29 Mar 2018

How to fit Luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT Installation)

Fitting Luxury Vinyl Glue Down

Preparation

Firstly like all flooring, you have to allow time it to acclimatise. All you need to do is leave the boxes in the middle of the room for 48 hours, keeping the temperature of the room at a consistent level. Then you need to clean the subfloor, making sure its dirt/rubble free. Best way to do this is sweep, vacuum and mop before leaving to dry. The subfloor also needs to be level, which means less than 3mm deviation over a 1m area.

The next stage is ensuring the positioning is right, the last thing you want is an unsymmetrical floor. To do this is probably easier than you think. Start by finding the centre of the room, you’ll need to measure the width and length and strike a chalk line halfway across both, that will be your centre point. Without using any adhesive, lay two lines of flooring from the centre of the room at right angles to each others to make an L shape. This ensures you are laying the floor at the correct angle, make sure the edges line up with the wall, if that don’t, manoeuvre the boards around until they do.

 

Fitting
Now the preparation is down and the boards are in position, you can start to stick them down. To do this you will either need to apply a thin layer of adhesive to the suitable subfloor, or peel off the non-stick backing if your using self adhesive flooring. In the event of glue oozing up between the boards, clean it off immediately with wet cloth or sponge. ‘Its always worth having a good read through the manufacturers guides when using adhesive, as the requirements may be different depending on the brand’. After you have installed a section of the floor, apply pressure using a roller to bond the boards to the subfloor. After you’ve installed the majority of the boards, you will need to start making the cuts to fit the gaps against the wall. The best and most accurate way to do this is to lay the board directly on top of a laid board. Then, take a 3rd board and lay it on top against the wall. Using the edge of the 3rd tile to draw a cutting line across the board you want to fit.

 

 

Top Tips..

• Allow 48hrs to Acclimatise
• Make sure the subfloor is level and clean
• If you have to work on an area that you have just adhered down, use a piece of ply board to cover the area. That will ensure you weight is spread evenly and should prevent movement on the fitted boards
• The best way to cut a vinyl tile, is to use a knife, slice through the surface layer , then simply bend the board until it snaps apart