Thinking about laying your own PVC click floor? We dove in ourselves and gained invaluable experience along the way. Here, I'll share proven tips on installing PVC click flooring successfully—focusing on the click variant, not glued types, which I'd avoid for DIY.
Table of contents
We're hands-on DIYers, and laying PVC flooring seemed straightforward. My partner Frank and I work well together, which proved essential during this project.
Our home had dark, uneven tiles we never liked. Post-renovation, we chose a concrete-look PVC click floor but kept the tiles underneath to avoid a massive demolition job—especially since the subfloor insulation needed full replacement later.
The tiles were too irregular for direct installation, despite some sites claiming it's possible. Skipping leveling leads to issues; we learned this firsthand.
Leveling was non-negotiable. We handled it ourselves (blog post coming soon with tips). Once flat, our vtwonen PVC floor went down smoothly.
Frank prefers action over manuals, but we reviewed PVC installation videos first. They made it look simple: measure, score with a utility knife, snap—and done.
Pro Tip: Plan your layout. Decide direction, measure wall-to-wall, divide by board width/length. Avoid tiny slivers at edges; start and end with cut pieces of similar size.
Reality differed with quality flooring. Cheap PVC cuts easily with a utility knife, but premium boards are thicker and tougher—they scratch less and last longer.
Utility knives failed; we needed multiple deep scores that wouldn't snap cleanly. Solution: a handheld circular saw for precise cuts. Measure carefully, leave 4-5mm expansion gap at walls.
YouTube shows tracing with a board and knife, but we found it leads to oversizing cuts on the groove side.
For click systems, work in pairs. Angle the new board's short end into the existing row, lift slightly, slide in. Tap gently using a rubber mallet and scrap piece with tongue/groove.
Tap at two points along the length. Practice makes perfect—we did.
Pro Tip: Start away from you, left to right. Ideal for Ambiant quality floors.
Prefer pros? Expect €18-30 per m². For our 180m²+ space, DIY saved big and freed time for other projects.
Have you installed PVC flooring yourself? Share your experiences below!
