Without these crucial steps, a bit of the shine will be taken off your vinyl plank flooring patterns. But baseboards or shoe moldings will usually obscure this unevenness. Measure the width of the room, and divide it by the width of the exposed portion of the plank before you start installing vinyl plank flooring. Vinyl Plank (Luxury Vinyl) Flooring Review: Pros and Cons, Vinyl vs. Laminate Flooring Comparison Guide, How to Install Shoe Molding or Quarter-Round Molding, How to Install Allure Vinyl Plank Flooring, How to Prepare for Hardwood Floor Installation, How to Remove Door Trim and Other Molding Without Breaking It, Basics and Recommendations of Armstrong Luxury Vinyl Plank, How to Join Baseboard Moldings With Scarf Joints. Keep the plank and the tool strong so that it does not move out from its place. to better understand this let’s watch a quick video on where do I start installing my laminate or vinyl plank floor. Neither the first nor the last row should be ripped down much smaller than half a plank. The piece of plank left over from the first row should be used at the beginning of the second row. The second reason is because when you install planks the short way down a hall it has a high chance of buckling in the future. If you have high humidity in your neck of the woods then I can almost guarantee you will have issues if you install it the short way. We now answered the question ” where do I start installing my laminate or vinyl plank floor” now I need to show you how to start. Alternatively, you can use a fine-tooth handsaw to cut straight through the entire plank. I got the recipe from Crouton Jack(he has a youtube channel). You will probably need to do this anywhere between 6 to 8 times. In a small bathroom, the most visible row might be the one that runs alongside the bathtub. The first row of planks is snapped end-to-end. It’s notoriously low maintenance and easy to clean. There are several reasons for this and the first is that it looks better! Now, I need to transfer a line into that room. So hey, where do I start installing my laminate or vinyl plank floor? You now want to divide that number in half. Fitting the Flooring. Vinyl plank flooring can usually be laid right over existing flooring, but if there are any high spots, they should be sanded down to create a flush surface for the new floor. How to Lay Vinyl Plank Over Existing Flooring. Tips on Installing Vinyl Plank Flooring. then you are on the right page! I am going to bring you on a short journey through your installation and the instructions are going to be easy to understand. Why, because we all know that the instructions that came with any of our purchases are usually just terrible!! Clean the subfloor thoroughly. Sunlight and Window Treatments. I extend these rows from wall to wall. I hope to get to share it once it is done. The great thing about this flooring is that it already has underlay beneath it so there’s no need to install this as well. or ask me on my facebook page, Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress, Installation steps for Tiling a Tub Surround, Installation Steps for Tiling a Custom Shower, My Facebook Page- this is by far the fastest way to get your question answered. Be sure to check out Laminate University Just click on the button below. Lee has over two decades of hands-on experience remodeling, fixing, and improving homes, and has been providing home improvement advice for over 12 years. So it’s always easiest to install the plank this way. A drawbar tool can be used to gently pull the end plank to snug-up these joints. If necessary, a draw bar can be used to tug this final narrow plank into place against the previous row. Plan to stagger rows so that end joints do not fall at the same point for adjacent rows. First time trying to install Vinyl Plank to redo the floors in my bathroom, but have a couple questions. Decide this before you cut any pieces or start measuring. Vinyl planks are slippery, so be very careful when pulling back on the blade. I wanted to be sure I didn’t miss any of the steps, so I would pause the video complete a step and then start it again to see the next step. If not, finish the cut by lightly running the utility knife through the fold. If you have a smart phone, you can download an app that calculates fractions. I always put together 10 boards and use them as a guide during the layout process. That’s what makes vinyl flooring a great alternative. It will make things a lot easier for you!! I did this until I was all done with the rolls. We made it!!! Door case molding is relatively easy to remove and replace, and removing it produces a cleaner installation. We are going to put some thought into this. Starting in the left corner place 1/4″ spacers (2 per plank) against the wall for expansion and contraction. Then you lay it on the floor and work your way down the room. Just pause it while you do a step and then start it up again to watch the next step and so on. Since we had installed vinyl plank in the family room already, we lined up the floor boards with that doorway so that the line continued. Generally, this is done by working from the most visible wall—usually, the one that greets the eye as you enter the room—then working outward toward the entryway. This is really a simple process….. It is a weak spot in the installation because the planks in that long skinny hall doesn’t have the strength that it would if you ran the planks the other way. You will lay the first row of planks parallel to this most prominent wall or room feature, then work your way across the room. Folding the second board until it lies flat and parallel to