TRIMMING
TECHNIQUES:
When the sheet is laying square to the walls with the pattern in
the desired position, start trimming to fit. The key to a professional
trimming job is a sharp edge. Change the blade often.
- Once
the material has been cut to rough dimensions, lay the longest
edge against the longest wall first. Position the entire piece,
malting sure it curls up 3" on every wall.
- To
get the sheet to lay flat, make relief cuts at all corners. For
outside corners, do this by cutting straight down the curled up
sheet flooring. Start at the top edge and cut to where the wall
and floor meet.
- Trim
for an inside corner by cutting the excess flooring away with
increasingly lower diagonal cuts on each side of the corner.
Gradually these cuts should produce a wide enough split for the
corner to wedge through and the flooring to lay flat around it.
- Remove
the curled up flooring at the walls by pressing it down with a
long 20" to 24" piece of 2 x 4. Press the flooring into the right
angle where the wall and floor meet until it begins to develop
a crease at the joint. Then position a heavy metal straightedge
into the crease (Fig. 6) and cut along the wall with a utility
knife, leaving a 1/8 " gap between the edge of the flooring and
the wall. This is necessary to allow for expansion and contraction
of the material and subfloor. This space, of course, will ultimately
be covered by the molding. A clearance gap should also be allowed
between the top of the sheet vinyl edges and what would be the
bottom of the molding when it is installed to allow the walls
and subfloor to move without affecting the sheet material. When
the shoe molding is installed, it should therefore be nailed directly
to the baseboard, not through the sheet vinyl and into the subfloor.
A thin sheet of card board, which will later be removed, should
be placed between the bottom of the shoe molding and the top of
the vinyl sheet while nailing to permit the proper 1/32".
- The
best way to have the vinyl flooring meet a doorjamb is to cut
away a portion of the jamb at the bottom so that the flooring
will slide under it. Trim the flooring to match the angles and
corners of the doorjamb, overcutting about 1/2" for the edge to
slip under the jamb. If necessary, you may have to trim the bottom
of a door slightly to ft over the sheet. Remove the door and use
a plane or crosscut saw to make the cut.
Frequently,
the sheet material must be cut out to fit around pipes, toilets,
basins, or other irregularities. This is sometimes quite a problem.
However, a piece of light cardboard or paper can be used as a template
and cut out to fit the irregular space exactly. The cardboard or
paper should be big enough to project out into the room after it
has been cut and fitted into place. Then, with the sheet vinyl in
place everywhere except in the irregular area into which it is to
ft, put a few spots of glue on the edge of the card board or paper
and unroll the material far enough for it to cover the glued part
of the paper. When the sheet vinyl is rolled back, the paper will
adhere to it and can be laid back on the vinyl. By using a knife
to trim around the edges of the paper, you can cut out the sheet
vinyl so that it fits the irregular space exactly.
Metal
Strips-
An exposed edge of sheet vinyl, for instance where the material
ends in a doorway, can be protected by a metal strip. The metal
strip is nailed into place; the vinyl sheet is then laid on top
of it and cut to ft under the curved metal edge. If necessary, the
curved edge can be bent down to protect the vinyl edge.
Accidental
Cuts-
If a cut is made in the wrong location, fix it using seaming adhesive
and no-stain double-sided tape. Both of these are available at your
flooring dealer.
Cut
a piece of tape and run the sticky side down the cut on the underside
of the sheet vinyl. Remove the backing from the tape and press down
the sheet. Then run a thin bead of seaming adhesive along the entire
length of the cut so that it only fills in. The adhesive will bond
the edges together so that they are hardly noticeable.
Sheet
Overtrimmed-
If there is a gap between the wall and the edge of the vinyl, if
often can be covered with quarter-round wood molding or vinyl cove
base. It is also possible to patch in a strip of vinyl using tape
and seaming adhesive in much the same procedure for accidental cuts.
Disguise the seam in the patch by making it along a line in the
pattern.
Tight
Fits-
This can happen when the sheet vinyl begins to settle and flatten.
If it should occur, mark where the sheet fits perfectly on either
side of F4 . the problem area, then fold back the sheet and join
the marks with a straight line. Re-trim along this line using a
straightedge.
