Vinyl Plank Flooring - who has it?

[unclebilly]

I bought an office trailer for my company and it’s in fairly good shape. The old linoleum floor is shot.

I’m considering just putting down vinyl plank flooring.

Hard vs Soft?

And drawbacks?

Do I need an expansion joint in 24’?

[Baz]

11 page thread:

https://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/1127507-question-about-flooring-vinyl-plank-particular-11.html

[look 171]

Do it. They wear very well unless there's sand in their boots and drag their feet when walking. I like the soft type. Its a bit easier on the body. Leave 1/4-3/8 gap for expansion along the walls.

[id10t]

Another option might be the square carpet tiles - we use 'em at the college, they handle wear great and if one area gets bad it is easy to replace just that area.

[WPOZZZ]

I had the planks installed in the gf's condo and a couple of my condos. The vinyl planks wear great. Didn't know they made soft planks. I'm working on my house and debating what kind of flooring for my enclosed patio. Right now it has vinyl tile, but thinking either planks or maybe epoxy. The room will be for my dog.

[unclebilly]

I’m considering the soft vinyl planks after reading reviews of the planks I was considering. Apparently these particular ones can crack on the edges… I’m worried about office chairs cracking the edges.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by unclebilly

I’m considering the soft vinyl planks after reading reviews of the planks I was considering. Apparently these particular ones can crack on the edges… I’m worried about office chairs cracking the edges.

The edges that connect them click in each other during install. If clicked once and there's a need to remove them, it must be done very, very carefully or else they will break. If installed correctly and tightly, office chair wouldn't do a thing to them. Prep the floor to make sure there are no big dips or rises that can cause them to crack. That's what cracks the edges.

[unclebilly]

Originally Posted by look 171

The edges that connect them click in each other during install. KIf clicked once and there's a need to remove them, it must be done very, very carefully or else they will break. If installed correctly and tightly, office chair wouldn't do a thing to them. Prep the floor to make sure there are no big dips or rises that can cause them to crack. That's what cracks the edges.

The floor is pretty flat but not perfect. On a 7’6” x 23’6” floor what direction would you run the planks? What gap would you leave on the 7’6” direction?

[look 171]

The long way and try and get the wide 7-8" plank. Leave a 1/4" gap at the foot of the wall and cover it with molding. They don't expand or contract much unlike a wood base material.

[look 171]

Pup a straight edge across it and fill accordingly. If the gap is 1/6 over a 2' area, no need to fill.

[gregpark]

¼" expansion gap all around. 5" wide planks would be more to scale for a 7½' width. All LVT is a hard surface flooring, some has a thin padding adhered to the bottom (more for noise reduction than comfort) I'm guessing that's what you're referring to when you say "soft". Industry standard is ¼" discrepancy allowable in 10' for flatness. The locking system will not chip or fail, even with a less than flat subfloor. It would just flex with a valley or teeter on a high spot. High spots are worse than low spots but reasonably flat is fine. Henry's feather finish is the best filler for low spots or ramping if needed.

[stealthn]

Do you glue it or is it free floating?

[gregpark]

Free floating but in certain situations I use a pressure sensitive adhesive. If the subfloor has a lot of flex, in an RV, in a very small area, etc. Any suspected future problem and I'll elect to glue it down.