Choose the vinyl flooring to be installed. Make a Sketch of the Room Make a sketch of the room where the vinyl will be installed and measure accurately the room's dimensions. Bring this drawing to the manufacturer's showroom or vinyl retail store. When figuring the amount of vinyl flooring needed, add a few inches to each of the room's dimensions to allow extra material for cutting, trimming and centering the pattern in the room. Make Subfloor Flat and Smooth Check the subfloor to make sure it is in good condition. It needs to be flat and completely smooth. On concrete subfloors, fill in any holes or low-lying areas with a patching compound. Mix the compound with water to the consistency of mayonnaise and spread with a small trowel (Image 1). Let dry for about an hour. While patching compound is drying, remove shoe molding in the room and do a final clean up, making sure the floor surface is completely clean. To trim a door frame so that the vinyl flooring will fit nicely, take a scrap piece of the flooring that is going to be installed and lay it down next to the door frame.

Using a handsaw, turn it on its side and saw off the bottom of the door frame (Image 2). This will give the exact space needed for the flooring to fit underneath the door frame. Lay out the vinyl flooring in the room and mark the area where the excess will be cut out. Cut with a utility knife or heavy-duty shears. Save any excess vinyl flooring for installing in a closet, laundry room, or small bathroom. For any corners that are cut, reinforce with two pieces of masking tape. This will help protect the corner from tearing as the vinyl flooring is moved into position. Lay the flooring in its final position with plenty of excess around each wall. Make relief cuts around obstructions. For an inside corner, cut small half circles until the vinyl lies flat to the floor. For an outside corner, make straight relief cuts. Roll Out Craft Paper Roll back the vinyl flooring next to the wall to expose the subfloor. To create a partial template along the wall (in order to make an exact cut), roll out some of the roll of craft paper along the length of the wall.

Single sheets of 8-1/2"x11" paper can be taped together in place of a craft paper roll. Line up the edge of the craft paper against the wall and lightly tape down the paper to the floor using very small pieces of masking tape approximately every 2 feet (this is only to keep the craft paper from moving on the floor). Apply a strip of double-stick tape every 2 feet or so to the craft paper and remove the backing from the top side of the tape.Toy Poodle Puppies For Sale In Charlotte Nc Roll the vinyl back into position over the template and press down firmly to adhere the vinyl to the template. Ewing Oil T-ShirtGently lift the vinyl back up to reveal the template stuck to the vinyl backing. Digital Camera Repair Naples Fl

The outer edge of the paper is where the vinyl should be cut. Using a straightedge and a protective piece of scrap wood to lie underneath the vinyl, and carefully cut the vinyl along the template edge. Repeat steps 6 through 8 along each wall in the room. The vinyl should be in its final position and trimmed exactly to each wall. Note: Perimeter adhesion allows the flooring in the unadhered areas to float over the top of any imperfections. If the floor had any roughness in it, it would mask it very nicely. It is best to talk to the retailer about the type of adhering because there are a lot of different floorings available. Some use perimeter adhesion, some full adhesion and some can be adhered either way. Purchase the right vinyl adhesive at the same time the flooring is purchased. Also, the directions on the adhesive container explain the right trowel, etc. to use. For perimeter adhesion: Open the can of adhesive material and, using a fine-notched trowel, spread a band along the wall about 6 inches wide.

Attach Flooring to the Adhesive Lay the vinyl back down into position and use a hand roller or block of wood wrapped in a clean cloth to seat the flooring to the adhesive. Using the wood wrapped in a cloth would save money, so there's no need for a new tool. For full adhesion, spread the adhesive material onto the entire floor surface and roll the vinyl flooring back down into place. Seat the flooring with a hand roller or block, applying firm pressure to ensure good adhesion. Allow to dry for two to four hours—until there's a solid bond. If you fully adhere the vinyl, keep heavy traffic and furniture off it for at least the first 24 hours. Replace Shoe Molding and Trim Replace shoe molding and trim along the walls of the room. After the adhesion has dried, move furniture back in using four sheets of thin 1/8" plywood or similar material to slide the furniture across the floor. Cleaning and maintaining is simple: Keep it swept and use a damp mop with a no-rinse cleaner.

Special thanks to Congoleum Corporation and Mohawk IndustriesWas this guide useful? Difficulty rating: MediumThese tasks may be tricky so will suit you if you're experienced in DIY, or simply love a challenge.Please take a moment to read through our DIY safety tips, before you get started on any of our 'how to' guides. 1. Measuring upIt's easy to work out how many tiles you'll need. Start by multiplying the width of your room by the length to find the main area.Then add or subtract the area of any bay windows, alcoves, chimney breasts or door thresholds.Divide the area of the room by the area of a single tile, rounding up to the nearest whole number. Vinyl tiles vary in size but all Homebase carpet tiles are 50cm x 50cm - i.e. four tiles = 1m2.Add 5% to 10% and this is the number of tiles you should buy.Check your tiles have the same batch number so they match. And, of course, make sure they're the right type of tile for the area you're covering. 2. Choosing the right tilesCarpet tiles are ideal for bedrooms.

