ᐅ Is it possible to install PVC flooring yourself? Experiences?

How realistic is it to install PVC flooring yourself in rooms smaller than 18m² (194ft²) without prior experience, using adhesive tape?

Plan: Lay it down, roughly cut it to size (leaving about 5-10% excess at the edges, almost cutting into the corners), weigh down half of it, fold up one side, and work the adhesive tape from the center outwards. Then make the final cuts at the corners and trim the edges. Repeat the process for the other half.

I installed carpet like this decades ago, which was straightforward. But with PVC, imperfections are probably more noticeable. Also, the rooms will be used by small children who might drag things across the floor with some force.

Is this feasible, or will I regret it?

Faltenträger schrieb:

Possible

Of course, it’s realistic. We live in times of Xoutube and home improvement stores. Whether it is the right approach, you can check for yourself.

Faltenträger schrieb:

or will I regret it?

No idea. Do it properly and well, then there won’t be anything to regret. And for everything else, there are carpets.

Faltenträger schrieb:

How realistic is it to install PVC flooring yourself in rooms smaller than 18m² (190 sq ft) without prior experience, using tape?

If you work carefully and take your time? No problem.
If you want to be on the safe side? Click vinyl – it’s also plastic, but still easy to install. A utility knife is enough.

PVC? What is that supposed to mean?

The description of the flooring material is already unclear. A meaningful answer is only possible with specific details about the situation.

What type of subfloor, what kind of flooring, cheap or expensive, the backing material of the flooring, how thick is the coating?

Is it a rental apartment or a single-family home? How long will the flooring remain in place?

Generally, the flooring should be fully glued down. But then you face the problem that the flooring is difficult to remove later. There are backing materials like felt, jute, fiberglass, or foam; some floorings can expand, especially with underfloor heating and so on.

In my rental apartments, I also install PVC floors without underfloor heating but over very smooth floors made of anhydrite screed. I use an adhesive similar to Patex from hardware stores, applying a little in the middle and at the corners. I usually use flooring with a foam backing and not a very high-quality PVC floor. When a tenant moves out and the floor is damaged or dirty, I replace it quickly and cheaply.

I have no patience to spend hours removing adhesive residues with a floor stripper to get the floor smooth again. And once the flooring has been in place for a few weeks, it stays put.

Measure your room, and you can have the flooring roughly cut when you buy it. Adding 10cm (4 inches) is more than enough. Then lay it in place, with one edge aligned properly. Let it rest for 2–3 days so the material can adjust. You probably won’t have an edging cutter, but you can trim the other edges with a utility knife. Glue down two corners, then apply some glue in the middle, then glue the other corners. Done. The important thing is to leave enough space around the edges so the flooring can expand without buckling. Use wide baseboards.

Of course, you can also fully glue it down.

Buchsbaum066 schrieb:

PVC? What is that supposed to be.

Everyone except you knows that.
Polyvinyl chloride. Commonly called vinyl. It comes as click-lock flooring but also as sheet material (then it is correspondingly flexible). Sheet material has been the traditional option for decades. Is it not available in the East?

Buchsbaum066 schrieb:

Basically, it is recommended to glue it down across the entire surface.

No. The classic loose lay method is used for many vinyl floors sold as sheet material.

Back then, in a cooperative apartment that had old linoleum floors, I simply laid loose PVC with a wood pattern in the kitchen and hallway. I only secured it where there were transitions and along the walls using glued triangular molding that belonged to the baseboard. However, the area I covered was fairly small; the hallway was long and narrow, and in the kitchen, I had to splice in the middle because the width of the PVC roll was not enough for the entire room. I bought a thick PVC (≥4mm (0.16 inches)) because I found it more suitable for this type of installation than the thinner material, which barely reached 2mm (0.08 inches).

I had no issues with it until I moved out; it lasted nearly 10 years without shifting or warping.