So since Christmas is a four day weekend, it looks like I’ll be doing the bedroom floor. Ripping out the carpet and installing vinyl plank.

While I’m sure there is better stuff available, this is already bought and paid for, so no need for recommendations of other flooring. This is what I’m using.

Traffic Master vinyl plank. It’s grip strip flooring, so two sides have a sticky overlap that the next piece sticks to. I’m guessing a hand roller would help, and possibly a big 75 pound roller.
The bedroom is 13x14 and a closet that is 8x6 and the bathroom which is 3.5x13.

I will have it here Friday and it’ll temper inside the house (a little warmer than usual) until it is ready to be installed.

Once the carpet is up, the floors will be vacuumed very well. Any drywall mud or paint will be razor scraped up.

Any advice or tips will be greatly appreciated.

I have not used the stick type but I have finished three bedrooms of premium vinyl plank. It is the interlocking type, not the stick type. I would think a heavy roller would help with the initial adhesion.

Prep is your friend. I pulled the carpet out and laid down some 1/2" plywood down and filled all the gaps so it was very smooth. A layer of sound insulation and then the plank.

I've put down vinyl plank about a dozen times but never the stick together type.

Make sure the floor is smooth and no staples or nails from the carpet. Carpet helps deaden the sound so you may want to look at some kind of underlayment if sound could be an issue.

I like the planks with attached underlayment meself.

Have a utility knife and extra blades. Score it and snap it to cut it. Also, a square to run your blade against to get straight cuts. Never cut on top of the new flooring you just put down.

What are you doing for the baseboard? I normally pull the old shoe molding and install new or if there is no shoe molding I just install new to cover where the new floor meets the baseboards. If there is carpet there now you may be able to run under the baseboards but will still want shoe molding to cover the difference in height.

The flooring I bought has underlayment already attached to the planks.

It’s being installed on concrete slab floor.

The house is two years old. Pretty new construction.

The baseboard is well attached to the walls and was put on prior to the carpet being installed. They are sitting right on the concrete. All the other vinyl flooring is installed tight to the baseboard and caulked at the seam.

The part I am worried about I’d that the instructions say to keep it 1/4” from the walls.

Pull the baseboard, install the floor 1/4” from the walls, and put the baseboard back on top of the floor? I’m thinking this is the correct route to travel.

I've had a little experience with it. I helped my brother put about a 1000 square feet of it down in his house in a play area for his dogs. You need to pull the baseboard trim. Also have plenty of blades available for cutting. We also made jigs out of mdf for crosscuts and long cuts. A square will suffice for crosscuts if you don't want to make a jig.

I’m not familiar with that specific brand but as said above proper prep is the key.

In the houses we built our flooring guy would take a belt sander and sand all the joints smooth. Then vacuum any dust etc.
It’s a great excuse to buy another tool too!

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Originally posted by Beancooker:
The flooring I bought has underlayment already attached to the planks.

It sounds like 12mm That's what I using ( 3 bedrooms/hall down - liv/din room to go) Mine is interlock free-float so the 1/4 is more critical.
If you are worried about the 1/4" you can buy any cheap 1/4 cut some strips lean it against the wall and pull it out as you go.

quote:

It’s being installed on concrete slab floor.

This why I responded to your post. I'm on concrete. I don't know what part of the country you're in but, you are going to much happier with the finished product if you lay down 6 mill bisquise. To create a "Thermal Break" between the flooring and the slab. When I walk around barefoot and go from flooring to carpet the flooring is warmer than the carpet.

quote:

The baseboard is well attached to the walls and was put on prior to the carpet being installed. They are sitting right on the concrete. All the other vinyl flooring is installed tight to the baseboard and caulked at the seam.

Getting all the baseboard off concrete is worth the project right there. Anything caulked score with a razor knife 1st before you pull it. lot less dirty words & trips back to the hardware store.

quote:

Pull the baseboard, install the floor 1/4” from the walls, and put the baseboard back on top of the floor? I’m thinking this is the correct route to travel.

Yes sir - Thermal Break

I have done some. Yes you will need a hand roller for the initial plank contact. Those are fairly cheap at the big box hardware store. Next you will need to rent a 50 pound roller for when you're finished laying the vinyl. Roll it in both directions. Both with the planks and then across the planks. To cut the planks your rental store should also have a plank cutter available (something like a super duty paper cutter). The roller and cutter are both fairly cheap to rent. Make sure you have plenty of extra vinyl planks. If you are laying a 10 x 10 ft room you will need more than 100 square feet. Think 30 to 50% just to be safe. You can always return the extra full boxes at the least.