# Long Cracks In Linoleum



## flyguy (Sep 2, 2010)

What a nasty surprise! I went out to get the Outback this year and noticed that there were two long cracks (about 2 feet) in the linoleum that start from the furnace vent and extend though the walkway. The linoleum is not glued down much at all in this area. Called the local Keystone dealer who said the floor is warranted for a year only. Ours is a 2008 25RSS. Seems the floor should have lasted longer!

The problem is that just gluing it back down leaves an gap left between the edges. Anyone know how to stretch linoleum a little? Maybe by heating it? Replacing the whole piece would actually leave more seams...

Thanks


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

This is normally a cold weather issue. It is compounded by the way the vents are cut without a radius in the corners. The only way to repair is to replace it but several have had good luck with floating laminate flooring. Looks good when done correctly.


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## Y-Guy (Jan 30, 2004)

I've seen a lot of problems on another RV forum I'm part of due to the cold winter in many areas. Heating it will give you some flexibility, but its going to be tough to heat it and glue it down, then do the same for the other side. Then as it cools, and later freezes you may cause another split. How big is the gap? You can probably fill the gap, but trying to stretch it doesn't hurt either. A third option is to install something like the Alure flooring you can buy at Home Depot, a lot of success stories with it and it doesn't need to be glued down either.


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## flyguy (Sep 2, 2010)

The remaining gap when trying to reapproximate the edges is about 1/8 of an inch. Seems a doable stretch if I can heat it a bit. We do live in Colorado and so we see some cold weather. Frustrating problem which could have been averted with an angled cut around the floor vent...

Thanks for the suggestions.


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## huntr70 (Jul 8, 2005)

flyguy said:


> The remaining gap when trying to reapproximate the edges is about 1/8 of an inch. Seems a doable stretch if I can heat it a bit. We do live in Colorado and so we see some cold weather. Frustrating problem which could have been averted with an angled cut around the floor vent...
> 
> Thanks for the suggestions.


Problem is, it can crack right through the middle as well....

It is the type of floorig it is.

A lot of the manufacturers are now using a product called "Beaufloor".

It is rated to -50 degrees and is very easy to repair.


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## Y-Guy (Jan 30, 2004)

Seems like the units sold in known cold states should be better designed to take the cold. At 1/8" you should be able to stretch it, though might want to wait unit the outside temp warms up so the wood under isn't cold. In the meantime put down a strip of 2" clear tap to keep dirt from the crack and to keep the flooring laying flat, weights if you can will help but hard if you are camping.


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## flyguy (Sep 2, 2010)

Thanks for the suggestions!


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## Scoutr2 (Aug 21, 2006)

I hate to throw water on a campfire, but if it were me, I would not glue the linoleum down - for the same reason it is not glued down at the factory. Since an RV is not heated and cooled all the time - only when we are using them - everything in the trailer expands and contracts with the heat and the cold. The problem here is that not all materials expand and contract at the same rate. So gluing down the linoleum will fasten it to a floor that does not expand or contract at the same rate as the linoleum. The floor is much stronger, so the linoleum will suffer the damage, and become cracked (pulled apart) by this phenomenon. (This is what caused your initial problem - the linoleum contracted more than the floor and the heat vents pinned the linoleum in several places. As the linoleum tried to contract, it was held in place by the vents and the cold, brittle linoleum gave way.)

You can try gluing it down, but I'm afraid that next spring, things will be even uglier. Replacing the linoleum will be difficult, at best, because it is put down first and then everything is built on top of it. So you will have to cut around every corner and along every edge. It can be done, but it will be a grueling job.

Andy's suggestion of a floating laminate floor sounds intriguing, but it would add 50-60 pounds to your overall trailer weight. Then there is carpeting, which would be the easiest fix.

Good luck with your fix. You might ask a dealership what they would do about this problem. Maybe gluing is a viable solution, but I wouldn't get my hopes up.

Mike


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## Grandeken (Feb 16, 2004)

I know how you feel 3 yrs ago a lot of floors did the same thing mine has 2 cracks in it. I glued the crack edge with contact cement. then colored the floor that was open to match. so far so good. If the floor gets bad I am going to install a new floor but its working for now Hope that helps.


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## Up State NY Camper (Apr 7, 2010)

Scoutr2 said:


> I hate to throw water on a campfire, but if it were me, I would not glue the linoleum down - for the same reason it is not glued down at the factory. Since an RV is not heated and cooled all the time - only when we are using them - everything in the trailer expands and contracts with the heat and the cold. The problem here is that not all materials expand and contract at the same rate. So gluing down the linoleum will fasten it to a floor that does not expand or contract at the same rate as the linoleum. The floor is much stronger, so the linoleum will suffer the damage, and become cracked (pulled apart) by this phenomenon. (This is what caused your initial problem - the linoleum contracted more than the floor and the heat vents pinned the linoleum in several places. As the linoleum tried to contract, it was held in place by the vents and the cold, brittle linoleum gave way.)
> 
> You can try gluing it down, but I'm afraid that next spring, things will be even uglier. Replacing the linoleum will be difficult, at best, because it is put down first and then everything is built on top of it. So you will have to cut around every corner and along every edge. It can be done, but it will be a grueling job.
> 
> ...


X2, at my PDI they told me that it wasn't glued at factory for that reason. If you can get it really heated up, it gets really soft and expands alot. The reason I know that is at the PDI the door was open to the south side ot the TT and the sun was beating on the floot and it started to ripple. That's how I found out it wasn't glued. Sure enough when the floor cooled down, the ripples went away. So I'm thinking if you can really heat it up, and try to mend it, patch it, it might hold, and if it doesn't, oh well, you'd have to replace it anyway.







Getting a big enough section of the floor that warm w/o the sun might be tough. Good luck with that.


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