Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Vinyl Plank Flooring?

I would think that the flooring pattern would decide that for you but having said that I'd go with crossways

that's just preference, what look you like.

Sorry, should have been more complete.

Door is at hallway. Hallway will get the same LVP. Will buy enough of same lot to do the 3 rooms and hallway upstairs. I’m thinking transition strips anyway.

That change your answer?

you can put a t-cap to make it a little easier for you but I just let flow through so there are no transitions.

Pretty good stuff, I've used all grades and they a have their different characteristics.

The cheaper products I've installed are more brittle and can and will chip when installing, until you learn why your chipping it then that's over.
The brittle cheap stuff is a bit stiffer and floats over things the more exspensive, softer products don't.

I'm speaking of a bad, heaved joint between sheets of plywood or just some rank little spot that's just not perfectly in tune with the rest the floor you are covering.
It might appear to have hidden such areas right after it goes down but in time the softer product will show most any imperfection that lies beneath it.

I'd rather use the better, softer products and get the floors perfect before I start but sometimes it's just not in the budget for the house I might be flipping at the time.

I've done about 15 houses, typically the entire house. Probably used 8 different products, what ever meets the colors or shades and fits the price range allowed at the time.

I've never used anything but a speed square and a razor knife for cutting it.
Just scribe and snap, all grades, all products.
Rips go through the table saw and inside cuts hit the chop saw.

If you're hammering it together, you're doing it wrong.
Get the angle needed to put them together figured out and it just falls into place.
It's either right or not, hammering just breaks the top off the locking bead, it still goes together but can pull apart once you break the bead. A bump with the palm of your hand should be all the extra pressure you need in a hard spot if it's in position to go together.

It expands and contracts a considerable amount, that's why it has to float. Do not cut it tight, I rip a 1/4 inch off a 2×4 and put it against the wall or bottom plate so I maintain a gap around the edges, the butt ends have a tendency to creep their way towards walls while you install.

I hate all their transition strips that are meant to go in doorways and such. They are all just too bulky and seem to take away from the finished flooring job in a home.

I run the planks through all doorways, just like a real wood floor is done when doing a entire home.
Only bought the transition pieces once, look at them often but just refuse to use them.

One big thing I learned the hard way.
I had a high end, lifetime warranted product with the rubber like backing in a home that flooded.

I just skinned it all up and stacked it in the garage while I restored the house. It sat there stacked for a couple of months.

When the time came to reinstall the flooring I found the rubber backing had deeply stained the crap out of the face of all the flooring, like 5 grand worth of the stuff.

Tried every trick going to clean it but it didn't happen, it was trashed.

The manufacturer held to its warranty and replaced it all free of charge with just a series of emails and photos of the damage.

Stacking it back to back, face to face would have prevented that.

Also noticed as I removed the new product from the box it was packaged back to face but there was a thin sheet of paper between each plank, humm.

IIRC, they dont recommend running over 35' if it's floated without a break, because of contraction and expansion. I broke mine going into each room with a t-cap.

As Roger said, "Lay it the way you like".

It's said that the running direction can add length or width to a room.

So just due to some unknown entity writing that, I've always kept it in mind when making that decision.

Does it make a difference?
Idunno, it's never seemed to hurt.

Lay the plank according to the room and your personal preference. I lay it long ways of plank to long ways of room. I feel it looks better and makes the room "Larger".

When you lay it Mike just take your time, pay attention and you'll have a nice floor you'll be very happy with. Make sure you buy the pull bar and tapping block, it makes the installation go much easier.

Since a couple guys mentioned running straight through the doorways, which you should, a little tip . Look at your locking edge and shave off 1 side apply adhesive to the joint and tap together. Banging it together flat while going under door jambs will break the lock otherwise.

I had my entire house done with it, I'm on a pier and beam. Unfortunately, I've had areas where gaps have formed between the plank ends. Not sure what the cause is. Pier and beams naturally have movement and we chose the vinyl floor because of that, but we've been disappointed that the gaps formed. The installer fixed them once, but they've appeared again. I believe ours is an Armstrong product.

Thanks for the replies and suggestions.

Re: the doorway.
Plan is for that to be done last after each room. Not possible to do all of it at once like an unoccupado new construction.

Took me about a year overall, but have refloored my entire little house with the stuff. Paid for it as I went along. Get a lot of positive comments about the floor!

Being a pet owner.....much easier to clean up than other types of flooring and as already mentioned, waterproof!

I do occupied houses all the time, we just move the furniture from one room to another.

It's probably not the fault of the product, it's the installer.
His method of getting the butt joints locked together isn't up to par.

There are two main “types”, snap/click together and glue down.

If you go with glue down you prolly will need a nice clean new underlayment.

I just finished installing the 1/4 “ underlayment yesterday, today I start installing the Industrial Grade Glue down.

Highly recommended.
Easy to install
Can easily work from both directions
Extremely durable
Replacing a damaged plank is a snap

When passing through the doorways, I undercut my jams.

I lay a piece of scrap plank tight up against the jab and with a flat blade on a Oscillating Multi-Tool I'll cut the jam and trim off.

Your plank will slide under the jam perfectly everytime.
Makes for a pretty clean looking finished job.

If you don't have a Oscillating Multi-Tool get one.
Harbor Freight sells them for under 20 bucks and they typically come with the offset flat cutting blade.

The tool comes in handy for cutting small little inside cuts and the like in the planks as well.

Anyone use these or something similar in a garage or workshop?

https://newageproducts.com/flooring/residential-flooring/garage-flooring/

Just curious about any real work opinions/experience with these.

Good tip. Any others for cutting baseboard evenly without chipping, etc. so it will fit under? Thanks in advance.

Nothing that I've ever done, the base either gets pulled off or the rooms get the 1/4 round wrap.

Stxhunter is the master floor guy, he's probably does as many of these floors as I've ever done in his adverage week.

He's gotta be full of tips and tricks.