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I'm going to be installing some vinyl plank flooring, and it happens to be exactly the same thickness as the wood planks I'll be removing. It would really convenient if I could just slide it under the baseboards without removing the baseboards from the wall.

I found some instructions here that explain how to do exactly what I want. The key is that, instead of a traditional pull bar, you use an adhesive tool that sticks to the top of the plank while you tap it into place. That way you don't have to fit a pull bar under the baseboards.

It seems to me that the planks would end up being pushed against the wall on two sides of the room as new planks are tapped into place. Do you have any suggestions for maintaining a gap on all sides of the floor?

Have any of you tried this technique? How did it go?

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    Follow up: The project is done. I had to remove a few baseboards that were slightly too low. Also, I found it was easier to remove the baseboard on the last wall in each room, rather than fighting each plank along that wall into place with the sticky pull bar. However, the sticky pull bar was extremely useful in a few situations. I recommend having one on hand when installing a floating floor, just in case.
    – mrog
    Jan 2, 2020 at 19:27
  • In the original post you say "It seems to me that the planks would end up being pushed against the wall on two sides of the room as new planks are tapped into place.". Did this happen? Did you need to correct for it?
    – mattalxndr
    Jan 5 at 10:48
  • @mattalxndr I had to be careful with the first 2-3 rows of planks, but friction held them in place really well after that. Kneeling on the installed planks helps a lot. I used flooring with a cork backing, and that likely helped. If you instead use a plastic underlay, that might reduce the friction somewhat.
    – mrog
    Jan 6 at 16:27
  • I also ended up removing the baseboards on two sides on the room. That made things a lot easier. You may consider leaving the baseboards in place if there's enough of a gap to fit a plank plus a pull bar. But the adhesive tool wasn't easy and reliable enough to use on every row. I later discovered that a strong suction cup (the kind used to lift large pieces of glass) can work really well, depending on the floor texture. Find one with an aluminum frame (not plastic), so you can repeatedly beat it with a rubber mallet. I use one when I have to open or close a gap in installed flooring.
    – mrog
    Jan 6 at 16:35

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Mark the new plank with a depth line and measure the gap under the baseboard. Put masking tape on the plank so the line comes off after.

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