How to Install Vinyl Plank Flooring

[@woodrowsmith3400]

April...as a professional flooring installer I gotta tell you this video is the best I have seen. You are straight-up on point! Proper expansion gaps...proper installation...use of tap blocks (I generally cut the tongue off of the tap block to avoid shards of vinyl falling off)...proper technique for undercutting trim at doors, etc...just spot-on. I have to admit...I watched so I could catch you messing up some step...so I could pick apart your technique but you could come work with us any time you want. You are spot-on! There are a few "pro" tips that might have made the job faster and easier. Most LVP products are "score-n-snap" meaning you can score the top of the product heavily with a knife and snap the line over your knee. It takes practice but could have saved you fifteen minutes over all. For DIY installers, I doubt that fifteen minutes means much, but for us that bit of time multiplied by the number of cuts required in a whole house job adds up. While I applaud your application of a seal barrier over the concrete which is absolutely necessary, most LVP product now comes with a rubber-like vapor barrier affixed to the bottom of the plank. Check the install instructions included in the carton to determine if any extra steps are required for wood subfloors. Usually not. Well done, April.

[@AprilWilkerson]

Wow. Nothing better than a compliment from a pro who does the work every day. Thanks for taking the time to write--and for the tips. This won't be my last time installing LVP.

[@labradorshalladore4966]

Read between the lines April had help installing this floor and film crew

[@olddawgdreaming5715]

The room transformation turned out really good April. Thanks for sharing with us. Stay safe and keep up the great work around there. Fred.

[@AprilWilkerson]

Thank you! You too!

[@WillysPerformanceCycleCtr]

Your install turned out great! The flooring certainly complements your room. Thanks for the detailed instructions and suggestions. Take care April and keep us up to date on your golf project!

[@AprilWilkerson]

Thanks so much!

[@wolfgangschmidtke8023]

Hallo April und danke für deine Info und tschüss aus Düsseldorf Germany 👍👍🇩🇪🇺🇸🇺🇸🤵🏻

[@lovejones7545]

April!! Great to see you❤. Your floors look awesome. Thank you for sharing this project🤙🏾💯

[@louroberts5567]

Good morning, April! Thanks for another great tutorial. The floor looks awesome. We've used vinyl plank flooring in a few rooms of our home and they really look wonderful. Such a nice, rich look of wood rather than wall to wall carpeting. Hope you enjoy the extended weekend! God bless.

[@AprilWilkerson]

Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching.

[@djkuhl]

I am doing this today and tomorrow for an office space. Couldn't have come at a better time!

[@AprilWilkerson]

Awesome! Glad you found it useful. Thanks for watching.

[@scotthargraves576]

Great timing! I am installing the underlayment today and the LVP flooring next weekend in our garage loft project.

[@AprilWilkerson]

Fantastic! Enjoy the process! It goes quickly and is so satisfying afterwards. Thanks for watching.

[@dangiaplumbing]

Great video! I'm about to redo my flooring and your video answered most of my questions! I'm a plumber and have never messed with flooring, Lord help me!! LOL 🤘😝🤘Thank you!

[@IEnjoyCreatingVideos]

Great job on the floor April! Thanks for sharing the video with us!💖👍😎JP

[@hattrick-df4bo]

Thanks, April. Well done and great tips for an upcoming project!!

[@AprilWilkerson]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching.

[@bobsbarnworkshop]

Also, make sure to install expansion joints often enough, especially for an unheated seasonal building. We had buckling and tongues pulling apart during wide temp and humidity swings. Also leave plenty of space at the ends of the planks, it moves a lot!

[@RobinP556]

Wonderful video! I’m in the early stages of building a house, my forever home you might say, and these floors might be exactly what I need as I try to build something that’s inviting, meets my needs and isn’t too expensive.

[@AprilWilkerson]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching.

