Installing vinyl flooring in a long, narrow room

[Larry Bud]

I'm planning on helping my girlfriend install new vinyl in her long, narrow kitchen. It's 24' long, and about 11' wide (at it's widest). It then narrows down to about 8' where the cabinets are located. Think a thick "T" shape like this

********* ********* ********* ********* ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

I understand vinyl comes in 12' widths, so we should be able to do this without a seam, but I'm wondering the best way to lay out and trim the vinyl. She has no other room in the house where we could lay this out flat to trace a template, and it's 20 degrees outside right now, so I'm thinking we can't drag the floor to the garage either, or can we?

[Big_Jake]

You will waste a lot of material without a seam, but seaming isn't generally a DIY thing. A pro would lay and trim the floor in place. Not really the answers you were looking for, I trust?

JK

[Joe]

IMO definitely a job for a pro. Besides looking better at the seam, there will be far less waste. And you will be pleaantly surprised at how fast these folks are. Good luck.

Joe

[Larry Bud]

It's a money issue, however.

So you're suggesting that the pros would install this with a seam?

[Big_Jake]

Yep.

2 cuts 12' x 11' and 12' x 8' Seamed across the short dimension. This would save about 50 sf of flooring over having one pc that is 12' x 24', and working with two smaller pcs is much easier than one huge one. I'm a very avid DIY guy, and I wouldn't attempt to do this as one pc, nor would I want to try seaming for the first time ever in my own kitchen, where I have to look at the quality of my work every day.

JK

[Larry Bud]

But it might not save any flooring. I'm not sure of the exact dimensions of each segment, so if the long narrow segment was longer than a 12' wide roll, you'd still have a bunch of waste because you'd have to cut the 12' width down to 8, and use the length rolled out to whatever the long narrow roll's length was.

[Big_Jake]

Correct. I was making an assumption based on the general dimensions and diagram.

FYI - Home Centers are making a big change to "glueless" vinyl flooring, which gets held down around the perimeter with double sided "glass tape" which is also used under the seams. The wholesaler that I buy my flooring from tells me this is the next great thing, but I am skeptical. The idea is that it will be much more user friendly for the DIY'r, but I question whether sheet vinyl should ever be done as a DIY project, except for really small areas.

In my opinion, (just my opinion) many other types of flooring are much more user friendly, such as vinyl tile and most laminates, although laminate can get pricey. No matter what you choose, properly preparing the surface(or not) can make (or break) the installation.

JK

[<aemeijers]

The price difference in the cost of the material will be trivial, since you buy it by the roll-foot, not square foot. With a seam, 19&#39;, without, 24&#39; off the roll, so may as well go no-seam. Definitely a job for a pro, to get a good fit and get it to look right. I&#39;d start checking the remnant rack at the local flooring dealers- roll ends are usually pretty cheap, if you can wait awhile for a pattern you can tolerate to show up. As to the installer- I used a guy who was moonlighting on himself- a one-man company who does installs for the big dealers by day, and does side jobs after supper. Good job, and way cheaper than I expected. Guys like that usually prefer cash, of course. Installer will make a scribed red resin paper pattern, just like it shows in the DIY book, and do the cutting elsewhere. He doesn&#39;t need to lay it out fully, he can do half at a time. You may have to wait for a break in the weather, if outside is only option. Some installers will take the pattern back to their place to cut, if close, but expect that to increase the costs.

As to how to save money- you can pull up and reinstall the baseboard yourself, and maybe put down the 1/4 luan ply, if old floor is lumpy. If there is a dishwasher, best to pull it so it can be floored under, or at least not trapped.

aem sends...

[Oughtsix]

Take some advice from a "Non single guy" there is no winning. If the vinyl doesn&#39;t turn out it will be your fault and held over you for the rest of your time together. ;-)

That is a lot of adhesive to spread and spreading adhesive is a lot more work than it seems like it should be. If you don&#39;t spread it quick enough there will be places the floor doesn&#39;t adhear well. If you don&#39;t spread it consistant enough the vinyl will not have a smooth surface.

Get a pro or go with tile. There are many nice tiles at the home stores for about the same price as vinyl. You can take your time with tile and you will have a lot nicer / tougher floor when you are done (Cermaic or natural stone).

[HeyBub]

Did you rule out 12x12" self-stick tiles?

[Big_Jake]

Flooring is sold by the sq foot or sq yard, measured in roll feet, which are 1.33 yards per roll foot. If the piece was 19&#39; vs 24&#39;, it would be 7 yards less flooring, probably at least $75, maybe a lot more depending on the cost of the product, and 20% more than you might need with a seam. This is not trivial.

A pro will lay it out and cut it in place, not from a template. I have watched dozens of floors laid and only seen one cut from a template.

Roll ends are seldom longer than 15&#39;

JK