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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For more ideas to improve your home, check out Lowe's How-To Library or our other social media channels:
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Instagram - / loweshomeimprovement

[@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!

[@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

[@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 !!

[@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!

[@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

[@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.

[@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

[@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.

[@hachador]

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

[@ampquartz]

A very nice vidoe!

[@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?

[@colbygemmer1400]

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

[@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!

[@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.

[@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!

[@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

[@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!

[@muzairanwar]

Thanks for showing each step

[@conniebertrand2808]

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

[@haseeb4eva]

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

[@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!

[@summerw5773]

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

[@checheperez237]

Thank you for sharing the best installation video.

[@metalliequus3343]

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

[@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

[@CallieMasters5000]

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

[@cabincritter]

EXCELLENT prep and install video, thank you.

[@kenyattablackmon6245]

He did a really nice job at the finish.

[@sharoncummins2300]

The best video on vinyl plank I have seen

[@bluexiong3492]

Nice job handsome man i will do that soon.

[@bigeyejim]

Pretty good video. Thanks!

[@cristinaferreira2230]

Great job looks really good.

[@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.

[@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

[@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.

[@CHARLENE1013071589]

Thank you so much for helping me.

[@lauraevans9221]

Thank u for the enlightening. I am ready to get it done... Same tip for a hallway? Lol Thankful

[@mgdiaz2158]

So many tools needed, and materials.

[@kellystaten4226]

Great video, very detailed.

[@ampquartz]

Yep

[@elenapleasant7598]

Great instructions, thanks!

[@sallysmith1897]

Very helpful!!! Thank you

[@harmoni4499]

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

[@razorback1171]

Best install video I’ve seen 👍🏼

[@christianmeche8804]

Thanks for the tap tap bro 💯💯

[@jesseascriven]

Awesome video!!! Thanks!

[@ericagarza1265]

Absolutely beautiful!

[@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

[@coledave]

greatness Tony

[@MizoChoka]

Thankfully to sharing detial

[@silveriocastillo9557]

One of the best videos 👍

[@judichristopher4604]

Great Video... The BEST

[@harveysheppard3881]

good details when installing

[@claudjarodnez]

Great tutorial, thank you!

[@mikea953]

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

[@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?

[@ludwigvanbeatdropin9317]

ahhhh blue ridge pine. my favorite Vinyl Plank to sell to people at Lowe's

[@bluegenie840]

Super amazing job 👍👍👍

[@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.

[@mayatsehaye498]

this was helpful

[@Ammani-Yat]

nice work

[@RudyPJR]

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

[@86FxBdyCpe]

Thank you.

[@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!

[@Farooq11122]

Great job 👌

[@dadzchanel7547]

Pretty.easy

[@johnattaway6741]

Good 2 know thanx !! Great job also 🙂

[@johnytamale8814]

Good work, good how to video 👍👍

[@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

[@tedgiann]

best tutorial. thanks

[@christinapham3757]

Thankfully to sharing this.

[@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.

[@aaragon6866]

Yep. Best video!

[@ChauNguyen-gx6rk]

Thanks

[@txshah78]

WOW thats a lot of products used

[@mibelpolanco4314]

Wow good job 👍🏼 👍🏼

[@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?

[@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

[@GinaGina1029]

Thank you

[@dianepope6355]

Brilliant! ❤

[@RockLegend248]

See this guy is really good

[@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.

[@bernardolopez2770]

Nice thanks👍

[@WatersandWilderness]

You're an expert. I need you to do mine. :)

[@maryhansen7021]

Beautiful work!

[@maryshuba7720]

Really good video

[@AndJusTIceForRob]

Looks like the blue ridge pine we just bought.

[@JorgeRamos-ix1jm]

Good video. What is the name of the underlayment?

[@kayface4891]

Thank you I’ll be doing this to my basement

[@viettran7194]

good job

[@laprofixer5273]

Woow.... awesome

[@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

[@debrajoseph8917]

Good job. 👍👍💯💯

[@stephaniefonseca9198]

If I have wood subflooring and I purchase the planks with the underlayment already added can I still add an additional underlayment layer? Hoping it will help control the cold air from seeping in, floor is above a cement crawlspace

[@ampquartz]

Thank you so much for the video. It is very easy to understand and follow

[@Takadecor]

good

[@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?

[@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!

[@PeterPetrakis]

Once you have the room squared off. It's much easier to keep your planks parallel to the lines if you temporarily screw them down at the edge. Between trim and wood filler, you'll never see the holes and now your floor won't shift on you when you bang on it.

[@chiphead65]

That's good advice on a sub-floor, but would be tricky on concrete, no?

[@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.

[@mychoice3338]

Good

[@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