How To Install Waterproof Vinyl Plank Flooring | DIY Flooring Installation

Learn how to install Smartcore Ultra Luxury Vinyl Plank Flooring. Tony walks you through this DIY flooring installation project to show you how you can do it yourself.
Difficulty Level: Moderate. If you are not 100% confident installing vinyl flooring, Lowe's recommends that you hire a professional. Call 1-877-GO-LOWES or visit low.es/2C1mABH to learn more about installation services through Lowe’s.
Shop the items in this video on Lowes.com:
SmartCore Ultra Luxury Vinyl Plank Flooring: low.es/2GJ6jpw
TEC Indoor Primer: low.es/2GHPefu
Craftsman V20 Oscillating Multi-Tool: low.es/2GFr31k
SmartCore Soft and Sound Underlayment: low.es/2GHPgUE
DeWalt 10” 15-Amp Portable Table Saw: low.es/2GEUCjC
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[@derekw9608]

Wow, Tony. Ive been installing vinyl plank flooring for about 73 years now and I thought I knew every trick in the book until I seent your video. Spectacular

[@fruitpunch4890]

So thorough and straight to the point, not a whole lot of talking like many others do. Easy steps to follow and got all my questions answered that i've been searching for in other videos. The staggering was where I wasn't able to find a proper explanation, and you made it so simple to figure out. Thank you!

[@vivianallen9772]

This is the best vinyl plank installation video I’ve seen. Thank you!

[@mst3ksanta]

12:04. be sure to use a bit of card board from one of your boxes under the pull bar so you don't scuff up the flooring. Especially if the pull bar is a little big and doesn't fit on flat on the new flooring when hitting with the dead blow hammer.

[@colbygemmer1400]

Bro, you are a true homie. 20 other videos were trash, you made it so easy to get it done. Thank you

[@fishingpinky3165]

Thank you! I am 61 y/o woman and going to install mine next weekend.

[@troyporter3825]

how was it?

[@andresschwerin829]

@@troyporter3825 she won't see the replys

[@RadioactiveSince1990x]

This is the best video on installing I've seen yet. This process is so much less intimidating and you show how to do so much stuff that I was clueless on, thank you!

[@ExistNNature]

I agree!

[@123pwop]

THANK YOU ! Absolutely the BEST video on installing I`ve seen yet and I`ve looked at them ALL !! Did I mention THANK YOU !!

[@stevensnell6686]

Best installation video for this type of product I have seen, and I have been looking at quite a few to get some helpful tips. Excellent! Great job of demonstration and explanation. Thank you so much.

[@jonathonmartin4655]

D

[@pcwunlimited]

As a newcomer into the remodeling industry this video was very informative and I learned a couple of tricks to make my installations go smoother. Thank you for the detailed video.

[@servantsavior]

Thank you for this video. The trick with using the cut pieces with the block to avoid damaging the tongue and groove on the good panels is a trick I wish I thought of when I did my bathroom

[@richarda.valdes1197]

Getting ready to install my new floor. Watched several videos and yours is the best I've seen for a single room installation

[@TriniLush7]

How did it go?

[@norwegianm3]

Just finished my first installation (Stainmaster 12 x 24 click-lock plank) and it's important to note that you should start near doorways, and not finish with them. It's a lot easier to tuck the plank under the door after cutting it to fit because you need a 20 degree angle to correctly seed the tongue into the groove, and because you will need to slide the final piece it's almost impossible the get a tight seam. Difficult to envision unless you've made the same mistake, but if you have doors on two adjoining walls, start there and your life will be much easier!

[@haseeb4eva]

Great video, right to the point without unnecessary details. Super helpful. Thank you!

[@websteral]

He treated me like I didn't know anything about floors, and I don't. Great video! This took a lot of the mystery out of the installation, and showed me where I was going wrong.

[@dillonglover7839]

I wasn't surprised seeing the Lowe's icon in the bottom right corner. This is the first video I now feel confident in installing my flooring after watching. Excellent video! Thanks a lot! May be taking a trip to Lowe's before finalizing my purchase. It's closer to the house anyway. Build on!

[@BodyByKymXclusive]

Me too

[@hachador]

Best Installation video ever, I made the full installation by myself without problem, thank you!!!

[@ampquartz]

A very nice vidoe!

