With the abundance of flooring options available today, it can pose quite a challenge to try and choose the product that suits the best needs of the homeowner. Allure flooring is a unique, vinyl plank style flooring system that sticks to itself, rather than to the sub floor like traditional wood or laminates. This is ideal for any home and especially helpful for instances where the foundation is not completely level. No glue, screws, nails, or fasteners of any kind will need to be applied; a testament to the products simplicity. An additional benefit to this choice of flooring is the appeal to the weekend do-it-yourself home handyman.
Installing the Allure flooring:
Before buying any product, take measurements of the area you are going to be working in. The formula to determine area is the length of the space multiplied by the width. It is a safe bet to add 15% to ensure you will have enough material.
Go to a supplier or home improvement store and purchase enough flooring material to equal or exceed the square foot numbers you calculated, in the previous step.
If the temperature outside is excessively hot or cold, make sure the planks rest at room temperature in the environment in which they are going to be installed. This will ensure optimal conditions for adhesion of the glue strips between the planks.
Determine the orientation of the installed Allure flooring planks. Decide if you want the direction to go from side-to-side or up and down.
Remove any existing flooring in the way or baseboards. Sweep and vacuum the area very thoroughly. A dusty environment does not mix well with the glue strips on the side of the Allure flooring planks.
Next setup a clean cutting area, perhaps on a cutting table made with two saw horses with a sheet of plywood on top. Once this area has been designated you will need: a pencil, tape measure, tin snips, a flooring knife, and a small carpenters square.
Before starting on the first row of planks, run a string from one end of the room to the other. This will show you how straight or crooked the wall actually is. Once this is complete, start at one end of the room and work straight across to the other side. The initial finished row is crucial because the remaining rows will be based on the first. Now is the time to figure if any trimming is needed, length wise on the planks, so the last row in the room matches the first.
When the time comes to start measuring the planks, lay the plank on top of something that will not stick to the glue strips on the boards. The sheets that separate the Allure planks in the package will work nicely for this purpose. It is important to ensure you do not touch the glue strips or allow anything else to touch them. Once the glue touches something, it will not come apart.
When you are ready to start cutting, make sure a straight line is drawn using the pencil and the carpenter square. Make certain the plank does not move and score the line with the flooring knife. Then you should be able to bend the plank, on the cut upwards to a 90 degree angle. Cut the underside in the crease of the angle. This will result in nice, clean cuts.
When the time comes to place the cut planks into place, use one of the sheets that separated the planks in the box, until proper alignment has been achieved. Then remove the sheet and press into place and the glue will bond the pieces of flooring together.
Mixing planks for several boxes will ensure a nice, even mix of color tones because no two boxes of the Allure flooring are identical. Also row one should end differently than the next, in a similar fashion to staggering bricks. Shorter pieces can be used to fill the ends in.
A small space of approximately 1/8” should be left between the walls and the flooring. This creates a relief area that will accommodate normal expansions and shrinkage of the floor system. Doorways do not offer the flexibility that walls do, so the floor cuts in these areas need to be measured to perfection. A wooden strip is a good choice to go from the floor to the doorway, provided it is in a matching color tone.