[@AB-nu5we]

That flooring looks great, as does the room in general!. Throw a rug on there if you want... . Agree with you about the hook knife cutting carpet. I use straight blade carpet knives instead. Easy peasy. The Wagner roller is a great idea, but the knap on the rollers is, well, weird. I never got a 'smooth' surface on either textured or smooth drywall. There were several times when the roller would cross a wet edge and pull paint back up. I ended up switching back to a standard roller. Glad it works for you.

[@NickMomrik]

Another good tip is to open 3 boxes at a time and create stacks of each design. I've done several different brands of similar flooring and there usually are 6-8 designs. This helps so you can easily pick a next piece of flooring that don't match side by side or end to end.

[@AprilWilkerson]

Great tip! Thanks for sharing and for watching.

[@nica.rivera]

I enjoyed watching the transition of the room.

[@AprilWilkerson]

Thanks! It was such fun seeing it go from one extreme to the other. Thanks for watching.

[@ianpearse4480]

Cool stuff. Love the detailed explanations. Cheers.

[@AprilWilkerson]

Glad you liked it!

[@Kellygaugler-w3i]

Great information, love the flooring you put down.

[@AprilWilkerson]

Thank you! Glad you liked it.

[@flightofapaullo72]

Great video! Been thinking about new flooring for awhile now. Thanks for sharing. Happy Sunday April.

[@AprilWilkerson]

Thank you! Glad you found it useful. Thanks for watching.

[@dennishinkle5010]

I put that flooring in my bathroom after taking up the carpet. Why there was carpet in the bathroom is beyond me. I had to cut out for AC vents but it was so easy that i thought maybe i did it wrong. It not only looks good but its very durable and cleans very easily. Thank you for sharing.👍♥️

[@AprilWilkerson]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing and for watching.

[@yekaterinapanferova1410]

Well done. Good job. I like your video. Thanks. Good luck

[@AprilWilkerson]

Thank you very much!

[@harveyelmore]

Thank you

[@AprilWilkerson]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching.

[@jtotheb-ip2hh]

AW, you are a stud! no question about it! but I do have a question about something else for you or anyone else here -- on the table saw, should I use a fine-tooth blade, like for plywood, or any old combination blade? thanks!

[@BearCreekWoodworking]

I like the Wagner Roller you used to paint your room April. Next time I paint a room in my house, I'm going to use one of these too.

[@pauldean7690]

No professional painter would be caught dead with one of these, a professional time waster. A 2 1/2 or 5 gallon bucket with a 7" or 9" roller grid & a 1/2" 3/4" nap roller is the preferred tools 100% of the time. But hey it's your job so who am I?

[@AprilWilkerson]

To each their own but I've used this for several painting jobs and it works great every time. I've never had a problem one. Thanks for watching.

[@pauldean7690]

@@AprilWilkerson Thanks April, it's a honor that you even replied. I've watched 50+ of your vids and grateful for your very informative videos.

[@BearCreekWoodworking]

@@pauldean7690I just think this roller will save time and effort for a homeowner. Thanks for the insightful comment.

[@pauldean7690]

@@BearCreekWoodworking If so all the professional painters would use this but go ahead & ask one of them

[@more.power.]

"We have this flooring in our home and found it particularly easy to lay, tough, and it adds to the overall aesthetics of the space."

[@benjaminreinhardt259]

A couple rolls of cheap duct tape make ripping out the old carpet even easier. As you roll it up, duct tape the rolls to make moving them easier.

[@yeowzaa007]

LVP by Flooret has an industry leading 40 mil wear layer. Awesome flooring at a great price. 9" x 72"

[@toshiaki274]

You’re amazing 🤙

[@jimk59]

If you attach a hook blade to an oscillating tool, you will be amazed at how well it will slice thru carper and cardboard.

[@cassantos1319]

Very cool!😊👏👏🌹

[@AprilWilkerson]

Thank you very much!

[@johncostello3162]

Good video, in California we usually use plastic underlay instead of painted. Which do you recommend? I think you have to be careful walking on floor before finished. Transition strip tutorial?? I like your videos

[@AprilWilkerson]

I've heard of using poly sheeting, but havent' tried it so I don't have authority here. Seems like poly would be easy to wrinkle it, tear it, etc. The roll-on method was good-proof and I would use it again.