[@nehnehnehbatman]

Low key a Home Depot guy, but I think I’ll buy my flooring at Lowe’s because of this tutorial. Very clear, really professional. You have got a new customer!

[@luket6405]

Check out if there is a Floor and Decor near you. They’re the Costco of flooring

[@rogerrigney5065]

I have found that the smart core water proof vinyl flooring will not lock into place lying flat like he’s doing it. You have to tilt it up slightly. It is smart core bought from Lowe’s. I’ve installed other flooring but never had this painful experience. Its not going nearly as painless as he makes it look. I think China may have something to do with it. My advice is to go with a better grade of flooring if you don’t want agony to the point, you hope you never Have to install this stuff again. Maybe it’s the waterproofing. I’ve heard other pros say this stuff was a pain. Now I know why they made such a statement. Hope you have a better outing.

[@sharoncummins2300]

The best video on vinyl plank I have seen

[@mccahawks]

Done 2 rooms in my Florida Home, now doing in my Canadian Home, and went here as a re-fresher---excellent video! Learned and seen a few good tips that I never thought of prior-Thanks!

[@metalliequus3343]

Ok ok ok ! The greatest most well explained video ! Thank you Lowe’s !

[@kenyattablackmon6245]

He did a really nice job at the finish.

[@AbbieHoffmansGhost]

I've done these before but I did learn one thing that I'll use--a dead blow hammer seems a lot better than my framer. I've got a floor to do after my next few jobs and I'll test it out.

[@harmoni4499]

Wow he looked so easy doing flooring! I may be try it one day!

[@chip2271]

Great video. I also have a post like yours. You have a 1/4 inch opening around it for expansion. No moulding to cover that? Mine is in a kitchen. I'm concerned spilled liquids could travel down and under the plank with an open gap like that, though it's necessary for expansion. I'm thinking a bit of silicone caulk in the opening to allow expansion but protect against moisture introduced by a spill . Then, a small door stop moulding over that gap and around the post to hide the gap and add a finished look. Do you(or any readers out there) think this a good approach in my situation? Thanx!

[@slickruler2336]

You don’t need to measure your wall fill pieces. Just set a plank square on top of the one closest to the wall take another plank on top of that and place it to the wall then trace the line on the bottom piece. If you flip the top plank with the tongue to the wall you’ll get your 1/4” space too.

[@HeadInTheCloudsPro]

Big help! Thanks!

[@justincase9061]

Seems to me as I watched a floor guy start He just went from the center or the door way to the wall. He started with a whole peace and worked over. As that let the cut of floor to only have to trim one side.

[@petemarquez8759]

I was about to pay to have some of this installed, but you make it look so easy that I'm thinking of doing it myself. I know, famous last words, haha, but I have installed ceramic tile in the past with great results, this looked doable. Thanks for sharing.

[@Bucky76mj]

It is not hard to do. Just make sure to read the instructions, different companies have different locking mechanisms so the method to lock it together may be slightly different.

[@RobertTorres27]

If you've done tile work, you can absolutely put down vinyl plank flooring yourself. It's a much easier process than tile.

[@aservant2287]

Super easy. If you get thinner planks( 1/4" in and down) it's harder to keep the planks locked together as you go but definitely doable

[@RLKD8DNS]

Just did a bathroom remodel using this plank. Super easy!!

[@brittanyd3527]

How did it go Pete? Im thinking of doing my bathroom. My local home depot offers a class on it too this weekend so I'll go to that as well to build more confidence.

[@cabincritter]

EXCELLENT prep and install video, thank you.

[@razorback1171]

Best install video I’ve seen 👍🏼

[@michaelmorrow7531]

Excellent video for showing how to connect the flooring pieces. Starts at about 8:00, then a really useful couple minutes. Nice job--thorough but very nicely explained. Thanks!

[@RudyPJR]

Great video, just confirms that I’m doing jobs right 🙏🏽

[@ThePsychoknight]

Thank you! You are a legend! Probably the best video on luxury vinyl floor installation out there. Informative and steight to the point. Well done!

[@JorgeRamos-ix1jm]

Good video. What is the name of the underlayment?

[@Kab61]

This cleared up so many questions for me. Thanks. I'm still not sure how to cut the pattern of the door trim into the flooring - the piece you're installing at 15:17 in the video - how did you cut that to fit? Would you have a video for that?

