Should I Install Vinyl Plank Flooring Myself?

[Pat Germain]

Back in February I posted some questions here about vinyl plank flooring for my basement. The house is only a few years old and the basement has a concrete floor. The climate in my area is very dry and there are no moisture issues in my basement. I've been doing some research and looking around since then.

A few people here recommended going to a flooring store over a big box store. I assumed flooring stores would have high prices, but apparently, that's not the case. I like a local flooring store called Carpet Exchange. Mrs. Pat and I found a product we really like and asked for an estimate.

The flooring is Karastan Artisan Reserve. The top is 20 mil and it features a new, gapless appearance with beveled edges. It appears to be a good quality product. Carpet Exchange sells it for $3.99 a square foot while other stores price it up to $7.00 a square foot. Carpet Exchange claims this is because they stock this particular flooring and get a discount for ordering it in bulk.

Mrs. Pat recommended we have it professionally installed to get it done quickly and, yeah, I'm pushing 60 and it would be a tough job for me.

I got the estimate and, sheesh, they want $3,300 to install 800 square feet of it. This includes a vinyl underlayment recommended by the manufacturer. I would remove the baseboards and all the old carpet myself. And its still $3,300? The vinyl plank itself is $3200. So now I'm not so sure if I want to pay double for the install. That seems high to me, but I've never had flooring professionally installed, so I don't really know.

I would appreciate some advise and experience here.

Thank you.

[Cameron Wood]

It's not hard, particularly if not passing through doorways to multiple rooms. Watch a few Youtubes, pace yourself, & do it over a few days.

Do it in warmer temps, & use a block to tap each piece tighter in place after installing it.

[Dan Friedrichs]

That install price sounds exorbitant, especially if you're removing old carpet and pulling and reinstalling baseboards yourself.

I did about that same amount of LVP in an afternoon, once. It's really, really easy. Don't even need any special tools - score and snap with a utility knife.

Do make sure to put a thick poly vapor barrier under the flooring. While LVP is "water proof" it is not "water tight". If you don't have good moisture barrier under your concrete, moisture can migrate up and puddle under the LVP (unlike with carpet, where the moisture can diffuse through).

[Pat Germain]

Thanks, guys. I appreciate the input. I will have to socialize this with Mrs. Pat.

[Tom M King]

It's not hard to do, but you have to be able to get up and down on the floor pretty easily because it requires a lot of up and down. I put in over 2500 sq. ft. of it myself a couple of years ago when I was 72 but I'm used to this type of work. One thing about doing it yourself is you can take your time. If it takes you a week and a couple of hundred dollars worth of tools (I bought a special crosscutter that I could use on the floor), is it worth doing over spending 3 grand? If it's not too complicated, you can do it in a couple of days without getting in a hurry.

I cut the starters and run four or five rows at the time. Use the cutoffs from the ends of those rows for the next starters.

For that small amount, I probably wouldn't buy the special cutter. It cuts just fine with woodworking tools.

edited to add: I have probably every type of rubber mallet there is, but I found this one best suited for me on the LVP install. Use the black end to hit the beating blocks and the white side when you need to bump the flooring without the beater block. I found the weight and softness of the different faces just right. The black side will leave a mark if you use it on the flooring, but the white side is softer anyway and better suited. I think Lowes carries these.

https://hammersource.com/vaughan-rm2...-wood-handle/?

That mallet and one of these, using tools you already have and cutting your own spacer blocks to set the first row off the wall, and you should be good to go. I bought the second one of these when I got tired of chasing the first one on long runs.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...ch_asin_title?

I used a long Wonder Bar and a block of wood against the wall to seat the last couple of rows.

[Jim Becker]

I can appreciate your conundrum, Pat...I bought material to replace the improperly installed tile floor in the foyer and powder room when it was recently on sale at Costco. (It's a match for what I put in the laundry room two years ago so it would continue from there) Getting up and down to do work at floor level is not pleasant for me, but "he has knee pads and will do the deed" real soon now because money does count. I do want to get jobs like this done while I still can...and I have seven years on you!

One idea, however, might be to see about getting a helper to make the job more pleasant. The flooring products like this are not difficult to install but having an extra set of hands (and knees) really can make it go faster and easier. Alternatively, if you still want a "pro", see about engaging a local "handy person" off one of the referral services and see if you can get the labor cost down.

