How to start laying a vinyl floor | Tutorial by Quick-Step

Have you opted for a vinyl floor and would you like to install it by yourself? We will be happy to get you started and show you how to do it, step by step.

Measure the width of your room and divide the corresponding figure by the width of a plank. You now know how many full rows of planks you will need. Make a mark on the wall where you will be laying your last full plank. The remaining centimetres that you will not be able to fill with a full plank can be distributed across two planks that you can use at the ends of the floor. Do not work any narrower than 5 cm. This will promote the stability of your floor.

You are now ready to lay your underlay. If you aren’t sure how to do that exactly, be sure to watch our video “How do you prepare underlay?”.

After you have installed the underlay, you can take the planks out of the packaging and mix up the various planks from the different boxes to avoid having too many identical patterns and colour variations next to each other.

Before laying the planks, make sure that they are not damaged anywhere.

You will get the best effect if you lay the vinyl in line with the longest wall, parallel to the angle at which the light enters your room. Ensure that the end joints of successive rows are never in line. This means that you will have to alternate your alignment of the end joints. Make sure that the short joints of your planks always stagger by at least 30 cm. This will ensure the best possible result.

Considering that a wall is hardly ever entirely straight, it is better not to lay your first plank flush against a wall.

Slot the first plank of the second row into the first plank of the first row. Lift the plank at an angle of 20 to 30° and move it slightly up and down, exerting some forward pressure. This will help the planks click together perfectly. Don’t forget to alternate the alignment of your end joints!

Next, slot the third plank in horizontally. Keep your hand underneath the plank and lift it up slightly. Push the short side joint down gently with your thumb moving from the inner corner towards the outside. It’s that easy!

Once three full rows have been laid you can work on top your newly laid planks. This will be a lot easier. Check to see if all the joints are securely clicked into place. Press against them with your thumb to make sure.

Next, let’s get back to the wall to install the first row of planks here. Measure how much space has been left between the floor and the wall and make a mark on your planks to indicate the appropriate distance.

Pro Tip: For easy measuring, put a new row of planks exactly on top of the last one. Now you can mark the distance you need perfectly with a left-over piece of plank.

Pro Tip: Always leave a gap of approximately 5 mm between the plank and the wall. This will give your floor the room it needs to expand, which will prevent it from warping in the event of major temperature differences.

At the very end you can finish the floor with narrower planks. Do you have a wall that is not entirely straight? Measure the deviation using a bevel and transfer the measurement by drawing it on your vinyl plank. Cut out the shape you need and click the plank into the penultimate row.

Finished! Your room now has a beautiful vinyl floor.

Do you need more tips? Be sure to look at the other Quick-Step tutorials.

[davidelder]

Can you lay on top of tiles without underlay ?

[carbonunit]

I need to know how to transition to a sliding door, top of a step and to a wood floor.

[buffstuffgaming]

What if you can't start on left side I put down, when second row comes across it leaves me only about 3 inches into closet for transition piece.

[blatzphemy]

Ads on your instructional video. Real nice. Guess what product I won’t buy again

[uunz]

Very nice short and to the point tutorial. :) Great presentation guys.