How to Install Vinyl Flooring

Life would be so much easier if everyone was a wizard when it came to home do-it-yourself projects. Unfortunately, alas, we are not, but for those of us who are talent deprived, there are those projects that come from the manufacturer so easy to use and install that they often seem like manna from heaven. This is the case with the installation of vinyl flooring. This article will serve as a primer for showing you how to install vinyl flooring.

Step 1. Diagram the Room

The first step for installing your vinyl flooring is to draw a diagram of the floor to be covered. After you have created a sketch, measure the room’s dimensions. Be sure you measure to the wall, not to the baseboards only, and add a few inches to each measurement for cutting the material to fit. This method is the easiest method to learn how to install vinyl flooring.

Step 2. Choose Your Vinyl Flooring

Take your diagram to your local flooring center to select a covering. The most valuable resource you have available at these centers is not the products, but the professionals that will help you learn how to install vinyl flooring. These professionals will make sure you have the materials as well as the knowledge you need to do a professional job of your installation.

Step 3. Prepare the Subfloor

Regardless of the type of subfloor you have, you need to make sure yours is flat and stable. Otherwise, problems you try to mask with your flooring will, over time, show through. Besides that, trying to fix something on the subfloor after the vinyl flooring has been laid is a futile effort. This is something that will become obvious after you learn how to install vinyl flooring.

Step 4. Making Room for the Vinyl

Around the room as well as any fixtures in the room there are probably all sorts of impediments to your walls and other surfaces. These are moldings as well as other surfaces that finish the fixture bases in the room. You will need to make room for the vinyl flooring under these obstacles. Fortunately, this is easier than what most people think. There are two ways of doing this. The first is to remove the molding entirely prior to laying the vinyl. Then, after you have laid the flooring, reinstall the molding. The other way is to use a saw to cut the base of the molding to allow room for the vinyl flooring to be pushed in underneath the woodwork. There is a wide variety of booklets and videos with illustrations of how to do this when you learn how to install vinyl flooring.

Step 5. Clean All Surfaces

Make sure the surface you are planning to cover with the vinyl flooring is clean prior to installing.

Step 6. Most vinyl flooring is sold today in 12’ sheets

If your room is larger than that, you will need to create a seam, which will have edges that need to be lightly sanded to eliminate rough spots. Fortunately, if you learn how to install vinyl flooring correctly, this should be easy. As you lay the vinyl, either peel the sheets to reveal the adhesive or apply the adhesive as you lay the product on the floor.

Finally, let dry and enjoy for years to come!