Tools for the Job

Fitting sheet vinyl or linoleum

Before laying the sheet(s) remember the folowing to ensure a hassle free installation;

• Ensure the sub-floor surface is clean, dust-free and dry. Remove any protruding nails if applicable.
• Level out any uneven surfaces by either;
  Screeding a concrete surface (check there is a damp-proof membrane).
  Nailing down hardboard panels, smooth side up, over floorboards. The panels should be brushed with water 24 hours before installation to allow them to be laid flat, and they should be pinned to the floor with a annular ring nail every 150mm (6in) round the edge and through the centre of each board. Board joints should be staggered to create an even surface.
  Smooth a self-levelling compound over ceramic tiles to hide grouted joints.
• Vinyl should not be laid over timber that has recently been treated with preservative as the fumes can affect the adhesive.
• Vinyl is easiest to handle when it is warm so leave it loosely rolled or flat in a warm room for 24 hours prior to fitting.

Fitting procedure;

• Lay the vinyl sheet against the longest straight wall in the room, allowing 100mm (4in) extra to overlap the wall. Adjust the vinyl until any pattern on it runs parallel with the wall.
• Use a soft broom to flatten the sheet out over the rest of the room, cutting the excess off to leave 100mm (4in) extra at each edge. Get the sheet to lay flat by cutting notches at corners and round curved surfaces.
• Use a bolster chisel to press the vinyl into the joint between skirting and floor, then align the steel rule with this crease and run the craft knife along it to make the final cut.
• Apply adhesive or double-sided adhesive tape at doorways and at edges and corners where necessary.
• To create a seam, overlap the free edge with the next sheet until the patterns match exactly. Then cut both layers of vinyl with a craft knife and steel rule and remove the waste strips. Use adhesive to secure butting edges of the seam together.

Fitting vinyl tiles

Before laying vinyl floor tiles, remember the following to ensure a hassle free installation;

• Ensure sub-floor surface is clean, dust-free and dry. Remove any protruding nails.
• Level out any uneven surfaces by either;
  Screeding a concrete surface (check there is a damp-proof membrane).
  Nailing down hardboard panels, smooth side up, over floorboards. The panels should be brushed with water 24 hours before installation to allow them to be laid flat, and they should be pinned to the floor with a annular ring nail every 150mm (6in) round the edge and through the centre of each board. Board joints should be staggered to create an even surface.
  Smoothing self-levelling compound over ceramic tiles to hide grouted joints.
• Vinyl should not be laid over timber that has recently been treated with preservative as the fumes can affect the adhesive.
• Keep self-adhesive tiles in a warm room for 24 hours prior to fitting to make the glue tacky.
• Find the centre point of the room, by measuring width and depth and drawing a line across the room on the half way mark of these lengths. The centre of the room is where these lines cross.
• If you wish to lay your tiles at 45 degrees to the walls, temporarily fix a batten to the floor that equally divides opposite corners of this cross in half.

Fitting procedure;

• Tiles usually have an arrow marked on the underside; lay all tiles with the arrow pointing in the same direction to minimise the effect of tiny manufacturing inaccuracies.
• Lay the first floor tile with its corner at the centre point of the room, lining up the edges exactly with the drawn lines or batten. Lay subsequent tiles by building out from those already laid, using two sides of already fixed tiles to line up the next.
• To avoid damaging freshly laid tiles, place a cloth and a piece of hardboard over them and kneel on this to spread your weight.
• To cut tiles to size for the edge of the room, place a dry tile exactly over the whole tile fitted closest to the wall, then place another whole dry tile over this butting up to the wall. Draw a line on the middle tile, along the edge of the top tile and cut on this line. Use this operation in two stages for corner tiles.
• To fit around irregular shapes, create a cardboard template and draw this onto the tile. Check the cut tile will fit before peeling off backing paper or applying adhesive.

Further information and useful links

• Measuring up for a vinyl floor
• Introduction to vinyl flooring
• More floors topics