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Thanks for stopping by! I'm so glad you're here and hope you take the time to look around. There's going to be a lot of before and afters, ideas, inspiration, tips, tutorials, and whatever else I come upon during my journey of home renovation and decoration. We'll see where it takes us!

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Installing Allure Ultra Flooring {DIY}



So we've been working on our Master Bath re-do for the last few weeks and we are down to the final push.  After much hemming and hawing we finally decided to go with the ultra cool, 100% water proof, Trafficmaster's Allure Ultra vinyl plank flooring.  We chose Sawcut Colorado... which I LOVE!  I was hoping to get this bathroom done before my parents trip to the midwest here to see our new home.  Of course... the nice UPS guy brings 5 hefty boxes of our new flooring a mere 24 hours before my parents are to arrive.  I was a bit intimidated to start the work on my own.  I figured if I waited for the Hubs to get home, at least if I didn't do it right it wouldn't be all my fault!

The best thing to do is to look online for instructions and videos on how to install this flooring.  You've heard it's the easiest flooring to install, right?  Have you also heard that it arrives without instructions? For real.

My favorite tip came from the nice people at Find N Choose- #12 From a women’s point of view, if you are helping with the project, have the supper prepared ahead of time. This way when the job is finished you will only have to heat up the supper and not have to deal with a complete supper; everyone can relax. Another option is to have the meal brought in, or go out for supper. 
 It's nice to know that we still live in the 1950's.

So... here's some important information to know before you start.  Here are the tools that you will think will work:
Heavy duty Ginsu scissors, every exacto knife and box cutter in the tool box

And here are the tools that you will actually need:
A 2 foot carpenter's square, Tinner's Snips, a heavy duty screwdriver or crowbar, tape measure, pliers, hammer, marking pen

Some things to keep in mind as you begin installation:

  1. when disconnecting your toilet do so from the wall not the actual toilet (otherwise you might end up breaking the interior components of the toilet like we did).
  2. always measure your planks, don't assume that because the box says that the planks are 7.5" x 4' that they actually are.
  3. you will need extremely heavy duty snippers to cut through the planks.  Most information online suggests that you score the back of the plank several times and then bend to snap it.  This doesn't work very well, it is much faster and effective to use the snips.
  4.  You can leave about a 1/8" space between the baseboard and the end of the plank, the quarter round will cover it.
  5. If you need to make a cut that will not be covered by quarter round, for example, next to bathtub, use your box cutter or exacto knife.  It won't be as easy as the snips, but it will be a cleaner cut. 
  6. You will need to purchase a new wax donut ring for the re-installation of your toilet.  It is always recommended that you should replace this when you move your toilet. You are also increasing the height of your floor you could potentially end up with a gap and leaking from your toilet.  
  7. Paint your trim before you install your new flooring.  That way you don't have to worry about the mess.  But be prepared to do plenty of touch up after the floor is installed.  There will be nicks and scrapes from re-attaching the quarter round and installing the flooring.
Here are some step-by-step instructions to help you install your own Allure Flooring:
  1. Remove the quarter round from the edge of the floor.  Do this by gently prying away from the baseboard with a small crow bar.
  2. If you are working in a bathroom, like we are, remove the toilet.  Shut off the water at the valve behind the toilet.  Flush the toilet and use a plunger to remove as much water as possible from the bowl.  Using your pliers unscrew the water supply hose from the wall.  Remove the covers from the bolts near the floor of the toilet.  Using your pliers again unscrew the nuts from the bolts on either side of the toilet.  Lift the toilet and move it out of your work area.  Be sure to set it on an old drop cloth because there is wax on the bottom of the toilet. 
  3. Be sure your floor is clean and free of any debris. 
  4. Keep in mind that you will stagger the seams in each row.  
  5. Start against one wall and lay your first piece out in the corner.  Attach your second piece with the side tongue and groove area.  It's pretty self explanatory how these first couple of pieces attach.  Move across the floor until you come to area to cut.  Measure very carefully. 
  6. If the cut is tricky you can use the paper inserts that comes with the flooring.  

