So thorough and straight to the point, not a whole lot of talking like many others do. Easy steps to follow and got all my questions answered that i've been searching for in other videos. The staggering was where I wasn't able to find a proper explanation, and you made it so simple to figure out. Thank you!
Wow, Tony. Ive been installing vinyl plank flooring for about 73 years now and I thought I knew every trick in the book until I seent your video. Spectacular
This is the best video on installing I've seen yet. This process is so much less intimidating and you show how to do so much stuff that I was clueless on, thank you!
12:04. be sure to use a bit of card board from one of your boxes under the pull bar so you don't scuff up the flooring. Especially if the pull bar is a little big and doesn't fit on flat on the new flooring when hitting with the dead blow hammer.
Best installation video for this type of product I have seen, and I have been looking at quite a few to get some helpful tips. Excellent! Great job of demonstration and explanation. Thank you so much.
As a newcomer into the remodeling industry this video was very informative and I learned a couple of tricks to make my installations go smoother. Thank you for the detailed video.
Thank you for this video. The trick with using the cut pieces with the block to avoid damaging the tongue and groove on the good panels is a trick I wish I thought of when I did my bathroom
He treated me like I didn't know anything about floors, and I don't. Great video! This took a lot of the mystery out of the installation, and showed me where I was going wrong.
Just finished my first installation (Stainmaster 12 x 24 click-lock plank) and it's important to note that you should start near doorways, and not finish with them. It's a lot easier to tuck the plank under the door after cutting it to fit because you need a 20 degree angle to correctly seed the tongue into the groove, and because you will need to slide the final piece it's almost impossible the get a tight seam. Difficult to envision unless you've made the same mistake, but if you have doors on two adjoining walls, start there and your life will be much easier!
I wasn't surprised seeing the Lowe's icon in the bottom right corner. This is the first video I now feel confident in installing my flooring after watching. Excellent video! Thanks a lot! May be taking a trip to Lowe's before finalizing my purchase. It's closer to the house anyway. Build on!
Low key a Home Depot guy, but I think I’ll buy my flooring at Lowe’s because of this tutorial. Very clear, really professional. You have got a new customer!
I have found that the smart core water proof vinyl flooring will not lock into place lying flat like he’s doing it. You have to tilt it up slightly. It is smart core bought from Lowe’s. I’ve installed other flooring but never had this painful experience. Its not going nearly as painless as he makes it look. I think China may have something to do with it. My advice is to go with a better grade of flooring if you don’t want agony to the point, you hope you never Have to install this stuff again. Maybe it’s the waterproofing. I’ve heard other pros say this stuff was a pain. Now I know why they made such a statement. Hope you have a better outing.
Done 2 rooms in my Florida Home, now doing in my Canadian Home, and went here as a re-fresher---excellent video! Learned and seen a few good tips that I never thought of prior-Thanks!
I was about to pay to have some of this installed, but you make it look so easy that I'm thinking of doing it myself. I know, famous last words, haha, but I have installed ceramic tile in the past with great results, this looked doable. Thanks for sharing.
It is not hard to do. Just make sure to read the instructions, different companies have different locking mechanisms so the method to lock it together may be slightly different.
How did it go Pete? Im thinking of doing my bathroom. My local home depot offers a class on it too this weekend so I'll go to that as well to build more confidence.
I've done these before but I did learn one thing that I'll use--a dead blow hammer seems a lot better than my framer. I've got a floor to do after my next few jobs and I'll test it out.
You don’t need to measure your wall fill pieces. Just set a plank square on top of the one closest to the wall take another plank on top of that and place it to the wall then trace the line on the bottom piece. If you flip the top plank with the tongue to the wall you’ll get your 1/4” space too.
Seems to me as I watched a floor guy start He just went from the center or the door way to the wall. He started with a whole peace and worked over. As that let the cut of floor to only have to trim one side.
