Vinyl installs come in a few forms: luxury vinyl plank (LVP), vinyl tile, and sheet vinyl. Each one uses a slightly different set of tools, but the core kit is small. Here is what installers reach for, in the order the job usually goes.
Start with a clean, flat floor
Vinyl shows everything underneath it. Ridges, debris and patched spots can telegraph through the surface, especially on thin products. Scrape, patch and level as the manufacturer requires before you lay anything. If you are removing an old floor first, a good floor scraper saves a lot of time.
Cutting LVP and vinyl tile
Most plank and tile products are cut by scoring the surface and snapping the piece, or by cutting with a knife or cutter made for the material.
- Scoring knives. A hook-style blade scores the plank for a clean snap. The Crain 288 Hook Handle LVP Scoring Knife is made for this.
- General flooring knives. A sturdy knife like the Roberts 10-925 Pro Vinyl Flooring Knife handles trimming and cut-ins. Keep spare blades on hand, because a dull blade tears vinyl.
- Vinyl tile cutters. For a lot of straight cuts, a cutter such as the Crain 001 12" VC Tile Cutter is faster and more consistent than a knife. See all vinyl tile cutters.
Check the manufacturer's instructions for your product. Some rigid-core planks are cut differently from flexible vinyl.
Scribing and fitting
Walls are rarely straight. A scriber lets you copy the wall's shape onto the last row of planks or onto a sheet of vinyl before you cut it. A tool like the Crain 188 Hinged Scriber or a pair of Crain 380 Deluxe Dividers is common for sheet goods and for fitting around door casings and pipes. Browse more in our vinyl scribers collection.
Rolling the floor
Glue-down vinyl needs to be rolled to set the adhesive and flatten the material, and the manufacturer's instructions usually say when and how. A heavy roller covers the field, and a small seam or edge roller works along seams and edges. Options include the Crain 075 75 lb Vinyl Roller and the Crain 349 Round Edge Seam Roller. Use the roller weight that the flooring or adhesive maker specifies. See all floor rollers for vinyl.
Heat welding sheet vinyl seams
Commercial sheet vinyl is often heat welded to make seams watertight and sealed. The process uses a few tools in sequence:
- Groove the seam with a hand or power groover. A hand tool like the Crain 955 Pull Hand Groover works for short runs, and power grooving is common on bigger jobs.
- Weld in the rod with a hot air welder and the right nozzle. A complete starting point is the Crain 989 Economy Vinyl Welding Kit, and the Crain 969 Heat Weld Gun is a pro-level heat gun.
- Trim the excess rod with a trimmer. The Mozart Weld Rod Trimmer is one option.
Weld temperature, rod type and timing depend on the flooring product, so follow the flooring and weld rod manufacturer's instructions and practice on scrap first. You can see the full range in our heat welding tools collection.
Cove base and edges
Many commercial vinyl jobs finish with a flash cove, where the sheet runs up the wall. That work uses specialty tools for forming and trimming the cove. See our cove base tools if that is part of your project.
A basic vinyl starter kit
- Tape measure, straightedge and a chalk line
- A scoring knife or flooring knife with plenty of blades
- A scriber or dividers
- A floor roller and a small seam roller
- Knee pads, since you will be on the floor most of the day. Our knee pad guide explains what to look for.
- For sheet vinyl seams: a groover, welding kit and trimmer
You do not need all of this for every job. A click-lock LVP job might only need a knife, a spacer kit and a tapping block, while commercial sheet work calls for the full welding setup. Our vinyl and resilient flooring tools collection has all of it in one place, and you can contact us if you want help building a kit for a specific job.