How to Install a Sheet Vinyl Floor

Sheet vinyl flooring is a practical, durable and often attractive choice for high-traffic areas such as kitchens and baths. It's also not a big deal to install yourself, if you've got the time and the patience. Before you get started, follow the instructions in the related eHow, "Prepare to Install a Sheet Vinyl Floor."

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 1 To 2 Gallons Floor Epoxies
• Brooms
• Floor Scrapers (if Needed)
• Heavy Rollers
• Measuring Tapes
• Notched Trowels
• Sponges
• Vacuums
• Nonpermanent Felt-tip Pens
• Multiuse Screws
• Rulers
• Screwdriver Sets
• Wood Mouldings
• Sponges

Finishing the Floor

1. Walk the floor in a pair of socks once it's all glued down. This is an easy way to feel for any air bubbles trapped underneath. Roll them out toward the closest edge.

2. Nail or glue any trim around the base of the wall.

3. Screw down thresholds.

4. Check one more time for any exposed adhesive before it dries.

5. Allow adhesive to dry according to manufacturer's specifications before allowing traffic on the floor.

Cutting the Vinyl

6. Roll out the sheet vinyl, face up, in a wide, open area.

7. Orient the vinyl in the same direction as the space it's going to cover.

8. Using a tape measure and ruler, mark the floor's dimensions on the sheet vinyl with a nonpermanent felt-tip marker. It's a good idea to leave an inch or two extra on your measurements and then trim to fit exactly once the vinyl is in place.

9. Double-check your measurements.

10. Cut the sheet vinyl to the shape of the floor using a straightedge and a flooring knife. Take your time on this phase. Small mistakes along the edges can be covered with trim, but a major blunder can be costly.

11. Wipe off the felt pen markings with a wet sponge.

12. Re-roll the vinyl, making sure the back side is clean as you roll.

13. Carry the vinyl to the place you're going to lay the new floor.

Gluing Down the Sheet Vinyl

14. Sweep or vacuum the floor, clearing it of any dirt and small debris.

15. Unroll the sheet vinyl and dry fit it to the floor.

16. Do any trimming (carefully!) that needs to be done to get a perfect fit. Once the vinyl lies smooth and flat, you're ready to glue.

17. Roll one side of the vinyl up from the outside edge to the center point. Leave the other side flat on the floor. (Dealing with a really odd-shaped room may require a more complex strategy. It will take a little more time and careful fitting and trimming, but the process remains the same.)

18. Pry open a 1-gallon can of floor epoxy with a screwdriver.

19. Use a notched trowel to spread a line of epoxy about a foot wide all along the floor next to the rolled flooring.

20. Work from the center toward the outside edge of the room.

21. Unroll the vinyl slowly, pressing it into the adhesive. (You can use a kitchen rolling pin to help seat it well and to get all the air bubbles out, or you can rent a roller.)

22. Spread another foot-wide strip of epoxy on the floor.

23. Unroll the vinyl farther and press into the epoxy.

24. Continue applying epoxy and unrolling vinyl until this half of the floor is covered.

25. Wash epoxy off exposed surfaces with hot water before it dries.

26. Repeat the process on the other side of the room.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure you work all air bubbles out from under the flooring. The easiest way to avoid them is not to glue down too large an area at once.
• Try to avoid seams (places where you've had to fit two pieces of sheet vinyl together), but if you can't avoid it, plan for a seam to be in an area that gets light traffic so it won't be noticed much.
• Open the windows when working with epoxy. Make sure you have plenty of ventilation.
• Take your time on trimming to avoid mistakes.

[cphill58]

on 4/27/2009 These instructions are severely lacking and provide little if any detail as to floor preperation and proper adhesives. Always call the manufacture for the specs and follow those as closely as possible ...For floor prep I think it would need a seperate category by itself. The idea that you can install a vinyl floor from this point is ridiculous.

[amug0304]

on 3/15/2007 Would like to know how fix vinyl flooring that is bubbling in certain places. It is sheet vinyl flooring.

[amug0304]

on 3/15/2007 Need Help. My vinyl floor is bubbling up in some places. I think air pockets are the cause or the adhesived used has come loose. Can this be fixed and if so, how?

on 9/3/2006 Our 180 year old house has anything but level floors and we had to replace sections of the original wide boards with plywood in the kitchen before laying new vinyl.

Filling seams and trying to approximate level with the Portland Cement based floor leveler sold at HD was an impossible task. It didn't self level very well and sanding was pure extended drudgery.

What worked very well was Evercoat Rage, a premium filler designed for auto body repairs. Easy to apply and very easy to sand to feather edges. It bonds very well to clean plywood, and maintains a slight amount of flexibility so it won't crack. Sanding creates a very fine dust so use a basic nose and mouth mask, remove or cover as many items from the room as possible.

on 12/16/2005 Fastening a 1/4 inch multiply underlayment over OSB will help provide a smooth surface for the vinyl flooring and often a requirement from manufacturers.

Be sure to use floor leveler to cover seams and fastener heads. Vinyl flooring has become more transparent and you want to hide any imperfections underneath.