Great video, I'm doing our flooring shortly. I like how you went into details about either leveling or removing humps from the floor. Also with baseboards. Very nice video!
Excellent video for showing how to connect the flooring pieces. Starts at about 8:00, then a really useful couple minutes. Nice job--thorough but very nicely explained. Thanks!
This is a great video. Thank you. Vinyl flooring has improved so much in the last ten years. I had some on my bathroom floor in a previous house and it was great. It looked like oak planks. It wasn't noisy. It felt warmer than laminate. And it wasn't expensive at all.
this is a pretty darned good primer actually. Also well done using the table saw properly.... using the fence for a rip and the miter gauge for the cross cuts. ... this does not seem to be as horrible as I expected
Is no one else going to comment on the fact that he explained how to account for the last row, so it wouldn’t be a tiny little sliver, and then proceeded to let it be a tiny little sliver lmao.
@John Smith by putting the long side in first and tapped every board he turned a 5 hour job into a 2 day job.. Wonder how many boards he damaged installing like this.
Great video. I also have a post like yours. You have a 1/4 inch opening around it for expansion. No moulding to cover that? Mine is in a kitchen. I'm concerned spilled liquids could travel down and under the plank with an open gap like that, though it's necessary for expansion. I'm thinking a bit of silicone caulk in the opening to allow expansion but protect against moisture introduced by a spill . Then, a small door stop moulding over that gap and around the post to hide the gap and add a finished look. Do you(or any readers out there) think this a good approach in my situation? Thanx!
Fantastic! Great explanation of subfloor PREP for level flooring, to include the insulating underlayment. you did all that w/o kneepads, wow dedication.
This cleared up so many questions for me. Thanks. I'm still not sure how to cut the pattern of the door trim into the flooring - the piece you're installing at 15:17 in the video - how did you cut that to fit? Would you have a video for that?
I love how all these people’s installation instructions involves them only running it in one room instead of running it into multiple rooms so the installation is as simple as possible
Now I know how to do it. Now I know there's no way im going to try do it and I will be hiring a pro so it's done right the first time. I'll stick to cars 😂
We had one of these floors installed by the Lowes installers. They didn't do any of this stuff. The subfloor was not level and had gaps in it; now the laminate floor has hills and valleys.
@Stan Curts if they don't make it right, I would dispute the charge on the credit card. I've done this several times with shady contractors with great success.
You should contact store which will send either installer, main contractor, or mill inspection people - to see if it's a install, house, or product failure. If floor was not flat to begin with - whether found during estimate or day of install due to existing floor being down until then - you should have been charged the material & labor to fix issues to material specs - usually 1/8" over 8 lnft, but varies
I agree its a well explain and very professional video but there are plenty of professional like this and even better i could even say in Canada, i live in Montréal and there are so many talented home contractors out here. ✌️🤷🏼♀️
FYI when you do your last row the only thing he did right was putting another piece on the previous row. The next step is to take another piece and put it on top of that piece and push it up against the wall and that will give you the excact size plank you need for the last row.
Decent video all the way up to caulking the edge to make it "water tight". In order for that to work you would need to caulk the door jam and any walls with a water source.
And right as you start he is going to say, “now we are going to take our time, stay organized, and enjoy the work.” Then proceed to get in a hurry while scattering tools everywhere and cursing up a storm!!! Lol. I had no idea we were brothers!
You can get the same design in ceramic planks mouch better and definitely water proof and will last much longer looks like real wood and comes in many different colors get them at a tile store more choices
question: the first row of planks going against the wall requires cutting off the long and short side tongue end. does every plank/tongue edge going against the wall need to cut as well? there's no further mention but i want to confirm.
Would lack of a vapor barrier cause a concrete basement floor to fail a professional moisture test? If so, do you need to install a vapor barrier and the underlayment? Does the underlayment moisture barrier also seal out radon?
