How to install vinyl plank flooring in multiple rooms or whole floor.
How to install vinyl plank flooring in multiple rooms or whole floor.
Video Timeline:
0:00 – Intro: Why I made this video
0:47 -Tools/materials needed
3:53 – Optional tools/materials needed
9:32 – Prep: Remove old flooring (if necessary)
10:39 – Prep: Removing the baseboards
11:45 – Prep: Level the floor (if necessary)
13:02 — Prep: Install underlayment (if necessary)
14:16 – Prep: Determine which way to lay the flooring planks / boards
19:58 – Prep: Determine where to start and finish installing the floor
22:58 – Prep: Understanding which area is most important to avoid skinny planks on the edges
25:15 – Prep: How to create and where to put your reference line (a seam in floor)
28:44 — How to use your reference line to start the flooring install
30:56 -Why using anchors for the staring row is helpful and recommended
31:54 — Intro to how to install the flooring
32:32 — How to make your cuts
39:14 — How to connect the planks together
41:29 – How to avoid patterns and too close together seams plus more install tips
43:09 — Biggest and most common mistakes beginners make
47:11 — Pro tips to help your install (IMO best part to watch before you install)
50:05 -Outro: What I think of the vinyl plank flooring
Tools / Materials you need:
Actual flooring: This is what I used from Home Depot:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Home-Decorators-Collection-Coastal-Oak-7-5-in-L-x-47-6-in-W-Luxury-Vinyl-Plank-Flooring-24-74-sq-ft-case-03918/300253426
Spacers: 2 spacer that are the “good” kind T-shaped easy to use
https://amzn.to/3ibbFJx
https://amzn.to/2NAUYsY
Pull Bar:
https://amzn.to/2YC3Zbt
Tapping block – Long tapping block I used $13:
https://amzn.to/2Z86mBS
Rubber Mallet $6:
https://amzn.to/2BfAfZf
Utility knife:
https://amzn.to/2B6swNe
Measuring Tape:
https://amzn.to/2Aa7VHh
Tools / Materials are optional or may be needed:
Underlayment:
1st underlayment I used (6 mil polyethylene):
https://amzn.to/2A8aWaU
2nd cork underlayment I used from Home Depot:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Eco-Cork-Foam-75-sq-ft-3-ft-x-25-ft-x-3-2-mm-Waterproof-Premium-Plus-10-in-1-Underlayment-Vinyl-Plank-Laminate-Engineered-Wood-220000503/204700858
Actual flooring I used from Home Depot
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Home-Decorators-Collection-Coastal-Oak-7-5-in-L-x-47-6-in-W-Luxury-Vinyl-Plank-Flooring-24-74-sq-ft-case-03918/300253426
2 baseboard removers:
https://amzn.to/2CMIOLA
https://amzn.to/2YDrJft
Jig Saw:
https://amzn.to/2NvUqES
Oscillating Multi-Tool
https://amzn.to/2CGxQXO
Drill:
https://amzn.to/2ZdDJU5
Hammer Drill (if on concrete):
https://amzn.to/2VrfAbD
Speed Square:
https://amzn.to/2NCiG89
Cheap tool belt many for the pockets $15:
https://amzn.to/31tUTzk
Knee Pads:
https://amzn.to/2Vn8FjJ
Link to the website that helps you visualize the boards:
https://rewardflooring.com/pages/roomvisualizer
@38:52 if you know you know
2nd underlayment link takes me to the floor link. Can you please update it.
This was a great video and addressed the multi-room complexity the everyone else avoids. However, I was surprised by the multiple layers that became installed. So much discussion is given to making sure floors are level and clean. You had a moisture barrier, underlament pad secured with duck tape(!) and covered with padded vinyl planks. It seems that you would have areas of bumps from any gathering of material beneath—let alone the duck tape!
Radon is a scam
Can’t believe this type of product is still sold. Complete failure in the flooring industry and exclusive sold by dodgy sales people
One of the best videos so far on LVT install
My house has a long hallway with rooms on both sides. I’m going to have to do the backwards install somewhere. Unfortunately, I can’t find a video that actually shows how to do that, including this one. Perhaps next video, you can address that issue for those of us who can’t avoid the issue with the layout.
Good job on the flooring and the video.
What program did you use to overlay the vinyl plank placement over your house blueprint?
Excellent video. great explanation on centering boards and working backwards.You think like an architect
You are my hero. Thank you so much for doing this. I was debating to pay a contractor to install. I watched lots of videos,
But had questions as I plan to do the entire house. Going to have to watch this several more times. But I am grateful to have the resource!!!
Great video! lots of research. Extremely helpful in planning my layout and installation. Thank you!!
Thanks man! This is incredible! Really appropriate
Did you notice if your seams are popping apart?
Amazingly detailed video, thank you. This really helped answer some questions for me. I like to think I’m reasonably handy, mainly with woodworking, but haven’t installed a floor before. We decided to give vinyl flooring a try after our old Labrador ruined our maple hardwood floors on the main floor. Our new dog is even heavier and I just didn’t want to deal with watching a brand new hardwood floor get scratched repeatedly over time. So we decided on SPC 8mm flooring with a 22mil wear layer. This stuff is HEAVY (especially compared to WPC vinyl) and seems quite durable. One concern at the moment is that our family room has two corners with 3/4 maple stair nosing, so I need the vinyl planks to sit flush with them (edge-wise, height-wise is already taken care of with 7/16 OSB overlaid on subfloor + 5/16 thick planks = 3/4). Now, I’ve heard that SPC doesn’t expand as much as WPC – so I was thinking of either a) putting a small bead of grey caulking along the edges that touch the nosing or b) tacking those edges with glue. I think gluing them will look cleaner but I’m not sure if gluing *just* that one small corner will cause issues or not.