[@conniebertrand2808]

I have done laminate before . This is awesome . The perfect material for a basement A great video

[@NewShockerGuy]

Great video, I'm doing our flooring shortly. I like how you went into details about either leveling or removing humps from the floor. Also with baseboards. Very nice video!

[@elenapleasant7598]

Great instructions, thanks!

[@summerw5773]

Love it he did it step-by-step awesome job! thank you Lowe's!! you are now my new favorite Channel besides HGTV!;)

[@silveriocastillo9557]

One of the best videos 👍

[@kernow9324]

This is a great video. Thank you. Vinyl flooring has improved so much in the last ten years. I had some on my bathroom floor in a previous house and it was great. It looked like oak planks. It wasn't noisy. It felt warmer than laminate. And it wasn't expensive at all.

[@Integrity.is.everything]

Now I know how to do it. Now I know there's no way im going to try do it and I will be hiring a pro so it's done right the first time. I'll stick to cars 😂

[@keisukeyoshida2839]

My thoughts exactly

[@greggswan1104]

😂😂

[@TheQMan14]

Good you can hire ppl like me that know how

[@wadewalker1266]

Its way easier than he makes it seem… Just takes time and patience.

[@betterwithrum]

@@TheQMan14 you in the metro DC area?

[@frankemmi4922]

So what is the moisture level that you can what’s the cut off or you can install this vinyl floor? He had a moisture meter

[@MizoChoka]

Thankfully to sharing detial

[@CallieMasters5000]

Very informative. It made it clear I probably don't want to do this myself.

[@mgdiaz2158]

So many tools needed, and materials.

[@backcountrytourn5089]

That Craftsman jigsaw makes the same noise i do after a big bowl of spicy chili. Maybe they should rename Crapsman

[@codyferguson5506]

Is no one else going to comment on the fact that he explained how to account for the last row, so it wouldn’t be a tiny little sliver, and then proceeded to let it be a tiny little sliver lmao.

[@markme4]

The one next to it is nice and big !

[@godigitalstudios]

I caught that soon as he did it...clean mistake edit...

[@leonel1717]

Some people like tiny slivers, freaks.

[@zchettaz]

@John Smith by putting the long side in first and tapped every board he turned a 5 hour job into a 2 day job.. Wonder how many boards he damaged installing like this.

[@reverendmaxharbin2878]

two the between divide Always

[@kenpappas9520]

What was the purpose of the cross in room as you did not seem to use it.?

[@aleidasuarez]

i think it's part of figuring out where your starting straight line is.

[@checheperez237]

Thank you for sharing the best installation video.

[@CaptainSloose]

this is a pretty darned good primer actually. Also well done using the table saw properly.... using the fence for a rip and the miter gauge for the cross cuts. ... this does not seem to be as horrible as I expected

[@jamesbartlett8425]

L

[@mauricegeorge4320]

Is there any specific requirement for underlayment or I can use wood flooring underlayment for Vinyl flooring as well?

[@mikeo6525]

Maurice George yes, read the manufacturers specs for recommendations. There is different for concrete and plywood subfloors. Concrete slab you will need a vapor barrier.

[@ampquartz]

Yes

[@bluegenie840]

Super amazing job 👍👍👍

[@aleidasuarez]

question: the first row of planks going against the wall requires cutting off the long and short side tongue end. does every plank/tongue edge going against the wall need to cut as well? there's no further mention but i want to confirm.

[@smuhammad6763]

Is it necessary I'm wondering?

[@detgoat]

No - as long as gap is kept and molding you have will cover it

[@CHARLENE1013071589]

Thank you so much for helping me.

[@erthlvr]

You said to check the moisture, but what are the acceptable levels?

[@johnattaway6741]

Good 2 know thanx !! Great job also 🙂

[@johnytamale8814]

Good work, good how to video 👍👍

[@dthievin]

Looks like you're installing up to a baseboard, not a bare wall. Hmmm. So what goes in the quarter-inch gap you're leaving outside the baseboard?

[@superpont]

Decent video all the way up to caulking the edge to make it "water tight". In order for that to work you would need to caulk the door jam and any walls with a water source.

[@CaribSurfKing1]

Did he caulk an edge that may move during the seasons?

[@detgoat]

Absolutely

[@cristinaferreira2230]

Great job looks really good.