Didnt think youre suppose to use glue. At door you used caulked/glued and said it was to make it wayer tight. So what about the need for 1/4 inch expansion gap you mentioned. Such as around walls. If the floor is level and new luan has been installed does the new 2019 smart pro planks 1329189 require the green moisture barrier. Im thinking i read they have a built on underlayment. Nice video.
Maurice George yes, read the manufacturers specs for recommendations. There is different for concrete and plywood subfloors. Concrete slab you will need a vapor barrier.
Iive in Florida and have a tile floor which sweats quite a bit in certain spots when the humidity is high. Would putting that moisture barrier and this type of flooring on top of it make sense?
In all of these videos, no one ever addresses what to do with the ends you trim shorter, to give a more natural look and to avoid the seams being to close to each other, but the next plank has the locking end that now is hitting a trimmed edge with no locking trim. How is that dealt with? The locking trim of the long plank is going to show an obvious gap. What’s the fix???
I followed this video using the smart core and proper prep and identical flooring. What I found is that my vinyl floor had dents in it from heavy furniture such as the bed. I often wonder if I didn’t use the smart core would I have the same problem? Love the flooring and installation of the flooring was easy.
Once you have the room squared off. It's much easier to keep your planks parallel to the lines if you temporarily screw them down at the edge. Between trim and wood filler, you'll never see the holes and now your floor won't shift on you when you bang on it.
So thorough and straight to the point, not a whole lot of talking like many others do. Easy steps to follow and got all my questions answered that i've been searching for in other videos. The staggering was where I wasn't able to find a proper explanation, and you made it so simple to figure out. Thank you!
Wow, Tony. Ive been installing vinyl plank flooring for about 73 years now and I thought I knew every trick in the book until I seent your video. Spectacular
This is the best vinyl plank installation video I’ve seen. Thank you!
This is the best video on installing I've seen yet. This process is so much less intimidating and you show how to do so much stuff that I was clueless on, thank you!
I agree!
Bro, you are a true homie. 20 other videos were trash, you made it so easy to get it done. Thank you
12:04. be sure to use a bit of card board from one of your boxes under the pull bar so you don't scuff up the flooring. Especially if the pull bar is a little big and doesn't fit on flat on the new flooring when hitting with the dead blow hammer.
Best installation video for this type of product I have seen, and I have been looking at quite a few to get some helpful tips. Excellent! Great job of demonstration and explanation. Thank you so much.
D
THANK YOU ! Absolutely the BEST video on installing I`ve seen yet and I`ve looked at them ALL !! Did I mention THANK YOU !!
As a newcomer into the remodeling industry this video was very informative and I learned a couple of tricks to make my installations go smoother. Thank you for the detailed video.
Thank you for this video. The trick with using the cut pieces with the block to avoid damaging the tongue and groove on the good panels is a trick I wish I thought of when I did my bathroom
Getting ready to install my new floor. Watched several videos and yours is the best I've seen for a single room installation
How did it go?
He treated me like I didn't know anything about floors, and I don't. Great video! This took a lot of the mystery out of the installation, and showed me where I was going wrong.
Thank you! I am 61 y/o woman and going to install mine next weekend.
how was it?
@@troyporter3825 she won't see the replys
Just finished my first installation (Stainmaster 12 x 24 click-lock plank) and it's important to note that you should start near doorways, and not finish with them. It's a lot easier to tuck the plank under the door after cutting it to fit because you need a 20 degree angle to correctly seed the tongue into the groove, and because you will need to slide the final piece it's almost impossible the get a tight seam. Difficult to envision unless you've made the same mistake, but if you have doors on two adjoining walls, start there and your life will be much easier!
I wasn't surprised seeing the Lowe's icon in the bottom right corner. This is the first video I now feel confident in installing my flooring after watching. Excellent video! Thanks a lot! May be taking a trip to Lowe's before finalizing my purchase. It's closer to the house anyway. Build on!
Me too
Great video, right to the point without unnecessary details. Super helpful. Thank you!