Generally, vinyl and carpet tiles are all fine for living rooms, bathrooms and kitchens.It's best not to put floor tiles in your conservatory - intense sunlight and temperature can make them fade and shrink. 3. Preparing the sub floorOn old floors, remove all previous floor coverings and any adhesives used to stick them down.If you're putting tiles on floorboards, overlay the boards with hardboard, smooth side up. You shouldn't use timber treated with wood preservatives as a sub-floor, even if it's overlaid with hardboard.If you're laying tiles over a concrete sub-floor it must be smooth, absolutely dry and have an integral damp-proof membrane.Remember, new concrete floors can take up to six months to dry. And they have to be completely dried out before you can lay new tiles.Prime all porous surfaces - including concrete, sand and cement screed, plywood, hardboard and chipboard - with a diluted solution of PVA. You shouldn't lay vinyl tiles over underfloor heating as they can lift or warp.

Carpet tiles are fine up to a maximum floor temperature of 28oC. 4. Getting the right adhesiveIf your tiles aren't self-adhesive, buy the tile manufacturer's recommended adhesive.You can stick carpet tiles down with a 'low tack' adhesive or double-sided tape so they can be lifted and replaced easily. 5. Planning and marking the roomYou'll achieve the best look for your floor if the tiles are centred in the doorway.Ideally you want the tiles around the edge of your room to be equal in width on both sides or ends - i.e. avoid narrow strips at the edges and in doorways. (Fig. 1 shows where the tiles should stop in a doorway.)To do this, mark a chalk line down the centre of the room (fig. 2). Then, starting in the centre of the doorway, mark a second line at a 90-degree angle to the first line (fig.3).'Loose lay' tiles along these lines to see how the borders appear (fig.4). If you end up with awkward narrow strips of tiles at the edge of the room, simply adjust the chalk lines to avoid this.

Don't cover access to plumbing and electrical services. 6. Laying the tilesStart laying tiles in rows along your chalk line. Lay all the centre tiles first. Leave out the last full rows and the row of border tiles (fig.5).Don't put adhesive on the last full rows or borders until you've cut the border tiles and are ready to lay them.Place each tile carefully - butting it firmly and squarely up to its neighbours. This should create good straight lines.Don't slide the tiles as this can force adhesive into the joints and make a bad fit. Remove all excess adhesive with a damp rag before it goes hard (obviously you wouldn't do this for self-adhesive or carpet tiles).If you're laying vinyl tiles, and the surfaces of adjacent tiles aren't level, you can usually even them out with a block of softwood and a hammer (fig. 6) 7. Cutting the border tilesTo cut your border tiles, loose lay a whole tile (tile 'A' in fig. 7). Place another tile over it with its edge butting up to the wall.Score the lower tile with a craft knife ('A' in fig. 7).

You can bend a vinyl tile to break it. Otherwise use a safe blade to finish the cut. Always use a safe blade on carpet tiles.Piece 'A' is now a perfectly fitting border tile.Use the same method to cut the corners as shown in fig. 8. 8. Tackling tiling around pipes and architravesWith vinyl tiles, don't shape a tile to go round the architrave. It's actually easier to cut out a section at the bottom of the architrave itself. But with carpet tiles, make a cardboard template and cut the shape out of the tile.With a hand saw and chisel, remove a section of architrave to the same depth as your tile and slot the tile underneath it (fig. 9).To fit vinyl or carpet tiles around pipes, you pierce a pipe-shaped hole in your tile that's slightly larger than the pipe itself.To do this, make a cutter out of a scrap of pipe by sharpening the inside edge of one end with a file.Mark the pipe's position on your border tile, then line up the cutter and hit it with a hammer (fig. 10).Then make a single straight cut from the hole to the edge of the tile and fit it around the pipe.

9. Finishing around the doorwaysWhere your tiles finish in a doorway use a metal threshold strip to give a neat water-resistant edge. You can get threshold strips to suit surfaces that meet at equal or differing heights.Measure the width of your door opening and cut the metal strips with a junior hacksaw. Then smooth the ends with a fine file. Screw the threshold strip into the floor.To fix threshold strips into a solid floor, mark the screw holes. Use a masonry drill to bore holes to fit a wall plug and screw the strips to the floor 10. Carpet pile directionTo get the best overall look for your carpet tiles, lay them at right angles to each other. Arranging your tiles like this gives a checkerboard effect (fig. 11).Arrows on the reverse of the tiles indicate the way to lay them.If you prefer a 'broadloom' carpet appearance, lay all your tiles pointing in the same direction.When buying carpet tiles, get a few spares to replace any tiles that get damaged or worn. Was this guide useful?