How To Put Down Vinyl Flooring And Pull Off A Professional Looking Finish

Vinyl flooring. Admittedly, not as bad as it used to be. And it is softer underfoot than it used to be, but it still isn’t great. It is available in a wide range of styles and patterns. It is best used in commercial buildings like care homes and the cheaper hotels. If you intend using it in your house, I would certainly keep it in an out of the way area like a utility room or the downstairs bathroom . If you’re determined to fit it yourself, then I suggest you read on about how to fit it correctly.

I will be blunt at this point. You’re gonna will require a quite a bit of kit for this job. Unless you’ve got plenty of vinyl, it might even work out less expensive to pay for another person to do it for you.

Anyway, in order to do the task you will require a roll of vinyl (obviously), a Stanley knife, vinyl glue, a steel straight edge, a tape measure, a paint scraper (for that glue), a ballpoint pen, a roll of double-sided flooring tape. And, if you have got a tiled floor or it is made of concrete you’ll need some self-levelling compound.

Step 1: The Vinyl:

Laying cold vinyl is a nightmare. It is stiff and does not stretch well. So, leave the vinyl in a warm room for a day and turn on the central heating. It will make fitting it a lot easier.

Step 2: Preparing your floor:

If you have a raw concrete floor, you will need to make sure that it is absolutely level. Otherwise the lumps will show through the vinyl. It will look ugly and present a potential safety hazard. Buy a self levelling compound, spread it over the floor to fill the holes and follow the instructions. This will do the trick.

Self levelling compound is what you will will want if you are covering ceramic tiles, as well. Spread a thin layer and fill in the joints between tiles. Again follow the instructions and let it to set.

When you are covering floorboards, you’ll be required to lay hardboard over them to establish a flat, smooth and stable surface. Make sure you stagger the joints and use plenty of pins to make sure they do not lift over time.

Step 3: Lay the Vinyl:

Make sure the area is clean. Get the vacuum out and give it a top notch hoovering. Take your shoes off. You will not will need them on to do this job. They will just drag grit around. Now, unroll the vinyl against the longest continual wall. Keep unrolling until the pattern is parallel with the wall. Leave a 4 inch overlap against the wall.

Now you will will want your Stanley knife. As the vinyl is unrolled, keep it as flat as you can around the edges near to the wall by making vertical cuts into the waste vinyl (i.e. the stuff pressing against the walls that won’t be covering your floor). For a neater finish, cut into the corners and trim the excess vinyl so that you form a V shape.

Step 4: Fit the Vinyl:

Now that you have cut the majority of excess vinyl off, it is more manageable. Use a pen pen and mark off more excess vinyl. Cut it away. Your aim now should be to get the vinyl into the rough shape of the room with a 1 or 2 inch excess around the sides.

Step 5: Trim and glue:

Ok, press the straight edge against the vinyl and trim to fit exactly. Force any edges under cabinets, skirting boards etc. This is going to give you a decent, crisp finish. if you have got anything other than 'stay-flat’ vinyl, this will be the time to stick it to your floor. Follow the instructions on your glue container.

Step 6: Finishing:

You’re practically there. Using a soft brush and starting from the centre of your room, push out any bubbles. Secure the vinyl at the doors and entrances to the room with double sided carpet tape. It will stop it moving.

When I say that I know how hard it can be to carry out these tasks that I’ve written about in this article. I’ve carried out these tips to many projects through the years but in the beginning when I first started out in the trade there was much to learn. For my training I went to an organization called Carpet Fitting Servicing. They taught me everything that I know.