[Thomas McCurnin]

For for 800 square feet, my guess is that it is 2-3 days for two guys. Real cost of labor is probably around $50/hr ($800-1200) plus truck, insurance, and yes profit. So around $2,500 seems right for me.

According to This Old House, the average cost of installation is between $3-7 a square foot. So your $3,200 price is not a stupid ridiculous price. You might be able to shop around and get a discount down to $2,500 for the install. I wouldn't bother removing the baseboard and carpet myself. Let them do that.

Personally, I would not enjoy this project. It would be hard work, hard on my knees, and I would need to rent a dumpster for the carpet plus specialized tools and probably a helper if you can find one. It would take me a week or two working a few hours a day, plus ibuprofen for the sore joints.

[Cameron Wood]

I just had some installed in the cottage that I've been fixing up.

About 500 sf, pretty cut up with 5 doorways and several corners.

2 guys started late, made a run to the store for material to float the concrete, patched and leveled a number of areas, laid the flooring and were done by the end of the day. Pro installers.

A single room goes fast.

[Pat Germain]

For for 800 square feet, my guess is that it is 2-3 days for two guys. Real cost of labor is probably around $50/hr ($800-1200) plus truck, insurance, and yes profit. So around $2,500 seems right for me.

According to This Old House, the average cost of installation is between $3-7 a square foot. So your $3,200 price is not a stupid ridiculous price. You might be able to shop around and get a discount down to $2,500 for the install. I wouldn't bother removing the baseboard and carpet myself. Let them do that.

Personally, I would not enjoy this project. It would be hard work, hard on my knees, and I would need to rent a dumpster for the carpet plus specialized tools and probably a helper if you can find one. It would take me a week or two working a few hours a day, plus ibuprofen for the sore joints.

It was an additional $1,000 if I didn't remove the carpet and baseboards.

[Al Weber]

It's not difficult but requires a fair amount of physical activity. I did a room for na shop several years ago when I was 75 yo. My biggest headache was that the carpeted area concrete wasn't flat and level. So if yours isn't either ( a common cover up is carpet and pad. If you have time, patience and are physically fit to work on the floor for hours, have at it.

[Michael Schuch]

It is a much easier job with 2 people. One to cut the end pieces and hand them, and the full pieces, to the guy on the floor knocking them into place.

I setup the miter saw and my GF (50yo) cut one piece for each row and handed it and all the full pieces to me (54yo) on the floor to knock them into place. My GF does not have a lot of handy man background. She caught onto using the miter saw quite quickly.

Like other have said doing it without any help is a lot of standing up, getting down on your knees, standing up, getting down on your knees, standing up, getting down on your knees, standing up, getting down on your knees, standing up, getting down on your knees, etc.

[Paul F Franklin]

One thing that I don't think has been mentioned: Basement slabs are often not very flat. Flooring doesn't care about level, but it does care about flat. Flooring will have a "flatness" spec, something like flat within 1/8 inch over 5 feet or the like. If your floor isn't flat enough, the job becomes a lot more work, with the exact nature of that work dependent on particular circumstances. Small bumps or dips are fairly easy to deal with, larger humps or valleys can be a real pain. If you put click lock flooring on a floor that's not flat enough, you can have trouble with the pieces disconnecting, or hollow areas that flex when you walk on them. So I recommend checking the area for flatness before you pull the trigger either way.

[Bill Dufour]

The flooring itself is easy enough to install. The hard part is any transitions to another type of flooring. doorways to outside etc. My house they installed all the same flooring in the entire house. Only transition at the doors to outside. The front door looks a little funky. The door to the garage has cheap aluminum trim. They just set new sliding doors on top of the new flooring with no transitions?
Bill D

[Rich Engelhardt]

I put in a kitchen using it back in 2006.
I don't remember it being all that repulsive. I did consume a lot of beer during that rehab so that might explain part of it.

My wife swears I said I'd never put in another floor using it again. I'll take her word for it. She has a better memory than I do

[Bill Dufour]

MY mom had my brother install laminate in her bedroom and closets in that bedroom. I asked her how hard it was. She said it was easy for the main field. Harder for the closets and edges. He would measure and take a piece of floor down to the basement. There would be some loud noise(saw). Them he would come up and install the cut piece. Rinse and repeat.
BilLD