Vinyl Flooring Installation
1 Pick your vinyl. Vinyl flooring comes typically in 300 or more iterations per company, some companies boasting up to twice as much. Selection can become a daunting task. For, although it is a plus to have many options, it can also become overwhelming. That said, there are a few tips one should keep in mind when acquiring vinyl flooring. Inspect each tile you purchase whether from a store or online. If you find misshapen pieces or irregularly patterned tiles, return them. The last thing you want is to spend the time and money putting in a nice new floor only for a few defect pieces to ruin the experience. It is also essential to consider not just what a vinyl tile looks like itself, but also the context within which it is going to be placed. For instance, if you have an earthy Eastern style motif in your living room, it might not make sense to buy vinyl flooring evocative of the American Southwest. Also, it is very important to price shop. Even if you find what seems like the perfect design, look a little further. Chances are you'll locate something even more suitable to your tastes as well as your budget.
2 Make your Measurements. Once you know what vinyl flooring you're going to buy, measure the dimensions of the room or rooms where it is going to be installed in square footage. This will allow you to get the correct amount of materials on the first try. With gas prices at the obscene levels they’re at no one wants to make an extra trip anywhere. Remember while you're there that it's always better to have some extra materials and not need them, than to need extra materials and not have them. If you are a DIYer or do-it-yourselfer you probably already know this, if not, now your do.
3 Prepare the Subfloor. One of the most commonly overlooked steps in flooring installation is preparing the subfloor for the new surface floor. What this means is you need to fill in gaps, large cracks, and clean away foreign matter from the base floor. Without doing this, your new vinyl floor may sink in places as well as rise in others. This will leave it looking awkward and uneven. Patching compound is typically used on subfloors. Vacuums and mops are all appropriate tools for leaving as clean and level a subfloor as possible. If you skip this step, you may find out later you have to undo much of your work to even out your floor. This is not good for anyone.
4 Locate Room Center. You want to determine the exact center of your room. To do this you need to find the middle point on each wall and draw a line with pencil or chalk to the other side of the room. This will create a grid our four intersection lines that will be an important reference point throughout the rest of the install. It will also give you your center point, i.e., where all of the lines converge.
5 Determine Placement. Grab your new vinyl tiles spread them out as you want them to be when they are installed. Any corner pieces or awkward angles which require a specially cut piece become apparent by doing this. It is best to make these cuts first so that once you begin installing pieces you can do it all at once. This method is more efficient. The best cutting tools for custom tailoring vinyl squares are box cutters or heavy-duty shears.
6 Begin Adhering Tiles. Leave the flooring from step 5 where it is, but begin peeling away the way paper from each piece of vinyl, one at a time. Start at the very center of your room and work outwards towards the walls. It is obligatory to place the first four pieces so that each has a corner touching the center of the room (which you have diagrammed in Step 4). These first four are the crucial pieces. They will set the pattern for how the rest of your entire floor will pan out. Therefore, make sure these four are spot-on. It is worth emphasizing that it is way easier, and way cheaper, to rip up 4 vinyl tiles in the case where they seem a bit off, than to remove 40 tiles once you realize the problem is bigger than you initially thought.
7 Secure Tile Placement. Once step 6 is executed with diligence, firmly press down on each tile. This is required because it secures the precise location of each tile. If tiles are not strongly adhered to the subfloor they may move slightly throughout the install process, throwing off your measurements and realigning the tile sequences. When you’re done, you may find a floor somewhat different than what you expected. To avoid this people rent rollers from their local home improvement chain to doubly ensure proper installation. This is up to the installer but is not a bad idea.
8 Pair Tiles Snugly. Continue placing tiles one at a time firmly and accurately in reference to the center four pieces. Make sure that you leave NO space between vinyl squares. Failing to do so can allow moisture and foreign materials to get between tiles and eventually underneath them. This will loosen tiles and jeopardize the aesthetics as well as the longevity of your newly purchase floor. However, you should leave space between the squares closest to the wall and the wall itself, about a 1/4 inch to be exact. This leaves room for base moldings and the like.
9. Inlay Customized Tiles. Once all normal vinyl pieces are down and have been secured it is time to supplant the customized tiles you cut for abnormal edges and angles. Take your time installing these pieces. People make the most mistakes when installing oddly-shaped tiles. It can get annoying once the rest of the floor is in to have to cut and re-cut specialized pieces because you rushed its inlay (this is why you bought a little extra vinyl however).
10 Check Moldings, Edges. If you have base moldings that take up more than the 1/4 you left for them, it is easier to cut your edge tiles a bit slimmer than to remove the moldings to place them on top of a full piece of vinyl. Also, sometimes the vinyl is too thick for the base molding to go on top of it and fit properly in line with the rest of the moldings. Make sure all edges and corners are covered, it is not uncommon to overlook a small area and accidentally leave it barren.
11 Walk on Tiles. Press all of your tiles in place one more time for good measure by walking around on them for a few minutes. Then, just let them sit for a few hours to ensure adhesion.
12 Enjoy. Enjoy your beautiful new floor!
