We finally did it. After a year and a half of nasty, faded, salmon-tan carpet and yellow linoleum floors, we decided to rip it all out. DIY projects always take longer than expected and this project was no exception. I think it actually made the rule. I’ve been so excited to share with you guys are DIY vinyl plank floors. We love them so much, and it truly has transformed our 1980s home into 2019. We are going to share our before and afters, and how we updated our home with vinyl plank floors.
*This post contains affiliate links. That means, I may receive a commission for some of the links in this post- at no cost to you. See our Disclaimer page for details*
OK, so first let’s show you the before. This is where we started. Nasty 1980s carpet which was stained and faded. When we started pulling it out from underneath the trim, we realized that the carpet was once a light pink. GROSS. It was also starting to wrinkle and bubble in places…. I just couldn’t take it anymore!
Here are some before shots of the kitchen and dining area. We had yellow, checked linoleum floors. These were also so stained, so faded, and so gross. So depressing.
Related: What You Need to Know About Stenciling Floors
I felt like every time I walked into our house it just didn’t feel like our house. We knew that we wanted to replace the floors, but we also knew it was going to be expensive. We loved the look and feel of hardwood floors, but it wasn’t in the budget. So we did our research and decided on vinyl plank floors!
We chose to do vinyl plank floors because we read that they were first, more durable, and second, more waterproof. Because we were re-doing the floors in our kitchen and high traffic areas, we figured vinyl plank was definitely the way to go.
First, we had to rip out all the carpet. Use a pair of carpet pliers and start at a corner. You will also need an exacto knife, or retractable knife, to cut the carpet into sections. Roll it up, duck tape and throw it out! We also found a heavy, 1 inch rubber mat underneath our carpet which we also had to section, roll up and remove.
After the carpet and rubber mats were out, it was finally time to remove the carpet staples (maybe get a staple remover! I didn’t know these existed!) I’m not going to lie, this is a pretty tedious job, but with a good pair of pliers you’ll be fine. It’s really important to make sure you have removed all the staples, and all the nails are flush with the sub-floors.
Now is a good time to fix any squeaky floors or repair any floorboard damage. James used long nails to secure some squeaky sub floors. We also found water damage to the floorboards by the doors so we (and by we I mean James) had to replace a few small pieces of it.
Related: DIY Spray Paint Tub
In our kitchen there was TWO subfloors under the linoleum, and of course it was nailed AND stapled down. It was so hard to remove, and it was such a mess. We had to remove nails, and staples and then use a crow bar AND pry bar to pry off the top subfloor from the bottom subfloor. This process was laborious, and it really slowed our progress down. But we had to do it so our floors would be even.
So, finally, after all the nails were flush, all the staples were removed and the floors even, we vacuumed and swept, and vacuumed and swept, and vacuumed and swept again to get up all the dust, splinters, staples, and particles. Ugh. It felt never ending.
After all that prep, it was finally time to start laying the floors. BUT we did keep the broom and vacuum on standby because though we literally prepped the floors for HOURS and swept and vacuumed over and over, there was still more dust and splinters that we missed. We even found the occasional rogue staple or nail that hadn’t been pulled.
We then determined which way we wanted to run our the planks, James started laying the vinyl plank floors. He started in the corner to ensure the planks would be straight. The vinyl planks were fairly easy to lay. The planks we bought had adhesive tabs on the sides, not on the bottom. Connect the planks end to end by removing the adhesive strips. Make sure you push the corner and ends together hard so you won’t have gaps. Slowly lay the plank down, pressing down along the edge working your way to the other end. As you push down, the plank will slightly bend as you seal the adhesive strips together.
We will show you here in a series of pictures.
When you get to the other wall, grab a pencil, exacto knife and a square. Grab a plank. The easiest way to cut the end plank is to flip it around and slid it loosely against the wall. Mark where the planks meet at the other end. This is the end that has to be removed. Use an exacto knife to score the vinyl plank to the desired length.
Then gently bend the plank at the fold to break it. Now you will have a piece that fits perfectly.
When starting the next row, alternate starting with full planks, smaller or “off cuts”, as long as you make sure the plank ends do not line up. This way the planks will be staggered and not lined up like a checkerboard.
Related: DIY Hanging Wooden Sign
Like I mentioned earlier, we used vinyl plank floors on our WHOLE first floor. James did not use any transition pieces between rooms, or into closets. It took him a long time, but it totally paid off. James used an exacto knife to cut the planks around corners, through doors and into closets. It was basically one big jigsaw puzzle. This way the planks flow seamlessly from one room into the next.
After the floors were down, we had to drop the baseboards so they were actually touching the floors. Remember we had thick carpet and a 1-inch rubber mat? And while we were at it, we repaired and re-stained the trim. One project always leads into the next it seems.
I think this project took us about 2 weeks from start to finish. We are still completely in love with how it turned out!! We finished this project about 6 months ago now, and so far the floors have held up beautifully. Even though we prepped the floors for hours, I will admit there are a few places that we can feel bumps underneath the vinyl planks where maybe we missed a staple or nail. There is literally no way to fix this now. We will just have to see how it wears over the years!
But with out further a-do! The finished product!
This project has been one of my favorite projects to date because of the way it transformed our home! Our home finally feels like ours, and its starting to look like us, too.
Related: 8 Painting Tips to Save Time and Money
So thankful for a husband that says “yes!” when I ask if we can rip out our carpet on a random Saturday morning…
Let me know what you think of our floors! And make sure you check out our other DIY posts for your next project inspiration.
Project On,
*This post contains affiliate links. That means, I may receive a commission for some of the links in this post- at no cost to you. See our Disclaimer page for details*