My other big concern was something your video addressed and that is running the planks through multiple rooms without any transition pieces – I can’t stand transitions and that’s one reason I was hesitant to try vinyl flooring in the first place. But it seems like your layout is similar to mine and that it went well for you. How is it holding up?
Again, thanks for the very detailed and informative video.
Dude you killed it. I am about to embark on this journey. Do you have any rough estimates on how long you think it took you/would take a newbie? Maybe hours/sqft?
Very well done video
Best video for whole house planning! thank you so much!
Hi Walt, pretty good detail on the video. I’m currently laying vinyl on my entire second story. At the 46 min mark, you are crossing through a doorway. So far I have been able to use one board across because I got lucky :). My question to you is how did you manage to join your 2 cut pieces to the portion of completed room. For me, it was some pretty aggressive tapping to bang them in. It’s not the recommended way obviously. I used a bit of baby oil on the groove to lubricate but it didn’t help a whole lot.
Best flooring video ive seen. Thanks!
Awesome video and explanations! 👏👏👏👍👍👍
Excellent video, Walt! I’ve watched dozens of these vinyl board install videos but no other video was nearly as helpful as yours. Thanks!
Great video. Been installing flooring for years and you hit a lot of great tips. What’s funny is that I actually like quarter round with some baseboards. It almost looks more complete, especially if you have crown molding mirroring it on the ceiling. To each their own, but I love the tips. Taking the baseboards out is always a good idea. Adding backer rod between the floor and wall can help with expansion too. Nice job.
What a fantastic video! Well said and well done. I am preparing to take on this project and have done a lot of research but you have ideas and tips that I have not seen. Thank you for all your effort, knowledge, and your willingness to share.
been watching a million videos on flooring and this is the best by far, thank you
Very through! Thanks!!!
Seriously, the BEST video I’ve seen on this topic. So glad I found it before we started. I appreciate how thorough you are and for all the extra info that so many other videos don’t cover. Thank you!!!
This whole video is gold, but this is by far the most important bit and the part everyone else doesn’t explain well 19:58 – Prep: Determine where to start and finish installing the floor
Thanks, Walt!
Nice! What color floor is that???
Also, I consider knee pads essential. You’d be crazy to do this without knee pads. Maybe if you were just doing a small room, but I’d still get knee pads.
Great video!.. more details than anyone else
Try a grinder with a tile cutting blade or diamond blade to make precision cuts on vinyl planks.
my rooms have different subfloor heights how to fix this i dont want to use transitions
Fantastic video. I must commend you on answering most of the question I’ve been going over in my head, wondering if I am making the right choice of doing this myself. I just have a questions
1. When you find the mid point in your corridor and extend it to the bedroom, do you start laying the planks from the corridor into the bedroom or the bedroom out into the corridor, and what if the bedroom end pieces are small, where do you start in the bedroom? I hope I’m clear, really appreciate it
Thanks. I used your teaching. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziNYlftQvXo
This is a great video. I had to figure this all out myself. I spent a long time on the math of multiple rooms and the edges until I finally just realized there was no way to get it perfect and that I just needed to prioritize the hallway, say as the thought process you took us through. I also realized I had to lay the hallway first because I could fit an exact whole number of boards there and there was no way I was going to get it right by working my way to the hallway. So I had to work backwards for a big chunk because the hallway was priority.
I am so glad I came across your demo. Great job. Thank you.
Nice video, well done. The uptalking gets old though…
I wish you showed how to installed the planks backwards.
That’s hands down the best video out there for flooring install. I watched lots of them and you did a great job thank you
WOW! and WOW! This one is THE most informative video I have watched on install! That was absolutely AMAZING to have all the how-to’s; don’t do that! & oops fixes laid out so I know what to watch for before it becomes a fix it. I am thinking you have given us many many hours back! I am by no means OCD–but my house was a flip by cheapskate, "close enough" people so you providing the insight to be able to plan ahead saved me time, money, and kept me from pulling my hair out! Thank you!
What if the baseboard is tile??
Apartments in the Caribbean are made of cinder blocks and tile on the floor plus tile for baseboard:.!!
I plan on doing this on my own for the first time. I appreciate all the good information that you shared. Thank you.
Walt, I’m a 38 year construction Vet that’s has layed many laminate floors and engineered floors. You did a fantastic job of explaining the process. I’m getting ready to install my own home and just wanted to thank you for solving my potential problems before they became a problem. Nice job!!
Wow I made it thru the whole video. Very detailed. I am getting ready to do my house myself and save about $8k in labor.
Well explained. Your buddy, well, perhaps should have known better, like me! I should have watched this before I began. But it is working out and your assist is highly valued.
Wow, this is just fantastic. Thanks so much for all the great info. I haven’t done vinyl plank yet, but I’ve done lots of interlocking laminate, and much of your layout and planning tips apply to that material as well. Wish I’d seen something like this years ago.
Mr. Walt,
The only part that I got lost was the section where you mentioned that you calculated 8 boards or 67 inches.
From the reference line, where/ how did you come up with the 8 boards/67 inches? Would have liked to see Mr. Julian work the floor all the way to the reference line.
Thank you! I hope you can enlighten me!
Aloha!
Well done, covering the details and tools! A lacking item from most youtubers. Keep it up!
I always thought knee pads were optional and more of a comfort thing. On a different job I developed what is called pre patellar bursitis. The next day it went septic and I ended up in the hospital getting IV antibiotics for 3 days. That condition is no joke! I strongly encourage anyone to use very good knee pads! Thanks for the video man!