Budget Vinyl Flooring Installation & Maintenance Guide

Economy Vinyl Flooring 183cm Wide Roll 

"Warning" This product may not pattern match when laid side by side.
The following information and instructions are a guide only, Scattermats takes no responsibility regarding this guide.

Section. 1 

HOW MUCH VINYL DO YOU NEED;

Make a plan of your area to scale, preferably on graph paper. It is then necessary to determine the best quantity of vinyl to cover the area and the direction the sheets should run. Plan your area so that seams are not in high traffic areas. All vinyl sheets run in the same direction, and adjoining sheets (seams) are generally overlapped by approximately 5cm which is to be cut and fixed. Approximately 5cm will run up each wall or fixture, but the vinyl will be trimmed to size during laying so this is not a problem. Make a plan of your room on graph paper and mark the measurements of all walls, permanent fixtures, and entrances. 

OVERLAPPING SEAMS ON HARD SURFACES;

The factory cut edges of the vinyl may be slightly rough and the sheet may run slightly left or right over lengths of approximately 7-10 metres or more. It is therefore recommended that an allowance be made (5cm on each sheet) for overlap on adjoining sheets and that the overlap be "Double Cut" and fixed to make a clean, well butted seam.

TOOLS NECESSARY FOR INSTALLATIONS;

- Tape measure, pencil and chalk line, straight edge sharp utility knife
- Paper for making pattern
- Broom and vacuum cleaner
- Universal water based sealing agent
- Single stick adhesive depending on method of fixing chosen, disposable paint roller
- Vinyl flooring roller or heavy wooden rolling pin

Section. 2

BEFORE YOU START YOUR INSTALLATION;

1) Keep the vinyl that is to be installed at 21oC for a period of 48 hours prior to, during and 48 hours after installation.
2) Your finished floor can only be as smooth as the sub floor so it must be rigid, smooth, level, dry, hole, crack or dust free.
3) After all preparatory work has been completed, it is essential to sweep and then vacuum the sub floor to ensure all dust and particles have been removed.
4) All surfaces including concrete, cement levelling compounds, hardboard underlay, plywood underlay and fibre cement underlay are to be primed using a dilute solution of a universal water based sealing agent ("Bondcrete" by Bondall or similar). Do NOT install vinyl in rooms with underfloor heating or on asphalt surfaces.

FOR INSTALLATION OVER CONCRETE;

1) It is essential that ground level concrete floors incorporate a damp-proof membrane.
2) All concrete floors must have been dry for 3 months and be free of moisture, alkalinity, paint, plaster, grease, oil or crayon markings.
3) Holes, cracks and hollows can be filled with a non-shrinking levelling compound. Bumps can be levelled with a grinding stone. 

FOR INSTALLATION OVER CERAMIC TILES;

1) Fix any loose tiles and replace missing tiles.
2) Sweep and clean the floor, removing any paint, plaster, grease or oil.
3) To fill in the grout lines and level the surface of textured or undulating tiles, seek advice as to suitable ceramic tile surface primer and then apply a non-shrinking levelling compound. 

FOR INSTALLATION OVER FLOOR BOARDS OR CHIP/PARTICLE-BOARD;

1) Re-nail, replace or sand timber floor boards as required.
2) The rigid and level timber floor boards or chip/particle-board should be overlaid with a flooring grade underlay of plywood, hardboard or fibre cement sheet, smooth side up. Seek advice and direction on their installation. Alternatively, seek advice on covering timber floor boards with a non-shrinking levelling compound.

FOR INSTALLATION OVER EXISTING RESILIENT FLOORING;

1) Existing floors such as PVC vinyl tiles, vinyl composition tiles, non-cushioned sheet vinyl and linoleum are acceptable sub floors, provided the top surface of the material is smooth (NOT embossed or pitted).
2) The existing material must be completely bonded to a rigid and structurally sound sub floor. It is necessary to thoroughly strip and clean the existing sub floor of all wax, polishes, paint, grease or other foreign material prior to installation of tiles.  

Section 3

INSTALLATION - Easy "Dress Making" Method;

Ensure sufficient material is purchased to allow for pattern matching if two or more widths are to be installed and to assist the placement of seams in light traffic areas of the room.
Note: It may not be possible to match the patterns of Econo Budget Vinyl or Comfort Budget Vinyl.
 
