How to Lay Click Vinyl Flooring

Laying click vinyl in 6 steps

1. 1

   Measure the room and buy the right amount

   Measure the floor, or draw it in the free planner, and let it convert the area into full planks, packs and a waste percentage for your laying direction. Order the packs it gives you plus one spare, and let the boxes acclimatise flat in the room for 24–48 hours before you start.

2. 2

   Check and prepare the subfloor

   The subfloor must be clean, dry and very flat – scrape off any old adhesive residue and vacuum it. Rigid SPC click is more forgiving than flexible glue-down vinyl, but it still telegraphs bumps and ridges, so fill low spots with levelling compound and let them cure.

3. 3

   Decide on underlay or a vapour barrier

   Many rigid click planks come with a backing already bonded on, so they need no separate underlay – doubling it up makes the floor too soft and voids the click. On a mineral subfloor, add a vapour barrier underneath. Use only an underlay the maker allows.

4. 4

   Set out the first row and the expansion gap

   Plan the direction – usually along the longest wall or towards the daylight so the joints catch less light. Leave the expansion gap the maker specifies (often about 5 mm) to every wall with spacers; a floating floor has to be free to move, or it lifts.

5. 5

   Click across the floor with staggered joints

   Click each new plank into the last and stagger the end joints by at least 30 cm from row to row, so no two seams line up. Start each new row with the offcut from the previous one where its length allows – that is what keeps the waste down.

6. 6

   Scribe the last row and finish the edges

   The final row almost always needs scribing to width – mark it to the wall, keep the gap and pull it in with a pull bar. Remove the spacers, then cover the gap with skirting boards or transition profiles – never pinned or screwed through a floating floor.