[@ABRsanta]

Thank you so much... !!!!

[@AprilWilkerson]

Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching.

[@markbennett8685]

We’re about to buy a new house out in Colorado Springs, and immediately rip up all the brand new carpet. Any suggestions on easily selling it? I thought about contacting the contractor who installed it. With two Yorkies, we want LVP throughout the entire house. Thanks for your advice.

[@brentjenkinsdesigns]

We lay this stuff quite often. I would share one bit. Be very careful while walking around while installing.The tongues are easily broken which renders that piece unusable except for small pieces.

[@cab6092]

I understand there are two luxury vinyl tiles. One is a glue down (which I like best), the second is considered a float flooring (snap n loc) that has the tongue and groove. The 2nd is more likely to break. With glue down, if one or several get damaged, you can heat, pull up and replace. Just my thought. Everyone has their personal preference.

[@simonc8689]

Hey April, I think your figures on the wear layer depths are off by an order of magnitude. If the wear layer was 28mm it would be over an inch thick. The product looks to be just over a half inch thick. I think a decimal point drifted somewhere. Maybe 2.8mm?

[@Sawmill.skills.indonesia]

Good

[@monkeybarmonkeyman]

One thing to keep in mind... hard floors are tough on dogs, especially larger dogs. Our dogs have a hard time sitting down and getting up as their feet tend to slip on the surface.

[@AprilWilkerson]

Great point. The flooring I used looks like it would be slippery, but the embossed surface is pretty un-slippery. My dogs have more trouble on tile and hardwood.

[@BlueSky-uz1tv]

Several places in the video it seems the edge pieces are bowed up. You can see it when you walk on the floor. What's keeping the edge pieces flat - the base board?

[@Phrish]

28 mm is 1.1 inches. I'm guessing the wear layer of the planks isn't over an inch thick... maybe 0.28? That said, great video. Thanks for the info and posting it!

[@monkeymuggs]

I was wondering about the transition strip height difference. Never done vinyl plank before, so I'm a little hesitant.

[@Z-Bart]

Happy, happy feet.

[@FredMcIntyre]

Nice job April, the floor looks great! 😃👍🏻👊🏻 .... did you hold on to any of the carpet for door mats or potential cat furniture/scratching posts, etc?

[@AprilWilkerson]

No, it was the carpet original from 1st owner so it all went away. Thanks for always watching and being so supportive.

[@Friedbrain11]

28mm wear surface? I don't think so as that would be a little over an inch. I think you mean 2.8 mm?

[@timstest1287]

Yah I was confused too. Apparently, a mil is a measurement that equals one-thousandth of an inch, or 0.001 inch, not a millimeter

[@bobbyleeper]

I like to run 2-3 runs at a time so when i go back to the start i have options, and don't end up with undesired patterns.

[@aoife984]

Can you please tell me how thick the vinyl plank you layed down is?

[@dennis2376]

Have you talked to Anne of all Trades?

[@TheRealSlowhand]

Does this just sit on the base floor without adhesive? Also, what about installing it on a 2nd floor with a wood base is there anything done different to prep the base floor?

[@nationsnumber1chump]

I want to do this to my office/ workout room! Does it do good with rolling chairs? Looks like a good thick green underpadding

[@exessivemite9478]

No, me and my dad lay this stuff every day, we've done repairs on floors because of rolling chairs, I suggest you have a Matt or something under the chair

[@ManiacMidge13]

Great video as always! Love watching your content because it's always so informative and easy to follow. Maybe you can help me out - we've been wanting to redo our basement flooring (it's currently a checkered pattern made of adhesive carpet tiles) but the floor isn't level in some areas. Would this kind of flooring be flexible enough for a space that's not level?