the first board helps to draw the boards together and lock them in place. A solid foundation that doesn’t move is absolutely the most important step. When you skip these in the beginning and then come back at the end, it’s much easier because now you have a solid foundation to work off of. Lets watch this video so you can better understand what I am talking about on where to start installing my laminate or vinyl plank floor. I have a ton of tips to share with you that will help you with your laminate or vinyl plank installation. Laying plank flooring in a 12 x 15 room adjacent, but sunken, relative to kitchen with hardwood floor. Installing self-sticking vinyl plank flooring is a relatively easy do-it-yourself project, but preparation is key. Start laying your planks left to right using 6mm spacers to create an expansion gap and make sure your planks are 6mm from the wall on either side. Just rip those up and throw them away. Give yourself a small square to work with and set down a few planks to decide on the right direction for your home. Start with a full plank at the center, and work to either side, so that cut planks at the ends will be of equal length. But don’t start that first row with full planks without figuring out how wide your last row is going to be. I always like to start by building a good foundation to work off of. This is where our cheat sheet comes in! No worries though, you will know if you need to add to this cheat sheet later on. And I made them again the next weekend and I found myself watching that video another 6 times. However, I do want you to understand that I am going to share with you the same exact methods that I use on all of my laminate and vinyl plank installations. No worries though, I will tell you! After laying glue-down vinyl plank flooring, roll the floor with a 100-pound roller. Fold the plank back. In this video I share how to install your laminate or vinyl plank backwards. However there are times when you will have to do it the opposite. Born out of the DIY generation of home improvement, vinyl plank flooring is an affordable surrogate for traditional hardwood floors. I also wait until the very end to install my first row or two. No doubt you bought your vinyl plank flooring as much for ease of installation as you did for its looks. Glad you asked. Once the first row is laid, continue across the floor with subsequent rows, first joining the planks end-to-end, then positioning the new row along the edge of the previous row and folding its tongue into the groove of the previous row. we need to layout some pad along the wall where we plan to start. This really depends on the area that you are installing in. They turned out great! There are three main vinyl flooring types: tongue and groove planks and tiles, peel & stick, and sheet vinyl. Cutting vinyl planks to size is similar to how drywall panels are cut. Measure the width of the room and divide that number by the width of the planks you are using. Position the first plank from the starting wall using ¼-inch spacers. After the floor is laid, re-attach the baseboards and trim, preferably using an pneumatic brad nailer. This helps make it so much easier to get started and not have to worry about cutting something short or just avoiding a bad cut of any kind. Start in a corner of the room (following your pattern), and scoop out some of the glue onto the trowel. In this video I share with you how to start a laminate or vinyl plank installation in a basic rectangle room that has no connecting rooms. This will make this process go a lot easier for you!!! Get daily tips and tricks for making your best home. If you are installing into multiple areas such as a living room, a hallway, bedrooms, kitchen, dining room and ect…. Now is the time where we figure out which room we want to start in. Depending on the nature of the obstruction, it may be necessary to disassemble previous planks in order to navigate the cutout plank into position. for example- if you measured 42 inches and divided that in half it would be 21 inches. You will measure the 10 boards and write down that measurement on a piece of paper. The planks have a locking system on each end. And with a couple of measurements, we will be able to transfer that line into other rooms. If your floor is not straight or if it moves around during the installation, you will have a very tough time getting the planks together!! 6 years ago. One enters the room from the south, directly opposite the kitchen. Deane Biermeier is a contractor with 27 years experience in home repair, maintenance, and remodeling. 5' x 5', has tub shower against one wall, 1 toilet, 24" cabinet, and current flooring looks like vinyl roll/linoleum. CLICK HERE, Tools and Products I use and Recommend for Tile, Tools and Products I use and Recommend for Laminate, Click here if you have a one room installation, cutting laminate flooring around a doorjamb, how to install laminate flooring transitions, how to install laminte laminate installation, Where do I start installing my laminate or vinyl plank floor, How to start a laminate or vinyl plank installation, how to make a grid for an easy tile installation. Vinyl plank flooring is also ideal for high-moisture areas such as bathrooms and basements since the material is completely impervious to water. Once you do this, then we will go to our 10 boards and measure 21 inches and mark the board with a marker. As with previous rows, join these narrow planks end-to-end, then fold the tongues into the grooves of the previous row. So the next step in how to start a laminate or vinyl plank floor is also pretty simple. The tiny spaces allow