Take Out the Carpeting

[apackoftwo]

I want to take out the carpet in my T-1950, I do not like it,never have as I feel it very impractical in a rig this size, as gets dirty easy, can retain moisture etc.

I pulled up some of the edge and its just stapled down however my questions are:

1. Are the outside (baseboard) edges stapled or glued and stapled?
2. What is the purpose for the long wide board also covered with carpet that runs along the frt of the rig? What is it made of? Is the carpet stapled to it also? Can I remove that carpet too or would I have to replace "whatever" that is?
3. When removing the staples, should the small holes left be caulked so moisture can't get to the sub floor?

Thank you!

[1982 21RB]

I removed the carpet in mine years ago and found that the linoleum was not continuous so I put down replacement carpeting which can be removed easily for cleaning. There was a healthy lip of linoleum around the edges but the center floor was not covered. My recollection is that it was stapled all around, no glue. I have not had any problem with the subfloor staple holes (swelling etc.) which I did not caulk. In my unit the "long board" up front contains the water lines that run to the kitchen sink. It is not carpeted so I would guess that yours (but do not know) probably has paneling under.

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by apackoftwo

I pulled up some of the edge and its just stapled down however my questions are:

1. Are the outside (baseboard) edges stapled or glued and stapled?

Joan,

I do not know your exact layout however here are some general methods Sunline used during the build time of your camper. The methods where the same, just the floor plans are different and that may use a certain technique unique to a certain spot for your floor plan. Here goes.

Often the carpet is put down on the floor before the walls are attached. Literally the carpet is sandwiched between the wall and the floor at the base. I think they did this for speed of building plus it guarantees the carpet is not going to move. If you have carpet next to a wall odds are high you will need to use a utility knife and cut it away from the wall. See here



While that is a slide floor rug it is made the same as the rest of the camper. I had to cut the perimeter to get it up. The pad is stapled in spots to the floor. I never yet have found glue. A zillion staples, yes.

Originally Posted by apackoftwo

2. What is the purpose for the long wide board also covered with carpet that runs along the frt of the rig? What is it made of? Is the carpet stapled to it also? Can I remove that carpet too or would I have to replace "whatever" that is?

I do not know in your floor plan what that board covers over is but I have a good idea on the method of how they created it. I call it a “rug board” They start with a piece of OSB board then wrap and staple carpet to the board. Then they screw the board to the side of the camper. If you dig around in the carpet you will find socket square headed screws holding it on. Find all of them….no easy task, and unscrewing them the entire board will come out. See here for what one looks like on mine.







To find the screws I start at one end and sort of gently pry and it will be held on good. I then feel all over for the head buried in the carpet. Once I find it I take that screw out and pry a little more to help find where the next one is. Eventually I make it to the other end. . Odds are high in your camper that rug board is either covering up a wire, pipe, is just the trim to blend the front wall to the floor OR it is a piece used to hold the carpet down to the floor.

How wide is your rig board? About 1” or 3”? The narrow ones may be more to hold the carpet down, the wider ones to cover up something or is a kick plate.

Once you get that rug board up then you can decide if it needs to go back in our not pending what it is doing.

Originally Posted by apackoftwo

3. When removing the staples, should the small holes left be caulked so moisture can't get to the sub floor

The staple holes left over do not have to be filled if they are in wood. I see no reason to do that. If they are in vinyl flooring there is no real structural reason but may be a cosmetic one to fill them. I do not know what to fill them with if they are a problem to the looks. The filler may create more problems then leaving them. A flooring store might have some ideas on a filler.

The vinyl flooring may or may not be totally under the carpet. Sometimes it is and sometimes not. You may find ½ of the camper is OSB board exposed and some vinyl. It then becomes a choice on what to do. Add new carpet where the old was OR take out all the vinyl and put new in. The vinyl will go under the outer walls as well. You will have to trim it too get it out leaving the piece under the wall there.

If you have carpet to vinyl in the camper that carpet edge is stapled down. They lay the carpet upside down, staple to the floor then fold the carpet back along the joint right side up. This makes a nice joint with no molding and is down tight to the floor. There are “lots” of staples in those joints.

You are going to have to find a real good set of pliers that pinch close tight to grab onto the broken part of the staple left in the floor to yank it out. Some break, some come right out intact. It will be a tedious job to get all the left over staples out. You really need to get every one of them out if you are putting vinyl over those areas. Any little nub left sticking up will in time cut and crack through the new vinyl as well as any piece of dirt etc. And the nub left exposed in vinyl your bare foot may find it.

Hope this helps.

Any pics of your process help others as this does come up from time to time.

John

[1982 21RB]

I Agree with JohnB. "If you have carpet next to a wall odds are high you will need to use a utility knife and cut it away from the wall." My Message to you is that if you think that there is a virgin vinyl floor underneath, proceed with caution....

[apackoftwo]

Yup you are right. Apparently the carpet is under the wall (bummer) and the vinyl only goes so far (bummer #2)

I have bigger problems than just wanting to get rid of the carpet. I am on vacation and on Lk Superior. We had a whopper of a storm with super high winds that drove a whole bunch of water inside on the carpet just drenched it.

