Should I Install Vinyl Plank Flooring Myself?

[Tom M King]

I used this cutter so I could crosscut pieces near the work. For rips, I took the piece outside and used a 10" bandsaw since it was easy to move.

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The rental house one job I did was quite complicated. Four bedrooms and bathrooms with tile floors with marble thresholds. Two curved walls and slate in the entry that met the floor at an angle intersecting with the curved walls. A large stone fireplace to fit to the stones.

I don't do thresholds or any kind of transition pieces in doorways, so the kitchen and laundry room and two bedrooms had to have it put down backwards. For the bathroom floors I took up the thresholds and tapered thinset up to the correct height for the LVP to meet the tile and slate floors perfectly flush. I left toolboxes sitting on the LVP where it had to bend up to meet the tile height, used some construction adhesive under the flooring, and left the weight on them for several days. It all worked out really nicely.

There have been probably 40 different families in there, a fair number with dogs, and after something over two years of that it still looks like I put it down yesterday.

I did that whole job by myself, but don't remember how long it took. Probably more than a week though. I'm sure I could not have found any "pros" to do it like I wanted it done. Everyone who stays there loves the place. We were able to get it cheap because it was considered a tear-down and no one else would touch it. It has needed a LOT of work though, but it just happened to be right beside our property and has worked out better than we thought it would. I have some more pictures somewhere of the flooring job, but they're buried too deep to find easily right now.

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[John M Wilson]

I used this cutter so I could crosscut pieces near the work. For rips, I took the piece outside and used a 10" bandsaw since it was easy to move.?

Like Tom, I bought a cutter to allow the majority of the cuts to happen in the same room as the work. Maybe a little pricey for one job, but I've loaned it out a couple times, so I got that going for me.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CGJSXJ3

For rips, I made the trek to the garage workshop. Not very many of those, so it wasn't too bad.

As stated above, it's helpful to have a partner to hand you the stock so you don't have to get up & down with each piece. My wife & I also pre-sorted all of the pieces by pattern (I think there were 4 unique patterns, with each having a 180 degree partner, so 8 piles total). This allowed us to be a little strategic about which pieces went next to each other (some of the "wood grain" is a little more noticeable than others, so it looks awkward if they are back to back.)

I probably spent a day leveling low spots & fixing squeaks in the plywood sub floor, another 2 days laying the flooring, and a day reinstalling moldings & transition pieces.

It was fairly easy work -- the tricky parts are around doors & I had one closet I had to work backward, which is a little more effort.

I'm 66, and I would for sure do it again if we decide to do another room.

[Tom M King]

I cut the starters for five rows, dropped them close to where they went, then laid out full pieces enough to do the five rows before I got down on the floor with knee pads. Large rooms went pretty quickly, even by myself.

By staggering the starters long to short, I could put those five in place with little moving around, and similar for clicking the full pieces together.

[Paul Saffold]

Tom, what do you mean when you say "put down backwards"?

"I don't do thresholds or any kind of transition pieces in doorways, so the kitchen and laundry room and two bedrooms had to have it put down backwards."

[Jim Becker]

Tom, what do you mean when you say "put down backwards"?

"I don't do thresholds or any kind of transition pieces in doorways, so the kitchen and laundry room and two bedrooms had to have it put down backwards."

I wonder if he means "direction". There is a preferred and easier direction to lay in the planks because they snap together easier, but sometimes that doesn't work for the situation. I'm going to have that issue when I do the foyer because the current plan is to remove the wood transition I made for between the laundry room which already has the new flooring and the tile in the foyer, directly snap into the existing planks and then work my way through the foyer. But I'll have to go in both directions because essentially the knitting of existing and new is in the middle. I may or may not rethink this between now and when I get on my knees to do the deed.

[glenn bradley]

I paid about $1 per sq ft on a Memorial Day special. At my age I would not do it myself but $3k+ seems a bit high. Easy to say when you are not the guy doing it ;-)

[Tom M King]

The normal way is groove side tilted up into the tongue side of the last one in place on the floor. By backwards, I meant tongue side into the groove side. It's not as easy, but doable.

That house was very long. I started in the back bedroom, worked out to the hallway but when I got to the other rooms on the same side of the house in order to not have thresholds in doorways so the direction could be changed, I put those rooms going "backwards" on the install so I didn't have to have thresholds.

[Paul Saffold]

Thanks Tom & Jim and Pat for starting this thread. Planning far ahead.

[Pat Germain]

As an update, Mrs. Pat expressed that although she was confident I would go a good job on the install (thank you, Dear), she is concerned I would be completely wiped out after many days. She does have a point.

I contacted a friend of mine who knows a LOT of local contractors and he recommended someone who could install the flooring for me at a likely lower rate. I'm going to contact that guy to see what he might be able to do for me.

[Zachary Hoyt]

I did my house, about 750 sf, in a couple of days or so. It was my first time. I kept the miter saw in the room I was working in so I didn't have to go far to cut the last piece for each row. I'm making plans for building a house sometime in the next few years, and am planning to use low grade hardwood instead. LVP is nice, but wood would be nicer and I'll have more time than I did when repairing this house.

[andrew whicker]

Like everyone says above.. easy mentally (mostly). The door jambs, etc. aren't too much fun. I did an upstairs install (multiple rooms) with a table saw for ripping, a flooring specific guillotine cutter for 90's, a miter saw for non-90's and a multi tool for door jambs.

Get some knee pads.


It is boring! Podcasts and/or audio books or music or something. It is REALLY boring. The time will not fly.

Also a good time to fix squeaky floors if the floor is wood decking. Get some deck screws and go to town on any squeaks you find.

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I used some odor blocking paint as well because the customer had guests with cats or dogs that peed in the original carpet. First and last time I do flooring for money. Did not enjoy it.

I don't think you need a miter saw for install unless you have odd angles like I did. I think a square room doesn't require one. I would rather have a guillotine type thing. This is the one I have: https://www.flooranddecor.com/lamina...100585330.html

[Pat Germain]

Thanks again for all your input. I appreciate it. I keep going back and forth. I do need to break down and buy a miter saw. Maybe this will give me reason to do so.

[John M Wilson]

Also a good time to fix squeaky floors if the floor is wood decking. Get some deck screws and go to town on any squeaks you find.

I did this too!

I may have enjoyed the lack of squeaking more than the new look of the floor! (My delightful spouse is in charge of making the place look good -- I get used to a look, and as long as it's still functional, couldn't care less about being "up to date". But squeaks drive me up the wall!)

[Jim Becker]

Also a good time to fix squeaky floors if the floor is wood decking. Get some deck screws and go to town on any squeaks you find.

Spot on advice. I plan on doing this during my project because that floor does move.

[Pat Germain]

It keeps getting funnier. A friend of mine recommended a local flooring installer who came over today to measure and give his estimate. He later called Mrs. Pat to say he can't install the Karistan flooring we wanted because there's some kind of policy that only stores who carry it can install it; or something? He said he has a "similar" product he can show us which he can install.

Yeah, I should just do it myself. But I still work full time, so it will likely take a while. :-)