How to Install Vinyl Plank Flooring
Transform any room with durable luxury vinyl plank flooring using simple score-and-snap cuts, proper seam staggering, and clean undercut door jambs.
- Read the tools, materials, safety notes, and steps below for free.
- Tap Start Camera Coach when you want hands-free voice help.
- Allow camera and microphone. Point your phone at the work; the coach watches your progress and tells you the next step.
🧰 Required Tools & Equipment
- ✓ Utility knife with heavy-duty blades
- ✓ Speed square or T-square
- ✓ Tapping block and rubber mallet
- ✓ Pull bar
- ✓ Tape measure
- ✓ Oscillating multi-tool
- ✓ 1/4-inch expansion spacers
📦 Materials & Supplies
- ✓ Click-lock luxury vinyl plank flooring (plus 10% overage)
- ✓ Underlayment (if not pre-attached to planks)
- ✓ Quarter round or shoe moulding
- ✓ Transition strips
⚠️ Safety Checkpoints & Warnings
- • Wear cut-resistant gloves when scoring planks to avoid blade slips.
- • Use safety glasses and hearing protection when operating the oscillating multi-tool.
- • Wear supportive knee pads throughout the installation to avoid severe joint strain.
📋 Step-by-Step Guide (6 Steps)
Prep the Subfloor and Undercut Door Jambs
Scrape away all drywall mud, sweep thoroughly, and check the subfloor for flatness with a straightedge; high spots must be sanded and low spots filled if they exceed 3/16 inch over 10 feet. Place a scrap piece of flooring against each door casing and rest an oscillating multi-tool blade flat on top of the scrap to cut the bottom off the jamb. Vacuum the perimeter completely so no debris prevents planks from sliding smoothly underneath.
- • Door jambs have a gap that a plank slides freely beneath
- • Subfloor is clean, dry, and flat without protruding fasteners
- • Failing to undercut jambs, resulting in awkward and visible gap cuts around door frames
Calculate Layout and Stagger Pattern
Measure the width of the room and divide by the width of a plank to ensure your final row will not be under 2 inches wide; if it is, rip down the width of your starting row to balance both sides. Plan to stagger end joints by at least 6 to 8 inches from row to row to maintain structural integrity. Open three to four boxes at once and mix planks to distribute color and pattern variations evenly.
- • A clear plan for the first and last row widths
- • Planks mixed across multiple boxes to avoid repeated patterns
- • Creating an H-pattern or stair-step seam alignment instead of a random stagger
Install the First Row with Expansion Spacers
Cut the tongue off the long side of the first-row planks so a flat edge faces the wall. Place 1/4-inch spacers against the starting wall and lock the short ends of the first row together by angling the tongue into the groove and dropping it flat. For the final plank in the row, flip it 180 degrees, mark the cut line, score the wear layer with a utility knife and square, snap the core downward, and install it.
- • A perfectly straight initial row separated from the wall by consistent spacers
- • Tight end-joint seams with no visible gaps or height mismatch
- • Forgetting expansion spacers, causing floor buckling during seasonal temperature changes
Connect Subsequent Rows Using Score-and-Snap
Use the leftover off-cut from the previous row to start the next row, provided it is at least 8 inches long. Angle the long edge tongue into the groove of the previous row at roughly 30 degrees, slide it tightly against the adjacent plank, and press flat. Seat the tapping block against the plank's edge and tap gently with a rubber mallet to fully engage the click mechanism without damaging the delicate locking profile.
- • Flush seams across both long and short edges
- • No crushed or cracked locking lips on exposed plank edges
- • Striking the vinyl plank directly with a mallet instead of using a tapping block
Navigate Obstacles and Slide Under Door Jambs
When fitting planks around floor vents or tight corners, mark the profile onto the plank with a pencil and make intricate cuts using a jigsaw or heavy-duty snips. For planks that slide under undercut door jambs where you cannot angle the board up, shave off the locking ridge with a utility knife and apply a dab of seam adhesive. Use a pull bar and mallet hooked over the far edge to slide the plank firmly into place horizontally.
- • Plank sits fully hidden beneath door casing with no gaps visible
- • Cutouts around heating vents fit snugly beneath register covers
- • Forcing an angled click under a low door jamb, breaking the tongue mechanism
Rip the Final Row and Install Base Moulding
Measure the remaining gap to the wall at several points along the final row, subtract 1/4 inch for expansion, and rip the planks to width using a straightedge and utility knife. Insert the cut pieces and use the angled pull bar hooked against the wall edge to leverage the final row into the locking groove. Remove all perimeter spacers and nail shoe moulding directly into the baseboards, making sure never to nail through the vinyl planks so the floor can expand freely.
- • Final row locked tightly with consistent perimeter expansion clearance
- • Moulding covers all expansion gaps and is fastened strictly to baseboards
- • Nailing trim into the flooring instead of the wall, preventing natural floor movement
Credit: inspired by an original tutorial by Fix This Build That — watch the original on YouTube.
Don’t have everything?
- No oscillating multi-tool? flush-cut hand saw resting on a scrap flooring piece
- No tapping block? scrap off-cut of vinyl plank with groove intact clicked onto the edge
- No flooring pull bar? flat pry bar padded with a scrap wood block against the wall