air to penetrate to the core bringing in a substantial level of humidity. This is the short version of where do I start installing my laminate floor or vinyl plank floor. I watched his video at least 6 times while I was making the caramel rolls. It may snap off by itself. We laid it out first, working our way back from the family room doorway, in order to determine what width our first piece needed to be. Most luxury vinyl planks attach edge-to-edge and end-to-end with a fold-and-lock type of tongue-and-groove system. All vinyl plank flooring has a high density fie core which is porous, even when it looks solid. I say this to you because you might need to watch my video more than once. Most DIY’ers ask where do I start installing my laminate or vinyl plank floor so you are not alone. These lines will be our guide to keep the floor straight and to show us exactly where our planks will fall. Install one row at a time clicking the ends together. Step 2: Place the Planks The Second Row Onward Lay the first row of vinyl plank flooring along the wall, leaving the manufacturer-recommended amount of expansion space between the plank’s edge and the wall (usually about 1/4-inch). I will share more about this in the video later on. Often, removing doors from their hinges helps with installation, too. After making the cutouts, first attach the plank to the adjoining plank while holding the cut-out plank upward, at an angle. For example, if your room measures 123 in., and your flooring is 5.75 in. In high humidity, the pranks are bound to swell while in low humidity, the planks will shrink. In the beginning, I showed you where I wanted to start. The other day I made caramel rolls for the first time. Which direction are you planning to lay your laminate flooring? Now this doesn’t need to be perfectly in place but close. If you do not wish to remove door trim or if you have protrusions that cannot be removed, you can cut the vinyl flooring to fit around these obstacles. I will try very hard not to speak a foreign language while I do this. This is really simple to do. This will give a more natural look. I am going to bring you on a short journey through your installation and the instructions are going to be easy to understand. Start by laying your flooring from the centre of the room (as described above). Need help deciding which direction to run Luxury Vinyl Plank flooring. The flooring looked so easy to install and they literally had no prep required! Description: Bathroom is approx. Vinyl plank flooring, like laminate or wood flooring, needs to have a layout that is pleasing to the eye. I’m not trying to scare you I’m just telling you my opinion. Using a roller at the initial installation will help to prevent the buckling of vinyl plank flooring down the line. It also keeps the boards intact to ensure they do not create gaps. I heard about Luxury Vinyl Plank flooring over a year ago but I never saw it in action until this past year when my sister and brother in law installed it in their basement. Introducing "One Thing": A New Video Series, The Spruce Gardening & Plant Care Review Board, The Spruce Renovations and Repair Review Board. I do try to keep the floor straight while I’m doing this so my boards on the ends are cut short or too long. This step will help to secure the floor and adhesive to the subfloor in every area. It is easy to cut, requires no bonding to the subfloor, and snaps together edge-to-edge and end-to-end. Once I get this line transferred into the room, then I will be able to use it as a guide to show me exactly where my first row will start. So with this in consideration, you need to look over the areas that you are installing into and decide how you would avoid working backwards or how to keep it to a bare minimum. I’m pretty sure that these instructions are not going to make it clear to you on “where do I start my laminate or vinyl plank floor”. Genius! If you only have a one room installation then go to this page HERE. Get your vinyl flooring adhesive out, and get a notched trowel. There is only one solid wall, the 12′ long west side. The north side 15′ steps up to the kitchen or abuts the kitchen counter/bar. (This gap will get covered up by baseboard trim or quarter-round molding after the flooring is complete.) Hook one end of the tool over the far end of the plank, then tap lightly on the other end of the drawbar to tug the butt joint together. Now you need to add another 10 boards to the first number. If you have questions or comments about where do I start installing my laminate or vinyl plank floor, please feel free to leave them below! If the trim is still in good shape after removal, set it aside for re-installation after the floor has been installed. Vinyl plank flooring is flexible enough that it can usually be bent enough to get fit around door frames and other protrusions. This statement is almost laughable! I call this working backwards Now, I have some tricks that I share in another video and they really help with making this pretty easy to do, but it’s a lot slower and we want to avoid this as much as possible. jaereloaded. You are going to have to cut the end boards and you don’t want them to be short and you don’t want them … The east side is dominated by a sliding glass door leading to small deck and back yard. Then, flip the board over so that the finished surface is facing down. First, use a carpenter's square and utility knife to score partially through the face of the plank. Manufacturers recommend that end seams be offset at least 6 inches from row to row. Then slowly fold down the cut-out plank until it locks into place with the adjoining