How to install vinyl floors?

Answer 1

After installing quite a few, and without giving you a link which you can find in any WWW/browser/Keyword, general search, I'll assume you mean "sheet stock"

Vinyl sheet stock is certainly preferred over Tile type.

Similar to ceramic tile or carpet, or wood, you should "square" the room and measure your rough in piece outside of the work area, even lining and cutting.

Once in the room lay it out so that you have excess, or if you feel you've been perfect, you might assume that base molding should be removed first then re-installed OVER.

A decent utility knife, and extra blades, templates for odd cuts, doorway moldings, etc, might be your comfort option, and once the cuts have been made and you're satisfied with the fit, roll it up, and apply adhesive in a small stretch that you can manage kind of working backwards, with you even on top of the initial section patted down. If all goes well you can go back over with a rubber mallet, and/or a board tamping the tile to the adhesive, appropriately following adhesive directions, and once curing happens, re-install molding.

Steven Wolf

Answer 2

If you've never done this before, start with a small area.

First, you need to make sure the floor you are covering is completely clean and any cracks, gaps, bumps or low spots are fixed. Use a crack fill or floor leveling compound for this. Sand any repairs smooth.

If you are covering an existing vinyl or linoleum floor, coat it with a primer first to help the adhesive stick.

Lay out the new vinyl in a large open area. You're going to want to cut it to the shape of the room, and size it 2 or 3 inches bigger all the way around. Make sure you have plenty of spare blades for a utility knife. A sharp blade cuts much easier and more accurately.

Once you have the rough cut, roll it up and move it into the room you are going to install it in. Put the edge of the roll righ up against the appropriate wall, and roll it out about half way through the room. Then pull the unrolled portion back over the roll to expose the floor. Using a notched trowel, strart applying the adhesive at the far wall, working back to the roll. Once the entire are is covered, pick up the unrolled part and slowly lay it over the adhesive. When it is down, go back to the roll and starting in the middle smooth out the vinyl toward the walls, trying to push any air or bubbles out. Then roll out the rest of the vinyl and fold it back over itself to where the adhesive is. Glue that down the same way.
Once the whole floor is down start trimming the edges. A 5 or 6 inch scraper or mud knife can be used to push the vinyl down against the walls. Once it's all trimmed, I install a shoe molding around the room to be sure the edges don't peel up.

Answer 3

floor prep will be as has been mentioned.Some people use a pattern. if it is a small area this works well. using heavy paper cut and fit each piece until you have a pattern that you can lay over the new sheet stock and cut the new piece to the pa tern. definitely remove the base trim because if you are using a glued down material it will curl up with nothing holding the edges down. when you have the new piece in place pull one side back and apply the glue to the exposed half. be sure the material doesn't move by placing heavy books or some patio blocks on top of cardboard or paper to protect the new flooring. Flop the flooring back into place and wipe it down smooth. pull the other side up to repeat the process. do not wait for the glue to dry. I do not pattern cut I lay the sheet in place and push the material to the wall or vertical surface carefully with the edge of a retracted razor knife and then extend the knife to the first stop and cut the excess material off working about 4-6 feet of the edge at a time. cuts around walls,cabinets and other obstructions take time and often two to three people's help. the glue down process is the same. There are many materials available that require no adhesive. If you have questions drop me a line.

Answer 4

A little hint. If you layed the vinyl before the adheasive dried enough and the result was "air bubbles" you could not push down, use a hypodermic needle. Just puncture the vinyl and then suck the air out. Problem solved.

Answer 5

If you are using 12 inch square tiles you start by measuring the room to find the center of the room. And you start in the center so when you are done all outside borders will be the same in width. It doesn't sound possible but works this how I was told when I put my floor down, when I got done with my floor it looked like a professional put it down.
Good luck

Oldman

Answer 6

Checkout the very good tutorial on vinyl floor installation at www.doityourself.com.. Here's the link:

http://www.doityourself.com/scat/vinylinstallation

Answer 7

Like roll-type flooring? (you know, comes in a big roll)
Clean the hell out of your substrate, patch/fill any holes, sand the whole thing, ehh, fairly smooth; clean it again, trowel on your adhesive (directions on the bucket), line up your laminate (the flooring) and unroll. then walk all over it.
However, if'n your mean like vinyl TILES, most of these have adhesive backing already. Clean, Patch/Fill, Sand, Clean, and get to sticking. ( They even have arrows on the back so as they all line up) Once you decide to get started, them boys and girls at Home Depot can walk you through any rough patches...