So, thanks to my two dogs I needed to replace the carpet on one of our slide outs. There was only bare wood underneath so I ordered replacement vinyl from Heartland and installed the vinyl. It looked good except for the space around where the slide out and the main floor join. There was a gap there that wasn't covered by flooring.
I have heard horror stories about flooring and other things getting under slides and damaging the floor so I wanted a solution to cover up the space that wouldn't risk damage when moving slides in and out. I also didn't want to leave the seam exposed for a number of reasons. First, the original installers weren't particularly precise when they installed the original flooring in the living area. Knowing that it was going to be covered up by carpet, they made a crude cut along the edge. I didn't like how it looked and I thought my dogs would love to pick at the edges and then I would have to replace all the flooring. Second, I wanted to cover the space to protect the seam from potential damage. Finally I wanted to make sure I had as smooth a transition as possible to prevent a tripping hazard. I looked on forums for months and didn't find much so I spent even more time and came up with what I think is a good idea.
I went to a flooring trim store online and found this rubber transition piece that I thought would work nicely to bridge tge gap. It was just about long enough to cover the gap and the height of the trim was about right. I think it is called a door transition piece, and it was listed under the section for wheelchair access products. However, after I put it on there was this black piece of rubber going across the floor and, since it didn't fit perfectly, it would move about some.
I finally decided to take about a one foot wide piece of vinyl and glue it to the rubber piece to smooth the transition, make it more aesthetically appealing, and prevent wear to the edges of the main pieces of flooring so I wouldn't have to replace them frequently.
The result is pretty good. I could have been a bit more careful with matching the pattern but it still looks pretty good.
The best part about this is that when it is time to retract the slide out, I just remove the transition piece and it works just fine!
Transition piece with flooring attached:
Transition piece partially pulled up to show seam:
Transition piece in place:
Hopefully this will help someone else with their flooring project!
Dan
I have heard horror stories about flooring and other things getting under slides and damaging the floor so I wanted a solution to cover up the space that wouldn't risk damage when moving slides in and out. I also didn't want to leave the seam exposed for a number of reasons. First, the original installers weren't particularly precise when they installed the original flooring in the living area. Knowing that it was going to be covered up by carpet, they made a crude cut along the edge. I didn't like how it looked and I thought my dogs would love to pick at the edges and then I would have to replace all the flooring. Second, I wanted to cover the space to protect the seam from potential damage. Finally I wanted to make sure I had as smooth a transition as possible to prevent a tripping hazard. I looked on forums for months and didn't find much so I spent even more time and came up with what I think is a good idea.
I went to a flooring trim store online and found this rubber transition piece that I thought would work nicely to bridge tge gap. It was just about long enough to cover the gap and the height of the trim was about right. I think it is called a door transition piece, and it was listed under the section for wheelchair access products. However, after I put it on there was this black piece of rubber going across the floor and, since it didn't fit perfectly, it would move about some.
I finally decided to take about a one foot wide piece of vinyl and glue it to the rubber piece to smooth the transition, make it more aesthetically appealing, and prevent wear to the edges of the main pieces of flooring so I wouldn't have to replace them frequently.
The result is pretty good. I could have been a bit more careful with matching the pattern but it still looks pretty good.
The best part about this is that when it is time to retract the slide out, I just remove the transition piece and it works just fine!
Transition piece with flooring attached:
Transition piece partially pulled up to show seam:
Transition piece in place:
Hopefully this will help someone else with their flooring project!
Dan
