[Chester Stone]

I had a conversation with the Newell manager that handles flooring and he advised that no wood floor or laminate can be installed in a coach that has the HWH floor system.

[encantotom]

that carpeting is really really nice btw. it is super uber expensive and durable. and will clean up like new.

i really like ours.

tom

[MarkofSJC]

Very interesting on the issue of hardwood floor height issues ~ I would have thought those were lower profile than tile or stone (and certainly less weight ~ thought that would be the dream finish for the durability).

What's the maximum height that works? I really hate laminate...the "clicky clacky" sound walking on them just sounds cheap. While I would prefer to go with a "real wood plank" floor (if I can't have stone), but I was told that engineered wood takes the atmospheric/humidity changes better.

While I would love to have heated floors, I suspect the insulating values of wood would result in nothing really radiating outward.

Thinking a little further out of the box...we've recently seen some porcelain tile that you'd swear was wood. Very light, very thin and with a heat pad under it may do what we want it to do.

It all circles back to what the max height needs to be to clear those drop floors ~ anyone know for sure?

Thanks for the awesome advise!

[folivier]

Mark have you looked at any cork flooring? It will have an attached cork underlayment so won't have the "clicky clack" sound or feel like other laminates. Very warm feel and absorbs sound like no other hard floor. I installed that in the bath and bedroom of my '93 (with the heating pad) and loved it. So much that we're having it installed in the bedroom of the house we're building.
I would love to replace the carpet in my '98 with cork but it has the HWH slide floor and Newell says it can't be done! Someone has to be a brave soul and try it?

[MarkofSJC]

Update! I just discovered that this coach as Valid, not HWH slides ~ does that change things?

Oh, and I love the link to the lightweight granite! I'm guessing that what you save in weight they make up in the cost? LOL

[Fulltiming]

It will be interesting to see if there is any difference in allowable floors on Valid vs. HWH slides.

For general information, I have been told by Newell that all coaches from #650 on have Valid slides with #645 being the first coach with Valid slides (#646-649 apparently were HWH).

[Chester Stone]

Mark, you may have lucked out. Valid vs HWH does make a difference. Newell did one with HWH and said they would never do another. You may want to call them and discuss it. The HWH floor has a special metal where the floor moves under it and carpet fibers can flex enough to pass under, but wood would be scarred when the floor slide under the metal.s

[Richard]

Mark,
One thing that I should have mentioned is that photos, starlight filter or not, hardly ever represent what you will find in an on board look. I have been in Newells that looked awful in the photos, and were gorgeous in person. Likewise, I have been in some that looked really good on the interweb, but not so much in person.

Case in point, I had the hots for a coach that unfortunately had green leather couches. I was already scheming on how to reupholster them. When I looked at the coach in person, they wouldn't have warranted a changeout. They were just fine.

[Dmatz]

Mark

Wood floors and radiant are really not a problem. It does take a bit longer to heat up but they do heat up. The higher density the better the heat transfer. My coach has wood and radiant floors in all areas including the carpet areas ( I did the for Yatchts, lol he is the second owner) . The stone or tile is the best if your only concern is the radiant.

[MarkofSJC]

Richard,

I hear you! The "Hollywood effect" can cut both ways, but I've walked this coach twice now and it's been immaculately cared for. We're just not huge fans of some of the materials & colors used, so that's why were considering a DIY interior update, if we end up with this coach. Our current stick house was such a disaster the first time we walked through it that my wife couldn't make it through the second room (maybe it was the old dog pool in the dining room?). But it had tremendous bones! It's taken us almost a decade, but it's a show place down to the custom Venician (sp?) plaster walls I've done throughout (think "wax on, wax off" about a zillion times) and lots of little touches.

I'm hoping the Newell will be just like that ~ adding our own style to a great design.

The big motivation on this is that my plan is for this to be a true "Four Season" coach - with summer being one of the few seasons it won't be on the road (we're too busy). But from 118F in Tucson visiting my son, to snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains we're counting on this coach to be supremely comfortable regardless of the weather outside (not that I'm planning to drive during a snow storm or anything).