[@muzairanwar]

Thanks for showing each step

[@DanMontesTenor]

In all of these videos, no one ever addresses what to do with the ends you trim shorter, to give a more natural look and to avoid the seams being to close to each other, but the next plank has the locking end that now is hitting a trimmed edge with no locking trim. How is that dealt with? The locking trim of the long plank is going to show an obvious gap. What’s the fix???

[@aaragon6866]

Yep. Best video!

[@RockLegend248]

See this guy is really good

[@pabloarvelo5969]

is this a Craftsman tools infomercial?

[@dennisregan9829]

Iive in Florida and have a tile floor which sweats quite a bit in certain spots when the humidity is high. Would putting that moisture barrier and this type of flooring on top of it make sense?

[@pearlperlitavenegas2023]

Yes the underlayment is a moisture barrier I have the same issue

[@harveysheppard3881]

good details when installing

[@maryhansen7021]

Would lack of a vapor barrier cause a concrete basement floor to fail a professional moisture test? If so, do you need to install a vapor barrier and the underlayment? Does the underlayment moisture barrier also seal out radon?

[@tedthornton7791]

Didnt think youre suppose to use glue. At door you used caulked/glued and said it was to make it wayer tight. So what about the need for 1/4 inch expansion gap you mentioned. Such as around walls. If the floor is level and new luan has been installed does the new 2019 smart pro planks 1329189 require the green moisture barrier. Im thinking i read they have a built on underlayment. Nice video.

[@tedgiann]

best tutorial. thanks

[@3rdGenFireChicken]

FYI when you do your last row the only thing he did right was putting another piece on the previous row. The next step is to take another piece and put it on top of that piece and push it up against the wall and that will give you the excact size plank you need for the last row.

[@doubleds65]

It would take 1st timers months to remember how to do that properly, lol

[@3rdGenFireChicken]

@@doubleds65 true. But all these KZbinrs that like to make DYI videos try to make it seem simple but it’s not. They just show doing simple areas.

[@sungn4512]

Fantastic! Great explanation of subfloor PREP for level flooring, to include the insulating underlayment. you did all that w/o kneepads, wow dedication.

[@ondopolom785]

Perhaps, two guys working with knee pads were edited out :)

[@troyporter3825]

@@ondopolom785 lol

[@andresschwerin829]

Knee pads at 11:40

[@maryshuba7720]

Really good video

[@claudjarodnez]

Great tutorial, thank you!

[@ronniewayne451]

You can get the same design in ceramic planks mouch better and definitely water proof and will last much longer looks like real wood and comes in many different colors get them at a tile store more choices

[@sharonporter8027]

Does the flooring colors come off on the bottoms of your feet?

[@detgoat]

No - why would it?

[@richgee3784]

What if I don't want that shoe molding? Can't I just get molding that fits over the flooring?

[@badcat4707]

Of course you can , just pull off any old baseboards that are in the room now / install the new floor with the 1/4 inch gap / then cut & install the new baseboards and place em on top of the new floor .done --

[@chrismba7975]

Absolutely, but the point he made about that is if the baseboard has to move down from its original position on the wall (say, if you had thick carpeting before, and now you have thinner vinyl flooring), you will need to repair/repaint where the baseboard previously covered your wall - or buy taller molding. Been there, done that - the shoe molding is a great time and/or cost saving tip IMHO.

[@mariestrada3140]

Rich Gee ç7as%/çìcieroàaaolleroggnaapwellicullli7acristiana. No taan bjeja

[@WesPeters]

@@chrismba7975 Or just use a taller baseboard. You'll still have to cleanup any left over caulking from the old one, but won't have to repaint the wall.

[@shaynejansma8869]

I see that you cut off some of the bottom of the baseboard by the doors so the flooring can slide under. Is that something that should be done throughout the whole room or just by the doors?

[@michealcarver2474]

I normally remove the base board trim and re-install. That way you only have to cut the vertical trim and no need for more 3/4 trim along the baseboard..it would be underneath. You may have to cut along the base board trim top before removing if there are multiple layers of old paint on the wall..and then also smooth the original paint line to raise the base board trim up from original place if installing the new floor on existing wood floors.

[@PeterPetrakis]

Just by the doors for the vertical casing. A pull saw or oscillating tool does the job.