Lay the paper on the floor and trace the area that you need to cut around.

       Cut out the area that needs to be removed from the paper insert.


    Lay the paper template over the back side of the plank and trace the  the edge.

    Carefully cut along your guide.


    If all goes well, and maybe with a little adjustment, you should end up with this!

    7.  As you lay each piece in you'll want to make sure that the short end of the piece is slid into it's neighboring      groove.  Then push back at a slight angle until the long end of the plank joins.  Due to the flexible nature of this product it is easy to manipulate and bend the plank.  Fit the side of the plank closest to the wall in last.

    As you come to the carpet edges simply pry the strip up with a small crowbar or  large screwdriver.  
    8.  Once the flooring is complete you can replace your toilet,  nail the quarter round back in place, and caulk around bathtub areas.  
    Caulk around bathtubs and areas without quarter round.
    This will keep your floor water tight.

    This last row by the shower was bit tough to get a close cut on and still be
    able to have room to install it.  We used Caulk Strip to give us a
    good seal and cover up the messy edges.

    Although this installation can be done by one person we found that in several instances it is very helpful to have two people working together. This was our first floor installation so I'm sure that an experienced person could have done this quicker.  Most websites suggest that this only takes a couple of hours but we found that having a two year old attempting to help and managing our three older children seemed to slow us down a bit.  All in all we decided that with the right tools (and maybe a babysitter for the weekend) we are confident we can tackle the big project of laying Allure in our 800 sq ft Kitchen/Dining area.
    Before

    After
      A few more little decor projects and a final Master Bath reveal is soon to come! Can't wait to share!

    Linking up here:
    Home Stories A to Z
    The DIY Showoff

    Transformation Thursday
    The Girl Creative





    30 comments:

    1. Heather, nicely done! We put something very similar in our entire home in February! Can you say " Chiropractor" ? Easy to do but still lots of work. We used a Chinese saw to cut the door frames just enough that it would slide under it. I did not do a tutorial about the project but you can see the floors on my blog www.thepaintedlady.vpweb.com

      ReplyDelete
    2. WOW! I think it looks amazing and I love your choice. I was actually thinking about doing this floor in my kitchen and you have convinced me I can. I can't believe it doesn't come with instructions, so I bookmarked this tutorial.
      Thanks!

      ReplyDelete
    3. This looks absolutely gorgeous! You must be so proud!
      Best,
      Gloria

      ReplyDelete
    4. I was looking into this product to replace a high traffic carpeted area. I found some helpful hints online in my research. One tip said to use a vinyl floor tile cutter. This was used after several other attempts with different tools. They found the cutter most effective.

      How are you liking the final look? The only criticism I have read is that there are a lot of repeats in the floor pattern that may be noticeable in larger areas without putting down some sort of rug. This was after making a big effort to mix the patterns as best they could from all the boxes they bought. Do you notice that at all in your bathroom?

      ReplyDelete
    5. Thanks for all the great comments! It's great to hear from everyone!

      There is a fair amount of repeats in the flooring. We were very careful and alternated between the seven boxes that we had. Overall we still love the look and durability of the product.

      I have never used a vinyl floor tile cutter, but I did just purchase a Multi Tool by Craftsman. I tested it out on a plank and it made short of it! We will definitely switch to this tool for our next flooring remodel!

      ReplyDelete
    6. great tutorial! I installed this flooring in my living and dining room and love it too!

      ReplyDelete
    7. The floor looks amazing! Thank you for sharing this at my link party!

      ReplyDelete
    8. We are looking at using this product in a basement hallway with a lot of traffic, how has it held up for you?

      ReplyDelete
    9. We are looking at using this product in a basement hallway with a lot of traffic, how has it held up for you?

