A guide to installing vinyl flooring

Vinyl flooring can be an affordable option especially if you find it at a flooring sale. Vinyl flooring can come in tiles or sheets that can be affixed to the floor. While it is a good idea to have laminate tiles, laminate wood or engineered floors installed by a professional whenever possible, if you have the DIY skills and a bit of time and patience, you may be able to tackle the task of vinyl flooring installation yourself. Learn more about how to install vinyl flooring in this article.

Measuring and buying the flooring

The first step to installing flooring is to buy the floor materials. Shop around to get the best flooring prices and consider all types of laminate flooring and vinyl flooring before you make your selection. It is a wise idea to measure very carefully before you make the purchase so that you know exactly how much vinyl sheeting or what size of vinyl tiles you will need to buy. You also need to think about how the vinyl flooring will work with nearby rooms if you aren't doing the flooring in your whole house. If the flooring will be higher or lower in height than a nearby floor or if there is a transition where it bumps right up against other flooring, you'll need a special strip (sometimes called a Schuleter strip) to make the transition.

Prepare the subfloor

Before you can install the vinyl flooring, you need to make sure that the area over which you will be installing it is ready. Some kinds of vinyl flooring like stick on tiles can actually be installed right over other tile floors. You will need to make sure that the surface over which you are installing the vinyl is flat and level. You also need to make sure that it is a very clean area so that you do not trap dust, dirt or grime in between the vinyl and the floor itself.

Attach the flooring

The last step is to actually attach the vinyl to the floor. The vinyl tiles may be sticky on the back and you can simply peel and stick. If not, you will usually use a special glue to stick the tiles to the floor. Nails are not typically used with vinyl floors.