An extra 5cm should be purchased to exceed all the room's floor dimensions and allow for cutting to size. The sub floor must be smooth, level, hard, dry and clean. It is advisable to unroll the floor covering several hours before it is due to be installed. The floor covering should be laid when the sub floor, adhesives and material are all at 15oC - 24oC (Normal room temperatures). Leave a 2mm gap between the vinyl flooring edges and all vertical fixtures. It is recommended to use only popular, branded adhesives and tapes which are compatible with cushion vinyl flooring.

Section 4 

VINYL INSTALLATION;

STEP 1 - Make a paper floor template or pattern:
a) Make a template of the sub floor area to be covered by taping together sheets of paper to within approximately 1cm of all permanent vertical surfaces (Walls, pipes, toilets, benches, etc).
b) Hold the template in place by taping masking tape over small holes made in a grid every 1mx1m in the template surface.
c) Use a small ruler/holed disc to trace the relief of the wall onto the paper template. Place the ruler/holed disc up against the wall etc and make a pencil mark onto the paper against the edge (Inner room side edge) of the ruler. Progressively move the ruler/holed disc around the room perimeter and other fixtures tracing a line onto the template.
d) In doorways or around pipes you may prefer to make a special paper template which is fixed to the main body and marked more accurately.
 
STEP 2 - Tracing out onto the vinyl:
a) Gently remove/peel the template from the sub floor.
b) Lay the new sheet vinyl out in a suitable flat clean work area and let it relax.
c) Place the paper template over the new sheet vinyl and position it to suit the desired run of the pattern. Fix the template in place with the masking tape. Take the ruler and place an edge on the line marked previously (That made tracing the perimeter of the room). Place a pencil on the outside edge of the ruler and while moving the rulers inside edge progressively along the pencil line mark the surface of the new sheet of vinyl.
d) If you made special paper templates for difficult areas (doorways, pipes, etc) then also trace these onto the new vinyl. You should now have line(s) marked on the surface of the sheet vinyl that represents the perimeter of the room and any fixtures.
e) When joining two sheets together, overlap them by approximately 5cm so they can be double cut and then fixed.
 
STEP 3 - Cutting the Sheet Vinyl to size:
a) Remove the paper template.
b) Starting at one wall, gently and carefully roll out and slide the sheet vinyl into place to ensure it fits and is entirely flat on the floor. Do NOT roughly pull or drag the sheet otherwise you may tear it. Carefully re-trim any edges if they are too tight a fit as a small 2mm gap is preferred.
 
STEP 4 - Three suggested methods to Install and Anchor your Vinyl Flooring:
Anchor Option 1. Roll Out - "Loose" Laying:
a) Requires double sided adhesive tape e.g. Duck/Manco DT-12 38mm wide x 36m
b) The area should not be greater than 20sqm.
c) At all entrances, seams and underneath heavy appliances it is recommended to apply two widths of double sided adhesive tape, whereas a single width is applied around the perimeter of the room in general.
d) If the area is close to the maximum recommended size of 20 square meters, apply the double sided adhesive tape along only two adjacent walls (In an "L" shape). Progressively roll out and fix the double sided tape in the required places on the sub floor (leave on the tapes release paper). Carefully lay/roll out and slide the vinyl flooring into position in the room. Progressively work around the room lifting up the edges/sections of the sheet vinyl flooring and removing the release paper from the double sided tape and then carefully laying the sheet vinyl down onto the tapes adhesive surface. Rub the surface of the vinyl to ensure full contact with the adhesive tape is achieved.
 
Anchor Option 2. "Post It Note" Fixing:
a) Requires pressure sensitive adhesive e.g. Bostik Instant Pro Vinyl + Carpet Tile Adhesive, and black builder's plastic (Sufficient to fully cover the sheet of vinyl).
b) Lay the sheet vinyl face down on a smooth sub floor. Use a small disposable paint roller to apply/paint a thin coat of pressure sensitive adhesive onto the back of the sheet vinyl. Let it fully dry over approximately for 30-45 minutes. The sheet vinyl is now like a large self stick tile. To protect the adhesive you cover the adhesive painted back of the vinyl with black builder's plastic. To be a neat fit to the sheet vinyl, turn over the sheet vinyl with the black plastic covered adhesive back so it is face up and then gently roll it up.
c) Select your starting point at one end of the room to roll out the sheet vinyl. As the sheet is already cut to fit the room area pull away enough of the protective black builders plastic so you can loosely adhere with light hand pressure approximately 10-20cm of the leading edge to the sub floor. Don't push the vinyl down hard yet until the whole sheet is in correct position
d) With the start of the sheet correctly positioned, you progress to slowly pull out approximately 30cm of the black builder's plastic at a time and smoothing the sheet vinyl out with light hand pressure ensuing there we no trapped air bubbles or creases in the sheet vinyl. Continue to roll out across the whole floor area in this procedure. If the vinyl appears not to be correctly positioned at any time you can gently peel it back up and reapply the black builder's plastic as you go. You can then start re-laying it out again.
e) Once the sheet vinyl is fully laid out and correctly positioned, start from one end and working towards the other by pushing the vinyl down more firmly with kitchen broom in a regular sweeping motion.
 
