DIY Luxury Vinyl Plank installation for a noob

[jamesbond007]

I decided to install LVP flooring in my house. I saw a lot of youtube videos and it seems fairly simple.


How do I rip up my carpet and how/where do I dispose it?
Where should I buy the LVP needed?
Do I need to leave space (3/8 inch) between the flooring the walls for expansion? I have concrete under my carpet?
Do I need a moisture barrier underlayment like in carpet/hardwood (I guess no as LVP is waterproof)?
Where do I move my furniture etc. while doing the install?
It looks like I just need a dremel?
Is armstrong a good brand? None of the local stores near me carry that brand? Any suggestions?




Finally, is it a sound financial decision? I make $500 a day. If I DIY this, I have to take at least 3 days off. So, it costs me $1500. Can I have someone install it for me for that much or potentially less than $1500? Is it worth DIYing?


Am I missing something?

[TheWifeHalf]

TheHusbandHalf and I decided 3-4 yrs ago to do the bedroom floor. It had been just second story sub floor since 1992. We thought about wood, and then decided that the Armstrong LVP was 'good enough.' (a comment we have used on this house for years). Besides, we were the only ones who were going to see it anyways and to us, it looked like wood.
We used a utility knife and a framing square to score, and then cut the planks. The room is large, so we just moved the bed and other furniture to one side, and then to the other, the next day. I don't think there was a waiting period after putting down the planks before the furniture could be moved, but one side per day was enough for us.
We did not use a floor roller to weight it down and it has looked perfect since.
We left about a 1/4" space between the wall and the plank, and then put a silicone bead in the gap so it would be airtight (outside walls). The baseboard went over that, and then the shoe.

I do not know anything about putting it on concrete.

I think I saw several places online where the product could be bought, though we bought ours from a local store.

We DIY because that's how we do alot of things around here so it was a good decision financially. But we did it mostly because it was easier than wood, which we could have done.

I think if you devoted weekends to it, and were not in a hurry to finish, you would not have to take days off, just do it when you had time.

[jamesbond007]

TheHusbandHalf and I decided 3-4 yrs ago to do the bedroom floor. It had been just second story sub floor since 1992. We thought about wood, and then decided that the Armstrong LVP was 'good enough.' (a comment we have used on this house for years). Besides, we were the only ones who were going to see it anyways and to us, it looked like wood.
We used a utility knife and a framing square to score, and then cut the planks. The room is large, so we just moved the bed and other furniture to one side, and then to the other, the next day. I don't think there was a waiting period after putting down the planks before the furniture could be moved, but one side per day was enough for us.
We did not use a floor roller to weight it down and it has looked perfect since.
We left about a 1/4" space between the wall and the plank, and then put a silicone bead in the gap so it would be airtight (outside walls). The baseboard went over that, and then the shoe.

I do not know anything about putting it on concrete.

I think I saw several places online where the product could be bought, though we bought ours from a local store.

We DIY because that's how we do alot of things around here so it was a good decision financially. But we did it mostly because it was easier than wood, which we could have done.

I think if you devoted weekends to it, and were not in a hurry to finish, you would not have to take days off, just do it when you had time.

One problem I have is that there are virtually no stores that carry LVP for me to test where I live. How does it feel when you walk on it with bare feet? Does it feel like plastic? If so, I will go with laminate.

[TheWifeHalf]

It has some texture to it and a tiny bit of 'padding.' It is much more comfortable than my Mom's old kitchen floor that was linoleum.  If I know what you mean by 'plastic feeling' her floor felt that way.
I also saw in an article talking about aging in place, this flooring was rated pretty high in comfort for old people. I think I am in that group.

I don't think it's as slippery as laminate when wet.

Can you write to the places that have it and ask for a sample?

[jamesbond007]

Can you write to the places that have it and ask for a sample?

That's what I am planning to do. Thanks.

[letired]

+1 get a sample.

Disclaimer: I know nothing about vinyl flooring.

You might need some sort of vapor/moisture barrier for mold issues. I redid the floor in my slab foundation house with an engineered bamboo. In the places where the original parquet floor was, it was fine, but in the room where they did a craptacular hardwood over particle board, there was significant mold in the particle board and hardwood because they disturbed the mastic that was holding down the old parquet and also acting as the moisture barrier. I removed all the mastic and ended up using a paint-on vapor barrier.

I could also see moisture causing issues if the vinyl is installed with an adhesive at all.

and random, but I find concrete floors unbearably hard to stand on, so I did a cork underlay that has softened things nicely. It was expensive, but worth it to me.

[Mattzlaff]

I can't be of too much help here as far as install goes(we decided to do our 1000 sqr feet through a contractor) however my GF and I just decided on a product to use and most of your questions regarding the product can be answered on the products website, I actually found a lot of questions I had already answered in the FAQ section on most websites.