[@detgoat]

@@PeterPetrakis cosign this reply - just at door jams so there's no binding of floor & there's no need for trim that doesn't exist at jam

[@slcurts]

We had one of these floors installed by the Lowes installers. They didn't do any of this stuff. The subfloor was not level and had gaps in it; now the laminate floor has hills and valleys.

[@5.0world3]

Stan Curts will they fix the problem? What was the cost of them putting it in?

[@PeterPetrakis]

@Stan Curts if they don't make it right, I would dispute the charge on the credit card. I've done this several times with shady contractors with great success.

[@detgoat]

You should contact store which will send either installer, main contractor, or mill inspection people - to see if it's a install, house, or product failure. If floor was not flat to begin with - whether found during estimate or day of install due to existing floor being down until then - you should have been charged the material & labor to fix issues to material specs - usually 1/8" over 8 lnft, but varies

[@Farooq11122]

Great job 👌

[@journeymusic]

Or you can get the planks with the built in underlayment already attached

[@dianepope6355]

Brilliant! ❤

[@bluexiong3492]

Nice job handsome man i will do that soon.

[@kellystaten4226]

Great video, very detailed.

[@ampquartz]

Yep

[@chadmatejicka4133]

What is the name of the underlayment that www used it n the video demo?

[@sherrytaylor5046]

With what I had laying it down under the door casing and using that tool ,it would not go in. You had to have it at a 45 to get it to go together.

[@MsSheng1002]

do you need to caulk the bottom of the baseboards to the flooring?

[@jaygay458]

Wouldn’t do you any good when the flooring shifts or expands. Caulk would just pull off.

[@jakegenel4617]

Great video. I'm just wondering if you leave the tounge on that goes against the walls. Is that not the gap you need ? More or less. I suppose cut pieces that go on the end would not have those tounges. Hmmmm....

[@jasonb9652]

The gap is for expansion. If you leave the tongue on and but that against the wall you have no gap and your floor will buckle if it expands.

[@juliadawnyel4331]

@@jasonb9652 why would it expand

[@jasonb9652]

@@juliadawnyel4331 all building materials expand and contract somewhat. Same with flooring. If you leave no gap and it expands the floor will have nowhere to go and buckle.

[@andresschwerin829]

@@jasonb9652 especially cork

[@detgoat]

@@andresschwerin829 and temperature/ humidity changes

[@kayface4891]

Thank you I’ll be doing this to my basement

[@carlospacheco7361]

If it is a self leveler... why do you have to spread it?

[@AndJusTIceForRob]

Looks like the blue ridge pine we just bought.

[@keanotsao9549]

My dad is going to watch the video, say he's going to follow it, and then do it completely differently and say, c'mon son! Common sense!

[@Natedoc808]

And right as you start he is going to say, “now we are going to take our time, stay organized, and enjoy the work.” Then proceed to get in a hurry while scattering tools everywhere and cursing up a storm!!! Lol. I had no idea we were brothers!

[@andresschwerin829]

@@Natedoc808 doing it now with my dad

[@Polo3174]

My house has the old wood floor. Any videos how to replace it or put wood floor on top of that?

[@daviddestefano4489]

I would take up the old wood floor and replace it with underlayment, not hard.

[@detgoat]

Cheapest is usually to refinish existing hardwood - plus still have real wood floors which will keep with age of house motif

[@janeelow911]

I followed this video using the smart core and proper prep and identical flooring. What I found is that my vinyl floor had dents in it from heavy furniture such as the bed. I often wonder if I didn’t use the smart core would I have the same problem? Love the flooring and installation of the flooring was easy.

[@granitecowboy2199]

he did state that for heavy furniture, you should glue the flooring down.

[@detgoat]

Or install those felt tabs on legs of furniture

[@mikea953]

like it i would like learn make on floors, thanks for show on video

[@lear4052]

He makes it look so easy, but I know what would happen if I tried to do that!

[@jesseascriven]

Awesome video!!! Thanks!

[@bigeyejim]

Pretty good video. Thanks!

[@steve8803]

I would've removed the baseboards to do the install. Cleaner and more professional end result than having to tack quarter round to the baseboards.

[@bobcowlesjr9920]

I found the easiest way to pull up tack strips is with a flat shovel

[@RageCityBiscuit]

Flooring contractor here (Lowe’s, Home Depot, and local builders). A standard long crowbar is the quickest way and removes most nails with it.