Anchor Option 3. Permanent Fixing:
a) Requires pressure sensitive adhesive e.g. Bostik Instant Pro Vinyl + Carpet Tile Adhesive, and Black builder's plastic (Sufficient to fully cover the sheet of vinyl).
b) Allow approximately 1litre of adhesive for each 3 square meters (textured/porous floor) to 5 square meters (smooth/sealed sub floors).
c) The adhesive is best applied progressively from one end of the room to the other.
d) Apply the adhesive with a 1.5mm notched trowel to a sectional width of the sub floor (Say 1m long by the width of the sheet). "Lay-in" (Unroll) the sheet vinyl flooring into the adhesive as per the adhesives best "open time". Progress across the room, a section at a time. After "laying-in" (Unroll) the sheet vinyl flooring into the adhesive as per the adhesives best "open time". Progress across the room, a section at a time. After "laying", firmly roll the surface of the vinyl flooring into the adhesive using a Vinyl Flooring Roller (A large wooden kitchen roller may be suitable) so ensuring the towelled adhesive fully contacts the back of the sheet vinyl and air bubbles are expelled from under the sheet vinyl.
 
STEP 5 - Seal the Seams:
a) Required - A tube of Clear Cold Welding seam sealer e.g. QEP "Do it Yourself Seam Sealer".
b) Cold weld all seams by overlapping the joint with a 3mm bead width of fluid in a single layer. Do NOT tread on or wash welding seams for two hours after application. The cured welding fluid will be slightly visible on the floors surface but this diminishes with normal foot traffic wear.

Section 5

FINISHING OFF;

When you have finished laying, use a portable vinyl flooring or heavy wooden rolling pin to go over the floor once again to check that vinyl is firmly stuck down. Do NOT wash or wet the floor for 5 days. Remove any excess adhesive from the flooring surface immediately after installation. Lightly dampen a clean, white cloth with mineral spirits, and wipe over the adhesive. Change the area of the cloth frequently as the adhesive is removed. Replace skirting boards/baseboard mouldings. Carefully move furniture and heavy appliances (e.g. fridges, ovens and washing machines) back into the room using a protective pathway of plywood/ Masonite sheets temporarily laid over the new vinyl floor.

Section 6 

MAINTENANCE;

To obtain the best performance from your new floor and to avoid permanent damage, the following is recommended:
- Sweep or vacuum the floor regularly to remove surface grit and dust.
- Immediately clean up spills.
- To remove soiling, wipe over vinyl with a damp mop or cloth using a weak mixture of warm water and mild neutral detergent, rinse with clean water using a damp mop or cloth.
- Never saturate the floor with water during cleaning or normal daily usage.
Note: Do NOT use chlorine or ammonia based cleaners, bleach, powder, scouring pads, liquid abrasives, strong alkaline detergents or solvents aggressive to PVC to clean the floor.
- If a shine is desired use a branded vinyl floor dressing.
- Damage can be caused by cigarettes, sharp, heavy or hot objects dropped on the floor surface. Sport boots, gravel embedded in solves and stiletto heels may cause indentations.
- Do NOT drag heavy furniture or appliances across the floor.
- All furniture leg ends and bases should be regularly checked for wear/sharp edges and covered with a protective plastic tip/cup or felt furniture pad.
- Latex or rubber backed mats should bot be used on vinyl tiles as they may cause discolouration when damp or moist.

CAUTION;

If removal of an existing floor covering is necessary, seek advice and be certain that all precautions are taken and proper procedures are followed. It may be preferable to cover floorings, paints and residual adhesives with levelling compounds or under-laying sheets in preparation of your new flooring installation. As the release paper backing is slippery dispose of it as soon as it has been removed from a tile.
 
All floor tiles may become slippery when wet.
 
Remember the old adage - "Measure twice - cut once"