Armstrong, Shaw, and Mannington(and more) are all supposed "top" brand names when it comes to LVP. I found prices range quite a bit some products were as little as 2.15 Sqr/Ft at home reno stores and the named brands like Shaw were up to 8$ sqr foot, depending on where they are made, our guy at one store showed us some product made in Germany that was all the same in color range and feeling as some Armstrong choices but since they were made in Germany they were 3$ more a sqr foot.

When I pulled quotes from several flooring companies, basically the middle men who sell the flooring from manufacturer and then hire contractors to install, I had ranges of install prices thrown in, because I like you, thought about my time spent doing the work vs how much it costs to get it done professionally. I'm not sure how much square footage you'll need of product but I found them charge between 1.75$ and 2.50$ a sqr foot for install on top of the cost for removing baseboards and reinstalling. It depends on who you are and how much you feel your time doing a good job vs a pros time doing a professional job.

As far as the carpet goes, rip and tear away baby! if it's lot of carpet, rent a bin from a company that will drop off and pick up. Also when you rip the carpet out you'll need to evaluate the condition of your subfloor. If it's in poor condition and wavy or un even at all the planks on the LVP will lay right on top(with a thin mat) of the uneven surface and you will notice it.

What I did before making any concrete decisions is:

Google some flooring companies in my area

Called somewhere near 5-7 and got each one to come with a rep and measure the whole area I wanted to install LVP.(don't need so many but I wanted to make sure I wasn't being took by some one adding 100sqr ft that I wouldn't need. And I did find one company add 80sqr ft that they said was extra for cuts and scrap but no other company added as much and at 5$ a sqr foot that added 400$ to the bill)

Visited 2-3 stores to get samples of multiple brands and products in a lot of color and finish choices. Also chatted with the sales reps for ideas. The stores mostly carry the same samples so hitting up 2 should be fine.

waited for all quotes to come back and get them adjusted to the price of the flooring we wanted. REMEMBER there is always room for the seller to budge on the price. I had dropped one company as much as 2$ a sqr foot.

Book install date.

Also The install fee and some of the other fees on the quotes will range from company to company and there is always room to move the price.

Some things not included in the per sqr foot install fee that I found in my area were baseboard removal and reinstall, furniture/appliance moving, this seemed pretty common practice to tack on. I elected to let them remove and replace baseboards for 150$. But I am doing my whole upstairs so 150$ made sense as I 1. don't have tools for replacing baseboards and would need to rent or buy(nail gun ect) and 2. admittedly Would take me a lot longer than the pro. I elected to move my own furniture as it would have cost 300$ to get them to do it.

Furniture is the fun part(not) because it depends on how much you're installing and where. I'm doing my whole upstairs which includes kitchen, living room and 3 bedrooms so I have moved 2 bedrooms and my living room into the basement and for 30$ they're going to move the fridge and stove to accommodate their needs. I will be home so the master bedroom will be moved around when they finish some of the flooring in it.

Hope that helps my install job commences Monday.

[jamesbond007]

Got the samples needed from Lowes the other day and I like what I am felt. LVP seems like a better durable product overall compared to Laminate. I am not comparing hardwood as it is not in my budget range. So, I have a question for ya'll. Do I need a foam underlayment for LVP or a moisture barrier that we usually out for carpet, laminate and hardwood? I talked to the Lowes guy and he said I need to put in to get the warranty. But, none of the install videos I saw on youtube used any kind of underlayment. He also, tried to sell me pergo laminate and told it was better scratch resistant compared to LVP. Was he right?

[Spartans]

Got the samples needed from Lowes the other day and I like what I am felt. LVP seems like a better durable product overall compared to Laminate. I am not comparing hardwood as it is not in my budget range. So, I have a question for ya'll. Do I need a foam underlayment for LVP or a moisture barrier that we usually out for carpet, laminate and hardwood? I talked to the Lowes guy and he said I need to put in to get the warranty. But, none of the install videos I saw on youtube used any kind of underlayment. He also, tried to sell me pergo laminate and told it was better scratch resistant compared to LVP. Was he right?

We used the 0.99/sq ft traffic master laminate from HD and used the foam under layment, not sure about LVP though.  What is your subfloor?  We're on a slab so I'd imagine that would be pretty hard without the foam underneath.  How much is the LVP you're looking at?

[jamesbond007]

Got the samples needed from Lowes the other day and I like what I am felt. LVP seems like a better durable product overall compared to Laminate. I am not comparing hardwood as it is not in my budget range. So, I have a question for ya'll. Do I need a foam underlayment for LVP or a moisture barrier that we usually out for carpet, laminate and hardwood? I talked to the Lowes guy and he said I need to put in to get the warranty. But, none of the install videos I saw on youtube used any kind of underlayment. He also, tried to sell me pergo laminate and told it was better scratch resistant compared to LVP. Was he right?