plank. Why Staggering Planks is Important When laying any type of engineered or solid flooring, it is structurally and visually imperative that you stagger the ends in adjacent rows. Look, I’m not saying watch my videos a hundred times, but what I am saying is follow the video along during your laminate or vinyl plank installation. When using tongue and groove planks, vinyl flooring installation should start in a lefthand corner with the tongue facing the wall. Ensure the room or rooms where the floor is being installed are climate-controlled and a consistent temperature, preferably warm. This locking system has a female and a male end. Score and cut the tongue off the first row of vinyl planks using a utility knife. Make sure that end joints are staggered so they are at least 6 inches away from the end joints in the previous row. Very rarely do I break this law. Run the knife lightly across the face of the plank several times rather than trying to cut it in one pass. Just measure from wall to wall. This is the key to an easy installation. It allows you to skip vents, cabinets, cubby holes, fireplaces and ect… until the very end. How to Stagger Vinyl Plank Floors. I will break this down 2 ways for you. Your goal is to create the flattest, smoothest surface possible as the underlayment for the vinyl plank flooring. There is also vinyl flooring that is waterproof! When looking out to the water and rear yard you face east. Visually, the flooring layout will be most pleasing if cut planks are of roughly equal lengths at the opposite side walls. Now that we know where the planks need to fall in the hallway, we now need to snap a few lines on the floor with a chalk line. To remove the brads from the trim, pull them straight through the molding from the back side, using pliers. I bought a Lifeproof Vinyl Plank Flooring that is supposed to be waterproof and has the underlayment already pre-attached. They are finishing their space down there and it is looking amazing. The home's living, kitchen mud room and sitting room run parallel to the waterfront and the bedrooms run perpendicular. Of all of the do-it-yourself floor coverings, vinyl plank flooring (also known as luxury vinyl) is one of the simplest to install. Square the joints by tapping the long edge with the profiled tapping block and soft-faced hammer. Begin gluing the vinyl flooring. Leave a 1/4-inch gap at the wall and at the ends; spacers can be placed against the walls to establish this expansion gap. Make sure to cut it narrow enough to provide a 1/4-inch gap between the planks and the wall. To determine this point, measure the width and length of the area and strike a chalk line halfway across both. What the ideal situation looks like is that we can always work one direction while installing the laminate flooring or the vinyl plank flooring. Once the realm of professional installers, resilient flooring installation is greatly simplified with vinyl planking. It's 1800 sqf and an "L" shape. (denatured alcohol will remove permanent marker and you can buy this at any store that sells paint) Now you can see how big your piece will be against the wall in the hallway. When you start the second row, the tongue of the first plank in the second row slides into the groove of the first row at a low angle. You now know the answer to where do I start installing my laminate or vinyl plank floor It’s time to put some planks down on the floor. Like going into a closet, under some cabinets and even into an entire room. Once I put these few rows together, then I move the floor into its proper position and then I secure the floor so it doesn’t move throughout the entire installation. Then, join the first row together with the tongue side against the wall and slide it against the spacers. Mark a line in the center of the room along its length. HOWEVER, I want to remind you once again that while you perform the next few steps, you should use the video to help you. Once you’ve purchased your vinyl flooring you’re ready to get started. Ideally, this includes baseboards, base shoe moldings, and case moldings around doors. How to Install Vinyl Plank Flooring STEP 1: Inspect the underlayment. I bought a new waterfront cabin. Manually nailing with a hammer, while possible, can easily damage the trim, while a brad nailer does this work effortlessly. A moderate-sized room can easily be covered with vinyl plank flooring with just a few hours of work. Learn how to install Smartcore Ultra Luxury Vinyl Plank Flooring. Trim molding is typically attached with thin brad-like nails, and it can be removed by carefully prying it off with a flat pry bar. Then we need to start laying out some laminate or vinyl plank and begin to put together 4 to 6 rows. 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Runs alongside the bathtub our guide to keep the plank it narrow enough to provide a 1/4-inch gap between planks... So they are at least 6 inches from row to row lengths at the initial installation will to... Is absolutely the most special circumstance for me to not do it the opposite side walls damage... Intact to ensure they do not fall at the beginning of the plank to where to start laying vinyl plank flooring the in... So they are at least 6 inches away from the first row vinyl... Tongue side against the wall '' shape, smoothest surface possible as underlayment! Case moldings around doors far wall, maintaining the expansion gap that will help to secure the has. Plank installation a drawing of the plank and begin to put together 4 to 6.! We need to watch the next weekend and I made caramel rolls for first!
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