ᐅ Installing Vinyl Flooring Yourself

We finished the installation this morning.

The new NEO 2.0 is clearly different from the previously installed NEO Wood. Both the underlayment for impact sound insulation and the vinyl are much heavier, feeling more solid and of higher quality. Additionally, it is easier to install.

The impact sound insulation is completely different (its composition has been totally changed). Its thermal resistance is significantly lower. The vinyl itself now has a core made of stone powder instead of a wood-mixed core.

The room warmed up overall in a shorter time. We noticed this positively after airing the room. However, the floor must still not be installed under kitchens. Therefore, we cut out the kitchen area, especially since we saw how the old floor had buckled under our kitchen.

However, we do not have any long-term experience yet.

We will report on how the floor behaves over time. We documented everything with photos, from the removal of the old floor to the installation of the skirting boards on the new floor.

If this floor also swells, we will no longer remove and reinstall it ourselves. But the new product looks very promising!

Addendum about the new floor: Odor. We only noticed it when we came back from shopping.
My husband says it smells a bit like urine. The rest of the family describes it more like a mix between marzipan and lime cleaner.
However, I haven’t cleaned it yet. We will use the PU cleaner from Dr. Schutz going forward, as it is recommended by the floor manufacturer. I just bought a bottle and am curious to see the results.

I think you should completely avoid this manufacturer,... I personally wouldn’t want to deal with the smell of urine throughout the entire house.

The smell disappeared after the first damp wipe.

The floor is also much easier to clean than the old one.

It remains to be seen whether it can live up to the manufacturer’s promises.

Unfortunately, the smell has returned. Not as strong, but still annoying. Now, at minus 7 degrees Celsius (19°F), we can’t keep throwing the windows open constantly to air out the smell. So today, the owner of the specialist store came to see us. The manufacturer had already been informed beforehand.
It should be gone within two days at the latest.

We’ll wait and see... at least it is properly sealed now.

After one week, the situation is as follows:
The floor is still lying cleanly in place.
It heats up faster than the old floor.
So far, it has not expanded, and the smell has disappeared.
It is warm underfoot and has a slight springiness when walking.
The first mishap—a heavy pot falling to the floor—was survived without any damage.

Our neighbor said it looks very elegant. We are satisfied with the floor.