      ReplyDelete
    10. the door frames and trim should have been undercut with a flush-cut saw, the planks slid underneath. Much cleaner look, much faster too.

      flooring guy, 20+ years

      ReplyDelete
    11. I'll be installing this in a few weeks and was Googling to see another image when I found your invaluable posting of techniques. Thanks!

      ReplyDelete
    12. We are waiting for our flooring to arrive. Sigh. It has taken over 3 weeks and they say it should be in today.

      ReplyDelete
    13. Clic flooring As a substitute for nailing every bit of flooring to the subfloor, you basically click them together. The ground stays put in light of the fact that you utilize your baseboards to stay it at every divider.
      Carpet

      ReplyDelete
    14. Realy nice blog and it is very informative about Flooring...

      A Diy flooring and flooring introduction might be a fun activity in the event that you have the right apparatuses, materials, and abilities for the ground sort you need to fix.

      ReplyDelete
    15. Bymydiscountfloor, A Diy flooring and flooring introduction might be a fun activity in the event that you have the right apparatuses, materials, and abilities for the ground sort you need to fix.

      ReplyDelete
    16. Bymydiscountfloor, Our Clic flooring is made of characteristic wood, yet it is as straightforward to institute as cover flooring on the grounds that it uses the gliding ground framework.

      ReplyDelete
    17. Hi Heather! So glad you loved your allure ULTRA flooring so much! Just wanted to say thanks for sharing your experience and also let you and your readers know that you can find the official allure ULTRA installation instructions at www.mydiygenius.com/resources. Also, here are some "Quick Start" installation instruction sheets: http://www.mydiygenius.com/articles/quick-start-allure-ultra-installation-instructions/

      Enjoy!

      ~Aaron

      ReplyDelete
    18. Hurrah, that’s what I was trying to get for, just what a stuff Presented at this blog!! Thanks admin of the site. mat centre

      ReplyDelete
    19. These are truly amongst the wonderful informative blogs. FlooringinCharlotteNC

      ReplyDelete
    20. This text is really worth everyone’s concentration. It sounds really go0o0d. www.idealinteriorsflooring.com

      ReplyDelete
    21. I love reading such type of blogs that impart great knowledge to people. This one is really like that. Floor Crete Inc

      ReplyDelete
    22. I just installed this flooring in our bathroom. Overall, it was pretty easy. I had a terrible time cutting a circle for the toilet flange but I think I'll use a plunge cut bit in my dremel next time.
      For making cuts that required only a corner of the plank to be cut out, I used a combination of heavy duty serrated scissors (Milwaukee brand I found at home depot. They worked much better than the tinner snips.) my utility knife and my pliers to snap of the small parts.

      You're supposed to score the top of the plank, then snap it. Scoring the bottom won't do anything.
      I left a gap by our tub and cabinet and covered it with quarter round, then caulked the edges of the quarter round.

      As someone else pointed out,You should have cut the trim by the door so the piece of flooring fit under it. It's a much nicer look.

      I wouldn't recommend installing over existing flooring in a bathroom... You might have mold under that old floor.

      ReplyDelete
    23. After construction of a house, the most important part is flooring, we should choose the best one; therefore, we are looking for good quality, affordable price, long lasting and require less maintenance and repair. Therefore, we should make a survey of different flooring options to get the best one. But the best part is installed and here in this above article, we can get some tools with their features to install a flooring.
      Haro wood flooring

      ReplyDelete
    24. OMG, please let's not rehash a lifetime when it was more than about me. It is laughable men of the 50s justify the slavery women were thrust into by claiming women pride themselves in domestic labor!

      ReplyDelete

    25. very good article. Thanks for sharing such great information for me. I hope you will share some more information about Please keep sharing!

      أ أشجار النخيل الاصطناعية

      ReplyDelete
    26. I have new ideas about window n door designs and installation.
      french door patio

      ReplyDelete

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