Low key a Home Depot guy, but I think I’ll buy my flooring at Lowe’s because of this tutorial. Very clear, really professional. You have got a new customer!
Check out if there is a Floor and Decor near you. They’re the Costco of flooring
I have found that the smart core water proof vinyl flooring will not lock into place lying flat like he’s doing it. You have to tilt it up slightly. It is smart core bought from Lowe’s. I’ve installed other flooring but never had this painful experience. Its not going nearly as painless as he makes it look. I think China may have something to do with it. My advice is to go with a better grade of flooring if you don’t want agony to the point, you hope you never
Have to install this stuff again. Maybe it’s the waterproofing. I’ve heard other pros say this stuff was a pain. Now I know why they made such a statement. Hope you have a better outing.
Best Installation video ever, I made the full installation by myself without problem, thank you!!!
A very nice vidoe!
Done 2 rooms in my Florida Home, now doing in my Canadian Home, and went here as a re-fresher---excellent video! Learned and seen a few good tips that I never thought of prior-Thanks!
The best video on vinyl plank I have seen
Excellent Video... THANKS for the awesome DIY explanation!
I was about to pay to have some of this installed, but you make it look so easy that I'm thinking of doing it myself. I know, famous last words, haha, but I have installed ceramic tile in the past with great results, this looked doable. Thanks for sharing.
It is not hard to do. Just make sure to read the instructions, different companies have different locking mechanisms so the method to lock it together may be slightly different.
If you've done tile work, you can absolutely put down vinyl plank flooring yourself. It's a much easier process than tile.
Super easy. If you get thinner planks( 1/4" in and down) it's harder to keep the planks locked together as you go but definitely doable
Just did a bathroom remodel using this plank. Super easy!!
How did it go Pete? Im thinking of doing my bathroom. My local home depot offers a class on it too this weekend so I'll go to that as well to build more confidence.
Ok ok ok ! The greatest most well explained video ! Thank you Lowe’s !
He did a really nice job at the finish.
I've done these before but I did learn one thing that I'll use--a dead blow hammer seems a lot better than my framer. I've got a floor to do after my next few jobs and I'll test it out.
Wow he looked so easy doing flooring! I may be try it one day!
You don’t need to measure your wall fill pieces. Just set a plank square on top of the one closest to the wall take another plank on top of that and place it to the wall then trace the line on the bottom piece. If you flip the top plank with the tongue to the wall you’ll get your 1/4” space too.
Big help! Thanks!
Seems to me as I watched a floor guy start He just went from the center or the door way to the wall. He started with a whole peace and worked over. As that let the cut of floor to only have to trim one side.
Great video, I'm doing our flooring shortly. I like how you went into details about either leveling or removing humps from the floor. Also with baseboards. Very nice video!
Excellent video for showing how to connect the flooring pieces. Starts at about 8:00, then a really useful couple minutes. Nice job--thorough but very nicely explained. Thanks!
Thank you! You are a legend! Probably the best video on luxury vinyl floor installation out there. Informative and steight to the point. Well done!
EXCELLENT prep and install video, thank you.
Best install video I’ve seen 👍🏼
I have done laminate before . This is awesome . The perfect material for a basement A great video
Love it he did it step-by-step awesome job! thank you Lowe's!! you are now my new favorite Channel besides HGTV!;)
This is a great video. Thank you. Vinyl flooring has improved so much in the last ten years. I had some on my bathroom floor in a previous house and it was great. It looked like oak planks. It wasn't noisy. It felt warmer than laminate. And it wasn't expensive at all.
this is a pretty darned good primer actually. Also well done using the table saw properly.... using the fence for a rip and the miter gauge for the cross cuts. ... this does not seem to be as horrible as I expected
L
Great video, just confirms that I’m doing jobs right 🙏🏽
Very informative. It made it clear I probably don't want to do this myself.
Is no one else going to comment on the fact that he explained how to account for the last row, so it wouldn’t be a tiny little sliver, and then proceeded to let it be a tiny little sliver lmao.