However I think the long window by the door might leak and the door also (bummer #3) Right now I am on my hands and knees pulling out as much damp to wet carpet padding as I can reach as the sub floor is very damp and there is no way to dry it without getting as much of the padding out as possible. I am propping up the carpet edge I pulled up so the small fan I bought can get some air under there. I will have no way of knowing if this has been an ongoing problem before I owned the camper or not until I get home, pull up the carpet and get a good look at the sub floor....and then there is finding the leak if that is the problem....and this was supposed to be a vacation

Originally Posted by JohnB

Joan,

I do not know your exact layout however here are some general methods Sunline used during the build time of your camper. The methods where the same, just the floor plans are different and that may use a certain technique unique to a certain spot for your floor plan. Here goes.

Often the carpet is put down on the floor before the walls are attached. Literally the carpet is sandwiched between the wall and the floor at the base. I think they did this for speed of building plus it guarantees the carpet is not going to move. If you have carpet next to a wall odds are high you will need to use a utility knife and cut it away from the wall. See here



While that is a slide floor rug it is made the same as the rest of the camper. I had to cut the perimeter to get it up. The pad is stapled in spots to the floor. I never yet have found glue. A zillion staples, yes.



I do not know in your floor plan what that board covers over is but I have a good idea on the method of how they created it. I call it a “rug board” They start with a piece of OSB board then wrap and staple carpet to the board. Then they screw the board to the side of the camper. If you dig around in the carpet you will find socket square headed screws holding it on. Find all of them….no easy task, and unscrewing them the entire board will come out. See here for what one looks like on mine.







To find the screws I start at one end and sort of gently pry and it will be held on good. I then feel all over for the head buried in the carpet. Once I find it I take that screw out and pry a little more to help find where the next one is. Eventually I make it to the other end. . Odds are high in your camper that rug board is either covering up a wire, pipe, is just the trim to blend the front wall to the floor OR it is a piece used to hold the carpet down to the floor.

How wide is your rig board? About 1” or 3”? The narrow ones may be more to hold the carpet down, the wider ones to cover up something or is a kick plate.

Once you get that rug board up then you can decide if it needs to go back in our not pending what it is doing.



The staple holes left over do not have to be filled if they are in wood. I see no reason to do that. If they are in vinyl flooring there is no real structural reason but may be a cosmetic one to fill them. I do not know what to fill them with if they are a problem to the looks. The filler may create more problems then leaving them. A flooring store might have some ideas on a filler.

The vinyl flooring may or may not be totally under the carpet. Sometimes it is and sometimes not. You may find ½ of the camper is OSB board exposed and some vinyl. It then becomes a choice on what to do. Add new carpet where the old was OR take out all the vinyl and put new in. The vinyl will go under the outer walls as well. You will have to trim it too get it out leaving the piece under the wall there.

If you have carpet to vinyl in the camper that carpet edge is stapled down. They lay the carpet upside down, staple to the floor then fold the carpet back along the joint right side up. This makes a nice joint with no molding and is down tight to the floor. There are “lots” of staples in those joints.

You are going to have to find a real good set of pliers that pinch close tight to grab onto the broken part of the staple left in the floor to yank it out. Some break, some come right out intact. It will be a tedious job to get all the left over staples out. You really need to get every one of them out if you are putting vinyl over those areas. Any little nub left sticking up will in time cut and crack through the new vinyl as well as any piece of dirt etc. And the nub left exposed in vinyl your bare foot may find it.

Hope this helps.

Any pics of your process help others as this does come up from time to time.

John

[apackoftwo]

I was able to take out all the wet carpet pad, I used the awning pole to pull out padding I could not reach. By propping up the edge of the carpet with a small glass and pushing a plastic bottle under, I was able to dry out the sub floor and from what I can see it looks like there has not been any past water leakage problems.

So when I go home (if its not in the 100s or 90s) I will start the process of taking out the carpet and replacing it with a wood-look type vinyl.

[Poppy & Nana]

Joan.....make sure you post pics!!!!! (please)

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by apackoftwo

I was able to take out all the wet carpet pad, I used the awning pole to pull out padding I could not reach. By propping up the edge of the carpet with a small glass and pushing a plastic bottle under, I was able to dry out the sub floor and from what I can see it looks like there has not been any past water leakage problems.

Great!!! Where there is a "will" there is a "way"!

Looking forward to reading about and "seeing" your tear out and upgrade process. You know us and pics.... We like em!

Good luck.

John

PS the heat sort of broke here today in Central Ohio. Hope this stay down below 90 F at least..

[apackoftwo]

Oh I'll be taking pics every step of the way!

Last time I checked central Michigan....it will be in the 90s when I return

So I plan on trying to do a little every morning when hopefully its "cooler"

Originally Posted by JohnB

Great!!! Where there is a "will" there is a "way"!

Looking forward to reading about and "seeing" your tear out and upgrade process. You know us and pics.... We like em!

Good luck.

John

PS the heat sort of broke here today in Central Ohio. Hope this stay down below 90 F at least..