thinking dark wood effect at the moment.

We got a few quotes from various installers but I'm now considering doing it myself. I have never fitted vinyl flooring but in our previous moho (self build) I fitted engineered oak wooden flooring (to hell with weight! doesn't matter now as it broke down and lives in a gardienage in France for now). However, I did this before any furniture was fitted.

At the minute I am thinking of using a large vinyl sheet (rather than tiles or plans). Most of the blogs I have read (usually seem to be Americans with RVs) don't remove the furniture, they just cut the vinyl to fit. I think this is the route I will take (unless something is fairly easy to remove).

I have a few questions / thinking points;

Should I remove the existing vinyl, or can I just lay the floor over?

Whats the best way to create a template to cut the new floor? It seems to me the worst case scenario when using an entire sheet of vinyl would be to cut too short!

If I do remove existing, do I need to prime the subfloor? I believe its 6mm plywood as floor is insulated. Or can I just clean and sand?

What sort of adhesive should I use? Should I use adhesive over entire floor, or just the edges? I have read about people taking the 'floating floor' route.

How do people neaten up the edges? I assume sort sort of moulding / beading? If so, how do I fix this - nails, adhesive, sealent etc?

Appreciate any input. I'm a fairly competent DIYer but have never worked with vinyl or linoleum etc.

Thanks! Harry

 

[ambulancekidd]

I'm busy fitting a new carpet & removed a lot of furniture but I couldn't honestly recommend it.
A large template would help but, don't cut it precisely from the template, its never right.

Sand the floor once you've removed the existing vinyl & once you've got the new stuff fitted properly, use spray adhesive, dead easy to use & does a superb job.

 

[Gellyneck]

If you want a vinyl floor have you thought of vinyl tiles? Much easier to handle and lay in a confined area.
If the existing vinyl is properly adhered to the floor you may be able to fit the tiles over it however it would be better lifting it. Used to use F Ball adhesive and I think F45 is the appropriate stuff from them. Others are available.
We went down the route of fitting carpet tiles over the existing vinyl (after removing the carpet, of course!).