[@mv-db4463]

FYI: I did similar flooring years ago and decided to us a thinnest type material to make the unlevel spots in my floor were level. I am 1,000% glad I did because I missed two spots around the perimeter of one room and it FLEXES too much for my liking. Fortunately, I was able to fix one of the unlevel spot and simply left the other because it was on a part of the floor next to the trim where I rarely walk. I would have regretted not "spot" leveling my floors.

[@ManiacMidge13]

@@mv-db4463 thanks for the tips!

[@mv-db4463]

@@ManiacMidge13 You are very welcome !

[@brucealvarez9263]

At 7:28/29, how did you tilt the piece to lock it in with the door frame and trim in place?

[@aoife984]

April can you please tell me exactly how thick the LVP you are laying down? Thanks!

[@AprilWilkerson]

It's slightly less than 1/2" thick (11.5 mm). HappyFeet also has thinner flooring.

[@aoife984]

@@AprilWilkerson Thank you!

[@Maeglin1988]

Just 4 your information 28mm is roughly an inch. I dont think the wear layer is thicker than the whole board. Maybe they mean micrometer. That would be more realistic. But nevertheless very interesting video!

[@Dave-in-MD]

Last time I pulled up carpet the pad was so old and dead I removed it with a shopvac. 90% of it was powder.

[@AprilWilkerson]

Yes, they certainly deteriorate quickly. Thanks for watching.

[@heneinh]

28mm wear layer or 2.8mm?

[@mehill00]

28 mil = 28/1000 inch = 0.71 mm.

[@woodrowsmith3400]

'Mil' in this case is 1/1000". The wear layer then becomes 28/1000"

[@Taizunx]

@@woodrowsmith3400 ​If that's true, then the chart is wrong anyways, because it says "mm" on the side of it, not "mil".

[@WoodUCreate]

I wanted to ask, do you really think an expansion gap is necessary? Maybe just as a good practice to always do so, but the LVP is not going to move and certainly the concrete won't expand.

[@woodrowsmith3400]

The expansion gap is absolutely necessary. Temperature and direct sunlight can significantly affect the flooring. Remember, the flooring is NOT directly affixed to the subfloor in any way, shape or form. Any changes in temp can cause very slight dimension changes in the product that, multiplied by the number of rows of flooring installed, can move the entire floor as much as a half-inch. I have been gainfully employed as a "third-hand" on LVP installs for the last 8years, meaning I do the scraping, prep and custom cuts for the installer. At least once a year our crew has been hired to "fix" poorly installed LVP. In 8 of 10 instances, the problem has come in an area where A: there was not proper expansion allowance, and B: there was large areas of the flooring exposed to direct sunlight.

[@callyscraftycorner2463]

Does this flooring off gas? I’m looking for one that does not off gas.

[@lilorbielilorbie2496]

While painting with a roller is faster .The problem I have is keeping the dang roller on the handle. It keeps wanting to slide off as I'm rolling on the paint.

[@robertcolantonio2254]

I dont think you are using the right size roller for the handle, never had a roller come off

[@lilorbielilorbie2496]

@@robertcolantonio2254 And your thinking would be wrong.

[@PhilipCook123]

Where did you get that knee brace-pad?

[@AprilWilkerson]

It's a knee pad from Toughbuilt. They're great! Thanks for watching.

[@Taizunx]

That wear layer thickness chart seems a bit off. Otherwise the wear layer is thicker than the board itself lol

[@drewskycraper4469]

Does it give off bad smell?

[@doug2202]

Does the floor have a bouncy or squishy feel when walking on it?

[@AprilWilkerson]

Nope! It feels like a regular floor. Thanks for watching.

[@doug2202]

@@AprilWilkerson Can it be purchased on line.

[@RS-Amsterdam]

Great video but you could also measure how many planks you need and how the last one would cover the rest of the open place instead of laying all the planks for testing. We have special tools to hammer the planks in position instead of using an old piece of plank. These tools are much higher than a plank so you avoid missing it whilst hammering or damage it. Job well done though !

[@lilorbielilorbie2496]

RS-Amsterdam Or you could just measure the area of the room which is length times width and there's your square footage of the room.