We used the 0.99/sq ft traffic master laminate from HD and used the foam under layment, not sure about LVP though.  What is your subfloor?  We're on a slab so I'd imagine that would be pretty hard without the foam underneath.  How much is the LVP you're looking at?

I am still torn between laminate and LVP. The laminate that I liked at HD costs $2/sft. The LVP (good ones) costs abour $3/sft (minimum). But I hear LVP is better as it is more durable, waterproof, etc. I can see the benefits of being waterproof with a 3 YO in the house. But again, it is costing me more. I am also unsure about the resell value of my home. Laminate is pretty standard these days so I'd imagine it'd be more popular with home buyers? If I were buying a house, I wouldn't mind the kind of flooring but that's me.

[Mattzlaff]

For LVP I do believe that you need the foam underlay, the stuff we chose had it applied to the LVP planks already and we did not need to lay any down underneath. Again you can check out the manufacturers website and the FAQ.  Some reviews on the lowes and HD websites have Q and A in them. The foam underlay and the LVP together also muffle some sound.

HD and lowes do sell some with the underlay attached, my step dad did his bathroom with this stuff from HD.

Watched the contractor do most of the install at my house today, I am thankful I had a pro do it as there is a lot of stuff I didn't know about to ease install and make the job look great. If you're installing it yourself watch some DIY vids on youtube. If you're half handy and have the tools available DIY should be no problem. I have a lot of sqr footage and time this winter is tight so I elected for the pro, I wont regret not doing it myself. He seems really picky(of his work) and eager to do a good job and even found and fixed some problems I didn't know about so I'm glad I went this way, it is a house built in 79 so some of this should be expected.

He's got about 2 more days of work ahead of him and then we're going to paint!

[iamsoners]

I installed LVT in a side porch with a wood subfloor over concrete about 6 months ago and here are a few things I can tell you:

1. This is a pretty easy job, I don't know the size of your space, mine was small but I was able to do the actual "tiling" of a 14x8 room in about 6 hours. That's alone, with minimal DIY experience.

2. I used the click/lock version and liked it--I think this is probably better than the peel and stick.

3. The floor is cold in the winter due to being over a slab.

4. I didn't lay anything beforehand and didn't see anything about it. The last person I would trust is the big box store employee--check their website.

5. I did not use a roller although I think it probably would make things slightly smoother in there but I feel it's at level 95% great so I'm not going to mess with it.

6. No need for a dremel, just a knife and a straight edge

[jamesbond007]

Thank you. I watched a lot of DIY videos on YouTube and I am confident that I can install it myself. But I am going back to the Laminate vs LVP question now :( My install area for LVP is about 800sft.

[Spartans]

Thank you. I watched a lot of DIY videos on YouTube and I am confident that I can install it myself. But I am going back to the Laminate vs LVP question now :( My install area for LVP is about 800sft.

Have you stepped on them each with shoes and no shoes?  Vinyl feels different than laminate.  I don't mind it in the bathroom but I'm not sure about the rest of my house.  The water proof can be a big reason to use it if that is important to you, like if you have pets or a pool where people would be coming in wet.  Did you atleast check out the $0.99/sq ft traffic master?  You may not like it but it's worth a look for the price, I don't think you can beat that deal and this is MMM after all.

[jamesbond007]

Thank you. I watched a lot of DIY videos on YouTube and I am confident that I can install it myself. But I am going back to the Laminate vs LVP question now :( My install area for LVP is about 800sft.

Have you stepped on them each with shoes and no shoes?  Vinyl feels different than laminate.  I don't mind it in the bathroom but I'm not sure about the rest of my house.  The water proof can be a big reason to use it if that is important to you, like if you have pets or a pool where people would be coming in wet.  Did you atleast check out the $0.99/sq ft traffic master?  You may not like it but it's worth a look for the price, I don't think you can beat that deal and this is MMM after all.

I haven't checked the Traffic Master. I will go to HD and check it out this weekend. I did step on Vinyl with shoes. I liked how it felt but the ones I liked are expensive. I will check the traffic master and if I like it, then I will go with Laminate.

[kenmoremmm]

i did LVP in my basement bathroom. the click kind. tedious in a small space, but would be easy for bigger areas.

leave a gap around the perimeter.

don't use mat under the planks; i believe it voids the warranty. they're meant to go on a hard, level, even surface.

i would use a 6 mil vapor barrier.

our basement, before i ripped it all up and did a seismic retrofit, had an earlier version of luxury vinyl. it had a vapor barrier underneath and still picked up the dank basement smell.

my ultimate, elaborate solution was to use 1.5" of closed cell foam on the concrete. air seal it. overlay with 3/4" T&G plywood, then carpet or LVP. basement/dank smell is gone and it's very comfortable in both winter and summer. serious time suck though...