How to Install Armstrong Vinyl Flooring

Vinyl tiles come in a wider array of sizes, colors and styles than most types of flooring, and can be of greater quality than those used in previous decades. Armstrong, a top manufacturer of vinyl floor tiles, has lines of tiles that are almost indistinguishable from stone tiles once they are laid on a firm, flat surface. Let your Armstrong tiles acclimate to the local environment for a week or more before installation by stacking them in the room where they will be installed, which will minimize movement later.

• 1

  Clean the floor with floor cleaner and let it dry completely.

• 2

  Divide the floor into four quadrants by laying two intersecting lines in the middle of the floor with your chalk snapline. Lay a square at the intersection of the two lines to ensure that they are exactly perpendicular to one another.

• 3

  Spread floor adhesive with the notched trowel over a few square feet of the middle of the floor, right over the intersection of the two lines. You should still see the lines through the adhesive.

• 4

  Set an Armstrong vinyl tile into the adhesive at the intersection, so that two adjacent sides of the tile are bordered by the two lines. Press the tile completely into the adhesive to ensure a tight seal.

• 5

  Lay additional tiles around the first one, pressing the edges tightly together. Spread more adhesive and start building out along the lines in a grid pattern. Don't step on the newly laid tiles.

• 6

  Set as many full Armstrong tiles as will fit on the floor, stopping by the walls where full ones won't fit. Let the tile set for eight hours.

• 7

  Cut and lay the partial tiles around the edges of the floor when you can stand on the full tiles. Cut the tile by marking it at the appropriate point, setting your square across the surface at the mark, and running your utility knife alongside the square to cut a straight line into the surface. Bend the piece so that it snaps at the line. Butter the cut pieces with adhesive and place them on the floor with the cut sides facing the wall.

• 8

  Trim the door jambs and casings so that the tiles will fit under them. Do this by laying a tile flat in front of the jamb and cutting the jamb with your undercut saw lying flat on the tile to create a space under the jamb and casing of the same thickness as the tile.