[@adamdejesus4017]

The tapping blocks are great, especially the bar that sets the last row. But you still want to use a scrap piece of plank in between to prevent damage to the tongues and grooves on the finished floor.

[@RS-Amsterdam]

@@lilorbielilorbie2496 that will not give you the correct antwer she is looking for. You don't want to end at the other side with a small strip. If so you start with e.g. half a plank jn width so at the other side you will end also around half the size of a plank.

[@mattsnyder4754]

You could. But it probably took her 60 seconds to put the floor pieces down. If you can do that math faster than that, that’s great! Most people can’t though

[@RS-Amsterdam]

@@mattsnyder4754 Then they probably can't lay a floor Either hehe.

[@jrock14921]

What color LVP did you use? Can you link the color?

[@AprilWilkerson]

The color/pattern is Normandy: www.happyfeetinternational.com/products/pinnacle I think I made the right choice. But really, all the HappyFeet samples looked so good. It was a hard choice.

[@cimbakahn]

April Wilkerson: I liked the room the way it was in the beginning. It was very warm and inviting. Now it looks very cold and sterile.

[@AprilWilkerson]

It fits better as an office, so I like it this new way. Thanks for watching.

[@MFunkibut]

So you tell us how the Wagner roller is great and saves you time. And then you seal the floor with a traditional roller. I'm confused - walk us thru the thought process there. I know there's a reason but I can't even hazard a guess.

[@playinthedirt4015]

I would guess that the Wagner roller is designed specifically for paint, which has a much thicker consistency than the floor sealant.

[@ninamatthews8747]

This seems easy but I wish you could do it without a table saw. I don’t want to cut my fingers off, 😢

[@Krumholt]

instead of laying out the floor all the way across why not measure it? lol this is a good video.

[@10OF9OFBORG]

👍🏻👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@tredogzs]

is the concrete going to mold? or is the vynil going to mold? ... ... ... 😢

[@Cooldaddio2]

What is the color of the LVP you chose?

[@AprilWilkerson]

Hard choice, but I went with Normandy: www.happyfeetinternational.com/products/pinnacle

[@doodlesdaddy1122]

Nice video! But you don't need any expansion gap for LVP, that is false information.

[@chriscutress1702]

The hardest part of any flooring job is removing all the furniture before you start the prep-work.

[@AprilWilkerson]

Ha! So true. Actually laying the floor was the fast, easy part of this project.

[@Risengrave]

Wear layer is not 28mm, more 2.8 mm..

[@NorthernMonkeeUK]

Came to find this comment. It's funny when Americans try to use metric like the rest of the world.

[@mrxmry3264]

the problem with videos like this is that those products are available in texas, but are they available in other states or even other countries?

[@trishblakely3476]

If you do a 0.05 second Google search, you will find “happy feet international .” 👍

[@AprilWilkerson]

Too many variables for me to say so everyone has to check and see for themselves. Possibly it could be shipped. Thanks for watching.

[@robertcolantonio2254]

There are many similar products in home depot/lowes

[@rebeccaanaya364]

Where did you buy the vapor barrier primer?.......do you have a link to possibly try to order it?

[@stbam1965]

Come do my room . Ill pay you

[@AprilWilkerson]

I don't do project jobs for others, I have too many on my own list to do. But I show you how to do it should you decide to attempt it. If I can do it, anyone can. Thanks for watching.

[@IsmailNuzaifKokky]

.

[@ron827]

Instead of first laying out all the planks, a measuring tape was invented many years ago. :-)

[@timb4569]

that's why she makes the videos and you watch them.

[@sarikasabnis2369]

Walls and floors usually aren’t square :)

[@woodrowsmith3400]

Tape doesn't always tell true. April likely saved time 'planking' out the room as she did. It is how we do it in our crew of pro installers. In fact, we rarely use tape at all during an install.

[@AprilWilkerson]

With any project, a little math mistake can mean huge headaches. So I skip the math when it's easy to avoid.

[@richadent968]

These flooring produces are nowhere near as good as a hardwood floors. But the trend is to use them.