Another in our modification series. This modification involves replacing the flooring in the kitchen of our trailer. The existing flooring was a very dark brown to black marble look that we’ve never really liked too much. The only good thing is that it hides dirt well. We decided to change it out and here are the steps we followed. Your unit will vary since we have a rear kitchen.

Here is a reference picture of what our kitchen looked like before we started. Note that the dark flooring does nothing to help the fact that our counter tops are black. It all makes for a fairly dark kitchen.

Starting point.

After some inspection, we realized that the railing along the front edge of the kitchen was holding down the linoleum on that side. We removed all the railing and the handrail next to the step. We also removed the rubber corner strip at the edge of the floor above the step.

Railing removed

The next step is to cut around the base of the cabinets and pull the linoleum up from the floor. It is not glued down, so it rolled off easily. It was stapled around some edges. We also had to remove the little bit of quarter molding along the left side of the kitchen at the floor.

Part way removed.

Finally, because we couldn’t get very far under the front shelf on our slide (on the right), we just cut the flooring back as far as we could underneath that shelf. Once all the old flooring was removed, it looked like this.

All old flooring removed.

The next step is to start laying the tiles one by one. We chose to start in the back corner near the sink and work our way forward. We didn’t use any prep on the floor base, nor was any suggested for the type of subfloor we had. We just swept ahead to keep the floor as dirt-free as possible.

First few tiles.

Note that the rollers for our slide are fixed and the slide rolls in and out on top of them. When the slide is in, it more or less floats over the floor without touching it. Given that, we just pushed pieces of tile underneath the slide shelf and under the remaining linoleum so that the tiles could stick to the subfloor. No worries about a roller coming in and dislodging them.

More progress

We basically just worked our way around the dining bar and toward the front of the kitchen nearest the step, cutting everything fairly much flush with the front edge of the floor. The railing and the rubber strip will hold down the front edges.

Almost there.

Here is the floor all finished before trimming out and replacing parts.

Floor complete.

With all the tiles in place, we put the railing back up and the black tread back on the edge of the floor.

Parts back in place.

The final step was to trim around the base of the cabinets and along the wall to the left with quarter round molding. We found pre-stained molding at Lowes in a color that was a very close match to our existing cabinetry.

Molding in place.

The tiles are StyleSelections from Lowes. They are sold individually and in boxes of 20. We bought four boxes and used a little over two boxes (about 45 tiles). We plan on using the same tile in our bathroom.

The quarter round molding color is Oak Gunstock, again from Lowes.

Total cost breakdown for this project:

45 tiles at $0.88 each – $39.60

3 sticks of quarter round at $10.30 each – $30.90

Total, with tax: $76.32.

Note that we had a one-time charge of $101.69 for a air-driven brad nailer, brads, miter box and saw. All of these items can be reused for other projects.

We finally found a stained glass window design we liked here at the national Heartland Owners Club rally. There is a couple here that travel around selling them. These windows are a direct fit replacement for the frosted glass installed in most RV doors. We took pictures as Malcolm installed ours and Malcolm decided to make a separate tutorial post on the process. It took all of about 20 minutes.

1. Put tape around the perimeter of the frame on the outside of the door. You don’t want the frame breaking the seal so that you can prevent leaks or having to re-seal the window frame. The stained glass folks recommended duct tape, but Malcolm had a wide roll of blue painter’s tape left over from our house painting. It worked just as well and was probably easier to remove.

Outside framed taped up

2. With the outside frame taped up, start removing the screws from the inside frame. There are about 16 screws around the perimeter. On the last couple of screws, hold onto the frame and let it out from the door gently. Before removing the frame from the door, mark the top in some fashion (another piece of tape works well) so that it can be installed in the same orientation.

Removing the screws from the inside frame

3. Once the frame is removed, the glass will most likely still be stuck to the outside frame. Be careful just in case, though.

Inside frame removed

4. Gently pry the glass off the outside frame and lay it aside.

Glass removed

5. There will be some of the sealing putty from the old glass still adhered to the inside perimeter of the outside frame. Gently roll or peel it off so that you have a clean plastic frame.

Putty on frame (the brown stuff)

6. When we bought our new window, the seller provided a roll of putty for sealing the new window. Determine which side of your window is supposed to face outside and lay the window down on a work surface with that side facing up. Stick the putty strip along the outside edge of the new window so that it overlaps a little to the outside and a little to the inside of the metal frame of the window. Do that for all four sides and remove the brown backing paper.

Applying sealing putty.

7. With the putty all around the window, gently press it in from the inside of the door. There are small tabs around the perimeter of the frame to hold the glass in the proper position. Make sure the glass is aligned inside all those tabs and gently press it in enough for the putty to hold the window in place.

Putting the new glass in (sorry, no detailed picture of the tabs)

8. With the new glass in place and the putty holding it in, put the inside frame back on with the marked side up so that all the tabs align correctly. If everything was done right, you should be able to push the inside frame back flush with the door. Don’t force it.

9. Once the inside frame is in place, start putting the screws back in. It was recommended to use a hand screwdriver since the screws are going back into soft plastic. Malcolm’s cordless drill has an adjustable slip clutch on the chuck that he set down to the very minimum. It was just right to keep from stripping out any screws. You just need to snug them up enough to pull the frame in flush with the door.

Putting the screws back in.

10. Remove the tape from the outside frame.

New glass in, before removing the tape.

11. Using a sharp knife, carefully cut away all the extra putty that squeezes out along the inside edge of the outside frame. You might find you have to do this a second time after everything settles.

Removing the extra putty.

12. Stand back and enjoy your new window.

Woot.