On delivery of your Colour Flooring Company vinyl flooring, please remove it from its packaging and store it loosely rolled and set upright or flat in the room that it is due to be laid in for at least 24 hours before installation. This will allow your flooring to acclimatize to the temperature and condition of its new home. It is recommended that prior to laying, both floor and adhesive should be kept in a temperature of 18C or more, never less than 15C. 

Before cutting or installing your vinyl flooring, inspect it to ensure there are no visible defects and that it's the colour and size you want, as we can't take items back once they have been used or fitted (see Conditions of Use and Sale). Make sure the floor on to which your vinyl is being laid is smooth, flat and rigid. Ensure there are no cracks or gaps and that it is free of dust, grease, wax, paint and any other dirt, stains or contaminants. Obviously the cleaner and smoother you sub-floor, the better your vinyl flooring will look. If your sub floor is uneven you may want to use a smoothing compound.

All existing floor coverings must be lifted and removed. If you are laying on wood, for best results we recommend you secure all loose boards, hammer down any protruding nails and sand down any high spots. An appropriate smoothing compound may be used to level out depressions and fill gaps between boards. Cover the floor area with either a 4mm or 6mm plywood.

If you are laying on a concrete floor, the moisture level should not exceed 75%RH when tested with a hygrometer in compliance with BS8203-4; 2001. If readings above 75%RH are recorded, it must contain an effective damp proof membrane. Please bear in mind that if you are laying on new concrete it can take up to six months to dry out completely. If in doubt, consult your builder. Under-floor heating should be switched off for 48 hours before and after laying your new vinyl floor. 

CUTTING AND LAYING YOUR FLOOR 

Always work with your shoes off to avoid treading any grit into the underside of your new vinyl flooring. Starting against the longest continuous wall, roll out the vinyl flooring face up and lay it in the space it’s going to cover, taking care not to twist or damage the surface. Lay the material roughly cut, with an excess of around 10cm lapped up the walls so you can trim to fit exactly once the vinyl is fully in place. If necessary, make small relief cuts at right angles to the corners and alcoves to relieve tension and allow the material to lie flat on the floor. Flooring that may have minor edge damage or distortion should be trimmed off before installation.

Brush the surface with a soft broom to remove any trapped air, making sure the sheet is laying flat on the sub floor. Press the vinyl sheet against the base of skirting boards or fitments using a small block of wood to form an angle. Using a paint scraper hold the sheet vinyl hard to the skirting and cut the vinyl flooring with a sharp knife (you can buy one here). You may want to use a steel rule for accuracy. Avoid cutting in too tightly as this could stop the material lying flat - a gap of 1mm, the thickness of a credit card, between the edge of the floor and the skirting board is recommended to allow for buckling due to normal room expansion and contraction.

Move the knife carefully and remove waste every so often to help you see that you are making an accurate cut. Take your time on this phase. Small mistakes along edges can be covered but a major blunder can be costly. 

In rooms where more than one piece of vinyl is to be used, fit the larger of the rough-cut pieces first, then lay the next largest rough-cut piece so that it overlaps the first by 35-50mm. Try to avoid placing seams in thoroughfares. To cut the seam, place a steel rule or straight edge so that its guiding edge lies over both edges of the overlapping material, hold firmly and cut as vertically as possible through both thicknesses simultaneously to create a closely butting seam. This will require gradual cutting - do not attempt to accomplish in one stroke. (See the video in the 'Seaming Your Floor' section below for a demonstration of cutting and sealing your seams.)

If you are laying your vinyl flooring around a curve (for example a toilet pedestal or sink) then we recommend you use a paper template to guide you. To do this, take a piece of paper and cut a number of slits 1-2cm wide along one edge. The row of slits must be wider than the curved object you plan to lay your floor around. Place the paper with the slits up against the pedestal. Crease the slits against the curve and draw a pencil line around the curve in the crease. Remove the paper and cut along the curved line. Place your template on your vinyl flooring and draw around the line. Using a sharp knife cut the vinyl along the guide line. Check it fits snugly around the curve. Do any trimming that needs to be done to get a perfect fit. Once the floor lies smooth and flat you are ready to glue.

GLUING YOUR FLOOR 

 

All the recommended adhesives, tools and cold weld in this section are available to purchase here.  

 
For rooms larger than 15sq m, or which have heavy traffic, we recommend that you fully adhere the entire floorcovering to the sub floor. We recommend using  Balls F44 Adhesive applied evenly according to the manufacturer’s instructions with a 1.5mm Groove Trowel. Only use a workable amount of adhesive at one time; don't push the flooring back into the adhesive too fast; use a rolling motion to reduce the risk of air bubbles, while taking care not to twist or kink the roll. Make sure you press the vinyl firmly on to the adhesive to ensure a good adhesion and that the floor is lying completely smooth and flat. Use a three-sectional roller (around 45kg) if required, rolling widthways then lengthways immediately after adhesion, and again between one and four hours later. In corners and other awkward areas, a hand roller can be used. Don't leave a partial roll of material unadhered while the other side’s adhesive sets. This will help to avoid visible glue lines. While gluing, check your work with the lights on and off, as light and shadow can help you spot imperfections. We suggest using a threshold strip to cover doorways.

 

 

When installing more than one strip of vinyl flooring, to ensure a watertight floor and avoid possible damage to joints we recommend using Werner Muller PVC Cold Welding Liquid Type A to seal the seams (see ‘Seaming your floor’ below for instructions and explanatory video).

After installing your vinyl floor, we recommend cleaning it to remove any loose dirt or debris that may result from the installation process. Any small gaps at the edges of the room, especially around baths and toilets etc. should be carefully filled with a silicon mastic. For the long life of your floor, it is important to ensure that its cushioned underside remains completely dry.

Try not to walk on your floor for around 24 hours after installation.

In areas of extremely heavy footfall, such as household entrances, we suggest using a doormat or other protective covering.

 

To seal seams in your floor, allow 24 hours after sticking the floor to the sub floor. Cover the seam with a good-quality masking tape (ie thick enough to ensure that the weld doesn't bleed through it). Cut through the tape along the seam and apply Werner Muller Cold Welding according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Insert the applicator needle well into the seam until it touches the sub floor. Pull it slowly along the seam whilst gently squeezing the tube. The needle will allow fluid to flow into the seam and, at the same time, a bead of fluid about 5mm wide will be left on the tape. Remove the tape after about 10 minutes when the Cold Welding fluid has dried to leave a virtually invisible seam. Once the installation is complete, we recommend that you allow at least two hour’s drying time before moving heavy objects back into place. The Werner Muller video above demonstrates the principles of cutting and sealing seams in your vinyl floor.