How to properly install allure ultra vinyl planks?

Question

I'm considering installing Allure ultra planking in my basement over asbestos tile floor. No moisture problems and I did the saran wrap test and don't see any droplets at all.

While researching how to install it I can't wrap my head around what happens when you cut a piece. It says the "simplefit locking edge" on the short side should stay on the left. But what happens when you cut a piece? Do you have to throw away what is cut that doesn't have the edge on the left side anymore? It seems like there's a lot of waste produced. I'll ask the home depot guys about it but want to be prepared in case I get the wrong person at HD.

Also, any tips on cutting it lengthwise if I need to?

Sorry, I've never installed flooring before. Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Cutting planks to length at the end of a row, you just need to score the laminate layer well and then bend the plank backwards. It will snap along the score. I used a rotary cutter that looked like a pizza cutter and it worked well. Give it a few hard passes to score it deeply.

On rows, there is very little waste. What you trim off one row you can use to start the next row (as long as the piece is at least 12" long). That staggers the seams.

Each row interlocks with the previous row. When you reach the last row at the end of a room, or a bump-out, where a full width plank is too wide for the remaining space, you trim the plank to the required width on the "leading" edge that does not interlock with the previous row (you trim off what doesn't fit in the remaining space). You leave a small gap to the wall for expansion that gets covered by molding.

Note that it is intended to leave an expansion gap around the outer edge. The trimmed edges won't be perfectly clean, like the factory edge on the plank, and row to row won't be a perfectly even edge. The system is designed for DIYers. The edges all get hidden by coordinated quarter-round molding. If you end at a doorway, there are coordinated transition strips. So it all looks clean and finished when you're done.

Trim the width the same way--score the laminate side well and then bend the plank backwards along the score. If you have a countertop or piece of lumber, line up the score along the edge of the countertop or board, and fold the waste edge down. Try to fold it evenly until the whole length of the score is creased, then you can give it a sharper fold. The waste edge will snap off.

If you have to "notch out" a corner, like a section of wall adjacent to a doorway, where a portion of the plank will be full width and a portion will be partial width, use a utility knife to cut all the way through the plank for the short cut. The long score will then be free to bend to snap it off.

It is basically waste, some fraction of one row per room.

Answer 2

I agree with all of fixer1234's answer. The scrap from a cut piece can start the next, or a future, row. (The opposite sides of a room take opposite side being cut)

Regarding the starting of the rows, if the piece left over from the previous row does not provide enough stagger/offset from the previous row, then cut another piece to start the row. Eventually the few scraps will be different lengths and you will be able to use the scraps at the start of rows. (just choose the one that gives the best offset pattern) Depending on room shape, you should end up with very little scrap caused by end of row cuts.

One thing to try to avoid is ending up with a tiny piece needed at the end of a row. You can determine this by calculating the number of pieces. If the room width needs 5.75 pieces, then don't put down a piece that is 70% of a piece length to start a row. (It will require a short piece of 5% the length of a plank at the end). The instructions with the planks should include what the desirable minimum plank lengths are to use at the ends. If you do a little bit of calculating ahead of time, you will know that you should avoid starting a row with lengths between two values because it will end up with a less than optimal piece at the end. you can also test the lengths by just laying planks out on the floor to see how large or small the end piece will need to be.

And don't be afraid to cut some of the longer scrap to make more desirable start of a row so it will fit your room shape, especially for the last few rows. This will end up with a smaller scrap piece, that is cut on both ends, which will be a throw-away piece. But if you avoid cutting another whole piece it is another piece saved. If you do this too much, the the scraps amount will add up.