Help with plank flooring layout?

[slick-rides]

Hello, and thanks in advance for any suggestions or help offered. This will be my 1st attempt at installing a vinyl plank floor. I will be using Armstrong Luxe Plank with Rigid Core.

Is there a free or inexpensive app or program to help with the plank layout? Mainly concerned with using the correct widths for 1st, last, and other rows along walls so it looks ok. Don't want to end up with a sliver or weird looking width along a wall or something. I have all my dimensions to make a to scale drawling. IS there a simple tool to make a sketch to share online with someone willing to help?

 

[slick-rides]

Here's a sketch of the area to be done. Not to scale, but gives you an idea. Will start along the right wall.

 

[highup]

It's too late to think tonight. I'll see if I can give some feedback tomorrow morning.

 

[slick-rides]

Thanks. I forgot to mention the finished surface of the planks are 5.875" wide.

If need be I guess I could lay 22 planks down, slide to where it looks best, and measure what the width of the 1st row should be?

 

[highup]

It's hard to measure planks accurately enough to figure out where a plank will hit on the last row. Depending on the number of ending points at door casings and walls, I will chop up an an entire plank into 3 or 4 inch sections and click them all together. This may get you 5 feet of exact width for measuring. It's called a story board. Start on one wall with your story board and make an accurate pencil line on the floor. Now slide the story board away from the wall and line up the other end exactly on your pencil line.
Now you are 10 feet out from the wall. Continue this to find ending points at the opposing wall and any doorways or door casings. Adjust your starting point so the most important places work best.

 

[Markfothebeast]

Vinyl planks are pretty forgiving to work with and bend around corners and such. I'll give you my measurements. I understand that you plan to start from the RIGHT wall and run vertical in your diagram, correct?

Let's take the width of the room to get a rough idea and divide it by the width of the planks(minus the tongue and 1/2" expansion gap on each end:

134.75 - 1" (expansion gaps) = 133.75.
133.75 ÷ 5.875 = 22.76 rows.

So you'll have about 3/4 of a plank width on the last row from my calculations which should look okay. But if you want to be picky you could cut 0.73" off the first and last rows. This is only an estimate. The walls may not be square. I always measure and rip the last rows width one plank at a time because of this.

Now let's measure that hallway.
34.75 - 1" (expansion gaps) = 33.75"
33.75 ÷ 5.875 = 5.74 rows.

You'll have nearly 3/4 plank width in the last row in the hallway which should be okay as well. If I misread something please correct me.

 

[highup]

1/2" expansion is a wee bit much for vinyl Mark. He'd need base plus base shoe to cover it. I haven't installed these but Armstrong says 1/4.

 

[slick-rides]

Thanks for the help. I did as highup suggested and cut up one plank into little pieces, clicked them together to see where things would line up. It worked great! Gonna rip the 1st row a little to center the floor in the hallway. I should end up just having to shave a sliver off the last row along the left wall. I'm using a 1/4 " gap around the perimeter and installing matching quarter round to cover it. Not removing the base board.

 

[highup]

Great. Some planks are a tad off from being 5 1/2 or whatever, so found this method is more accurate than a tape measure..... I'm a visual guy, so seeing is knowing. Fractions of fractions are confusing.

 

[slick-rides]

One more quick question...

A couple planks that end in doorways I want to put some glue in the tongue and groove. What kind of glue should I use on this vinyl or WPC stuff?

 

[highup]

One more quick question...

A couple planks that end in doorways I want to put some glue in the tongue and groove. What kind of glue should I use on this vinyl or WPC stuff?

I would call Armstrong. Some laminates used to say Titebond. Being vinyl, I'd ask the manufacturer.

 

[Markfothebeast]

From my understanding, vinyl planks are simply poly vinyl chloride (PVC). You could try plumbing PVC pipe cement and primer on a couple scraps. It will permenently make two PVC pieces in to one via chemical reaction. It'd require sanding the tongue and groove to be most affective. And I'd use clear primer rather than purple which stains.

 

[slick-rides]

I ended up just using a gel type super glue. Worked good.

Floor came out nice. Thanks for the help!

 

[highup]

Thanks for popping back in and letting us know we appreciate feedback.
I've never done a repair with cortech flooring but they show using a super glue also I think a slow setting one whatever that is. Slow setting gives you time to apply some weights I believe.

 

[slick-rides]

Armstrong never replied to my tech support email, and some YouTuber's used a super glue. It was a slow set glue, not instant. Waiting for the transition pieces to arrive, 1st shipment was destroyed. I'll post a couple pics when I get them installed.

This flooring seemed like a quality product, and DIYer friendly.

 

[slick-rides]

Just in case someone else finds this topic searching the web...

Armstrong answered today recommending to use wood glue...

"We recommend using a wood glue, something like Armstrong Everseal would work fine."

 

[highup]

Thank you Slick. Questions like yours helps anyone that wanders into this forum searching for similar info.