My project 26 x 14

[highup]

How many planks have gaps and how large are they? How large is the gap?
If one board has a gap then the next rows you install, in theory, should not click together properly either.

 

[highup]

I don't know if it would be helpful or not, but it would be interesting to know how straight the roads are in the 26-ft length. Taping a string to the floor at one end, let's say 1 inch away from a seam in the board, then pulling a tight to the far end of the room, also exactly one inch away from the seam, would allow you to know the distance away from the seam in the center of the room. Basically using a string or fishing line or whatever instead of a chalk line. I think it would be good to know how bowed the planks are. If they aren't bowed then that would be good to know anyway.
A small piece of tape won't work. You might need a foot of blue tape along each end of the string so that you can pull it tight enough that it stays straight.

 

[nrtoma]

Gaps are about a 16th of an inch. Considering pulling up the floor and redoing. My wife will probability leave and take to dogs.

 

[highup]

I don't know about the type of floor that you're installing, but a couple of the popular brands have one thing that often, gets overlooked during installation. Once you rock a plank together, you lay a section of scrap floor against that plank and tap it against it to fully seat it. It takes very light taps and the plank will move a thousands of an inch or two or three whatever. When doing this tapping thing, your eyes will automatically watch The joint to see it move. This way you won't end up with a gap like that in the first place. If you decide to disassemble these and redo it, move slow and careful disassembling the joints so you don't damage the seam's locking edge.

 

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If you decide to disassemble this then redo it, do what I mentioned with a string and check the floor that you have down for straightness. You might find out before you get started where the problem started at.

 

[nrtoma]

I used a tapping block. Smashed my left thumb and middle finger, funny how much you use your non-dominate hand . I bought 10% over and then an extra box of planks to cover my inexperience.

 

[highup]

That's good to know. I'm guessing most planks require tapping. I've only installed a small number of different brands of these vinyl planks.

 

[highup]

I always use to check the groove side of the planks for debris. There is zero clearance inside the t&g

 

[nrtoma]

Pretty much convinced I will redo, just have to warm up the wife to the idea. The planks are 6 ft long and it is impossible to install with one person. I

 

[highup]

Darn, that sucks. Is it possible that it didn't start out perfectly straight.
After trimming the first plank to fit, I usually come close to centering the second row over the end seams in the first row. From there on you can go random, but I feel it gives some added security by splitting the plank instead of just offsetting it by a foot or so. Keep us informed.

 

[nrtoma]

Got home last night and a few more long joints had come undone or are on their way. I think I started on the wrong wall, interior vs exterior. The exterior wall is cinder block and most likely is the straightest. There is an 1.5 in difference from end to end currently.

 

[nrtoma]

Pulled up the flooring last night and phoned a friend. He is an experienced carpenter and remodeler. He gave me some tips and offered to help. Before I could utter a word my wife said YES! Hopefully 2nd time is a charm.

 

[Mark Brown]

There is a lot more to installing that stuff that meets the eye. If you really examine those locking mechanisms you can really understand how there is almost zero room for error. It is wise to take a few panels and engage them fully with one another to really familiarize yourself with how they work. Those small, minute errors really add up quickly to sabotage your installation. This is also why floors need to be extremely flat to succeed. It is impossible to engage those end joints correctly and have them stay if the floor they are being installed on is not flat.
I wish you the best of luck on round two, I think you will get it. The lessons of failure tend to be the lessons we learn the best in life.

 

[highup]

One thing I've seen in instructions, especially videos is, they will mention to start on the straightest wall. That seems logical. It doesn't really matter if the wall is wavy or crooked. It's a very rare day when you will start your first row of boards without cutting them.
Snap a chalk line the distance out from the wall, that the second row will meet the first row. Next, put the first row of boards together, but line them up along the chalk line in the position of the second row. Now, you want to line your row of planks up exactly on the chalk line. All of the and joints should be locked up perfectly just as they would be when the flooring is installed. Now starting at the far end of the room, take a 10-in scrap of one of your planks and position it tight against the wall and overlapping the row of planks that you have lined up on the floor.
This 10-in section of plank will be your measuring tool. With the plank tight against the wall, and overlapping the first row, draw a line on your plank, using that 10-in piece as your guide. Draw a 10-inch line, then carefully slide your scrap 10 in down and draw another line, and another. Continue all the way down to the other end of the room. Be very careful when doing this so you don't bump your row of planks. Out of alignment. A very fine pointed sharpie can work to draw the line.
I haven't paid much attention to what is printed in instructions when doing this, so I don't know if the instructions that you have mentioned this.
Now remove one plank at a time and cut as carefully as you can down the length of the plank and put it back in its final position. Be sure to put a spacer between the plank and wall. Now do the same to the second plank, then the rest, each time locking together the end joint together before cutting the next plank. Use that 10 inch scrap as an alignment tool to be sure the and joints are perfectly aligned.
When cutting the planks, either cut your marker line all the way off or leave it all the way on. Be consistent The more accurate you can make this cut the better.
All that you're doing in this process is creating a perfectly parallel line from the wall onto your first row planks using a scrap piece of material as your guide.
I will even go as far as laying a strip of masking tape along the row of planks, and then instead of a sharpie, use a ballpoint pen which creates a very fine line to make your cut more accurate than a sharpie.

 

[nrtoma]

2nd time was a charm. The floor is down with no gaps. All the joints are tight. Trim tomorrow, then move the furniture back. The dogs will be happy to have their space back. Thank you everyone who took the time to share your experience and wisdom.

 

[highup]

Damn you get right down to business. Are you looking for some work?

 

[nrtoma]

If I were 40 years younger....

 

[Mark Brown]

Glad it worked out. There is nothing much worse than doing something to realize you did it all wrong, but what is worse is not recognizing it and making it better. Good on you for correcting your mistakes and this time around I hope you have something you can be proud of and will last a long time.

 

[highup]

If I were 40 years younger....

Yeah, if I was 40 years younger too.

 

[nrtoma]

Not the best picture...