The one next to it is nice and big !
I caught that soon as he did it...clean mistake edit...
Some people like tiny slivers, freaks.
@John Smith by putting the long side in first and tapped every board he turned a 5 hour job into a 2 day job.. Wonder how many boards he damaged installing like this.
two the between divide Always
Great instructions, thanks!
Thank you for sharing the best installation video.
Great video. I also have a post like yours. You have a 1/4 inch opening around it for expansion. No moulding to cover that? Mine is in a kitchen. I'm concerned spilled liquids could travel down and under the plank with an open gap like that, though it's necessary for expansion. I'm thinking a bit of silicone caulk in the opening to allow expansion but protect against moisture introduced by a spill . Then, a small door stop moulding over that gap and around the post to hide the gap and add a finished look. Do you(or any readers out there) think this a good approach in my situation? Thanx!
One of the best videos 👍
Fantastic! Great explanation of subfloor PREP for level flooring, to include the insulating underlayment.
you did all that w/o kneepads, wow dedication.
Perhaps, two guys working with knee pads were edited out :)
@@ondopolom785 lol
Knee pads at 11:40
This cleared up so many questions for me. Thanks. I'm still not sure how to cut the pattern of the door trim into the flooring - the piece you're installing at 15:17 in the video - how did you cut that to fit? Would you have a video for that?
See this guy is really good
Good work, good how to video 👍👍
Yep. Best video!
Good video. What is the name of the underlayment?
Super amazing job 👍👍👍
That Craftsman jigsaw makes the same noise i do after a big bowl of spicy chili. Maybe they should rename Crapsman
Thankfully to sharing detial
I love how all these people’s installation instructions involves them only running it in one room instead of running it into multiple rooms so the installation is as simple as possible
There are videos for multiple rooms. Perhaps go there.
Most of floating floors require a t molding at door anyways, due to binding issues otherwise -- especially under 3ft doorways
Now I know how to do it. Now I know there's no way im going to try do it and I will be hiring a pro so it's done right the first time. I'll stick to cars 😂
My thoughts exactly
😂😂
Good you can hire ppl like me that know how
Its way easier than he makes it seem… Just takes time and patience.
@@TheQMan14 you in the metro DC area?
Good 2 know thanx !! Great job also 🙂
Great job looks really good.
Thank you so much for helping me.
Thanks for showing each step
We had one of these floors installed by the Lowes installers. They didn't do any of this stuff. The subfloor was not level and had gaps in it; now the laminate floor has hills and valleys.
Stan Curts will they fix the problem?
What was the cost of them putting it in?
@Stan Curts if they don't make it right, I would dispute the charge on the credit card. I've done this several times with shady contractors with great success.
You should contact store which will send either installer, main contractor, or mill inspection people - to see if it's a install, house, or product failure. If floor was not flat to begin with - whether found during estimate or day of install due to existing floor being down until then - you should have been charged the material & labor to fix issues to material specs - usually 1/8" over 8 lnft, but varies
Wish we had such professionals in Canada!
I agree its a well explain and very professional video but there are plenty of professional like this and even better i could even say in Canada, i live in Montréal and there are so many talented home contractors out here. ✌️🤷🏼♀️
FYI when you do your last row the only thing he did right was putting another piece on the previous row. The next step is to take another piece and put it on top of that piece and push it up against the wall and that will give you the excact size plank you need for the last row.
It would take 1st timers months to remember how to do that properly, lol
@@doubleds65 true. But all these TH-camrs that like to make DYI videos try to make it seem simple but it’s not. They just show doing simple areas.
Really good video
good details when installing
Great video, very detailed.
Yep
Decent video all the way up to caulking the edge to make it "water tight". In order for that to work you would need to caulk the door jam and any walls with a water source.
Did he caulk an edge that may move during the seasons?
