Vinyl Flooring
Vinyl or lino is an ideal covering for kitchens or bathrooms.
Unbacked or Backed Vinyl
Unbacked vinyl flooring is made by sandwiching the printed patter between a
PVC base and a clear sheeny PVC covering. The covering is common in all vinyl
and ensures durability against wear and tear. Some vinyls will have more than
one layer of covering making them more hard wearing and more suitable for areas
where damage is more likely to be incurred.
Backed vinyl is made in the same way as unbacked, but between the printed pattern and the PVC base is a resilient underlay making it softer and warmer to walk on. For obvious reasons backed vinyl is usually more expensive. Ask your stockist to determine which type is better suited to your needs.
Preparing the Floor
Before laying your sheet vinyl flooring ensure the floor is flat and dry and
clean of dust. Vaccuum the surface thoroughly and if you encounter any loose
floorboards nail them secure. Take out any uneveness by screeding a concrete
floor or hardboarding a wooden floor. The best screeding compound for the DIY
enthusiast is the self-levelling screed. Pour this onto a concrete floor then
drag the compound across the floor with a trowel. The contrived makeup of the
screed will fill any imperfections, and when set will give you a perfectly flat
finish.
Laying the Vinyl
Start by laying the vinyl against the longest wall first. Pull the vinyl away
from the wall by approximately 1 inch. Ensure the vinyl is parrallel with the
wall or the axis of the room.
Drive a long nail through a wooden batton about 1 and a half inches from the end. Press the batton against the wall and drag the nail along the vinyl scribing an exact replication of the wall shape along the surface of the flooring. Cut along your scribed line then butt the vinyl up against the wall.
To get the rest of the vinyl to lie as flat as possible snip away each corner as close to the floor as possible, leaving three turn ups with 45o angles at each end. Press the vinyl into the angle between skirting and floor using a flat head screwdriver or bolster. Align a metal straight edge against the crease then cut along the inside with a sharp stanley blade or scalpel.
If your cutting is imperfect lay a strip of beading along the top of the vinyl against the skirting, securing to the skirting with either with glue or brads.
Vinyl laid against door openings or areas where there is no defined boundary, such as beneath the kickboards of kitchen units, should be glued down with a purpose made flooring adhesive. The adhesive should be spread using a toothed spreader and the vinyl pressed down onto this. To ensure the fix lay something heavy on the glued area for one or two hours.
Profiling
Profiling is perhaps the most daunting aspect of laying vinyl. Given the right
method it is, however, fairly easy. To fit around a WC pan or basin pedastol
fold back the sheet and pierce it with a sharp stanley blade just above the
floor level. Draw the blade upwards toward the edge of the sheet. When doing
this ensure you are not leaning over the blade as a slip could prove dangerous.
Make triangular cuts around the base gradually working your way around the base
until the vinyl lies flat. Crease then cut off any excess waste. Use a floor
adhesive to glue the area flat to the floor around the fitting.
Fitting a Carpet
A properly stretched and well fitted carpet can make an old room look as new.
Provided you are carpeting a fairly simple rectangular room the job is not too
difficult to accomplish.
Underlay
A carpet always benefits from an underlay, as do most types of flooring. This
resilient, usually rubbery material, makes for a more cushioned surface and
gives the carpet a more comfortable feel underfoot. Some carpets will come with
a foam backed underlay as standard in which case you do not, strictly speaking,
need to lay an additional underlay.
To protect the underlay it is recommended that you lay first a roll of brown paper or synthetic fibre to protect the underlay from grit and dust which could otherwise work its way into the fabric. This also prevents rubber backed underlay from sticking to, and ruining, the floorboards underneath.
Fixing Your Carpet to the Floor
There are several schools of thought on how to fix a carpet. You should choose
whichever suits your purposes best. For example carpet tacks may be useful for
a room where the floor will receive a lot of traffic. For most rooms gripper
strips are suitable enough and easy to use (and remove) while for rooms where
traffic will be at a minimum double sided flooring tape will suffice.
Carpet tacks are nailed through both the carpet, the underlay and then a hard wood base. The edges of the carpet are folded over the edges of the hard wood base which makes for a secure and tight stretch. When using this method the underlay should go beneath the hard wood base and you should cut it about an inch short of the skirting. This allows for an even base around the edges of the wall where the carpet folds under and doubles back on itself.
Gripper strips are not particularly suitable for rubber backed carpets. They are usually nailed to the floor about 1cm from the skirting, although for concrete floors a strong glue should be used. The carpet is then stretched and over the teeth of the gripper strip making for a fairly secure finish. Underlay should be cut short of the gripper strip to give an even surface.
Laying the Carpet
Secure underlay with tacks to floorboards or double sided flooring tape to other
types of floor such as concrete. This will prevent the underlay moving around
beneath the carpet itself.
Roll out the carpet butting one factory cut edge against a wall then fix that edge in place. Ensure patterns run parrallel to the room.
Stretch the carpet to the wall directly opposite and fix it temporarily in place with tacks or, if you are using gripper strips, attach it to the teeth of the strips. Don't cut the carpet at this point.
Move to the centre of the room and push and stretch the carpet outwards toward each corner of the room. Cut a triangular notch at each corner so the carpet is able to lie flat. Adjust the carpet until it stretches evenly. For patterned carpets its very important to ensure the pattern doesn't warp at any point. Constantly check the flooring by standing back and looking at it from a distance. If you spot any imperfections in the pattern make your adjustments at this point before you start to cut.
Press the carpet into the angle between floor and skirting using a large flat
head screwdriver or bolster chisel. Trim with a knife held at 45o to the skirting.
If the skirting is, as it should be, raised slightly from the floor itself tuck
the carpet under the skirting and cut with the blade at 90o to the floor.