Absolutely
So what is the moisture level that you can what’s the cut off or you can install this vinyl floor? He had a moisture meter
Great tutorial, thank you!
So many tools needed, and materials.
best tutorial. thanks
My dad is going to watch the video, say he's going to follow it, and then do it completely differently and say, c'mon son! Common sense!
And right as you start he is going to say, “now we are going to take our time, stay organized, and enjoy the work.” Then proceed to get in a hurry while scattering tools everywhere and cursing up a storm!!! Lol. I had no idea we were brothers!
@@Natedoc808 doing it now with my dad
Great job 👌
Brilliant! ❤
Thank you I’ll be doing this to my basement
Awesome video!!! Thanks!
You can get the same design in ceramic planks mouch better and definitely water proof and will last much longer looks like real wood and comes in many different colors get them at a tile store more choices
He makes it look so easy, but I know what would happen if I tried to do that!
Good job. 👍👍💯💯
question: the first row of planks going against the wall requires cutting off the long and short side tongue end. does every plank/tongue edge going against the wall need to cut as well? there's no further mention but i want to confirm.
Is it necessary I'm wondering?
No - as long as gap is kept and molding you have will cover it
Pretty good video. Thanks!
What was the purpose of the cross in room as you did not seem to use it.?
i think it's part of figuring out where your starting straight line is.
You said to check the moisture, but what are the acceptable levels?
Nice job handsome man i will do that soon.
Would lack of a vapor barrier cause a concrete basement floor to fail a professional moisture test? If so, do you need to install a vapor barrier and the underlayment? Does the underlayment moisture barrier also seal out radon?
Didnt think youre suppose to use glue. At door you used caulked/glued and said it was to make it wayer tight. So what about the need for 1/4 inch expansion gap you mentioned. Such as around walls.
If the floor is level and new luan has been installed does the new 2019 smart pro planks 1329189 require the green moisture barrier. Im thinking i read they have a built on underlayment. Nice video.
Looks like the blue ridge pine we just bought.
Is there any specific requirement for underlayment or I can use wood flooring underlayment for Vinyl flooring as well?
Maurice George yes, read the manufacturers specs for recommendations. There is different for concrete and plywood subfloors. Concrete slab you will need a vapor barrier.
Yes
Very helpful!!! Thank you
ahhhh blue ridge pine. my favorite Vinyl Plank to sell to people at Lowe's
Iive in Florida and have a tile floor which sweats quite a bit in certain spots when the humidity is high. Would putting that moisture barrier and this type of flooring on top of it make sense?
Yes the underlayment is a moisture barrier I have the same issue
In all of these videos, no one ever addresses what to do with the ends you trim shorter, to give a more natural look and to avoid the seams being to close to each other, but the next plank has the locking end that now is hitting a trimmed edge with no locking trim.
How is that dealt with?
The locking trim of the long plank is going to show an obvious gap.
What’s the fix???
I followed this video using the smart core and proper prep and identical flooring. What I found is that my vinyl floor had dents in it from heavy furniture such as the bed. I often wonder if I didn’t use the smart core would I have the same problem? Love the flooring and installation of the flooring was easy.
he did state that for heavy furniture, you should glue the flooring down.
Or install those felt tabs on legs of furniture
Looks like you're installing up to a baseboard, not a bare wall. Hmmm. So what goes in the quarter-inch gap you're leaving outside the baseboard?
Once you have the room squared off. It's much easier to keep your planks parallel to the lines if you temporarily screw them down at the edge. Between trim and wood filler, you'll never see the holes and now your floor won't shift on you when you bang on it.
That's good advice on a sub-floor, but would be tricky on concrete, no?
Nice thanks👍
is this a Craftsman tools infomercial?
this was helpful
What is the name of the underlayment that www used it n the video demo?
You're an expert. I need you to do mine. :)
greatness Tony
With what I had laying it down under the door casing and using that tool ,it would not go in. You had to have it at a 45 to get it to go together.