For a vinyl flooring installation to be successful, flooring contractors need the right tools and equipment at their disposal. Flooring contractors often find it difficult to afford the correct tools or to replace broken tools, but investing in the tools you need can make a huge difference to the final installation.
With more than 50 years’ experience in the local and international flooring industry, Denver Coleman, Chairman of Polyflor SA, answers questions posed by installers, architects and readers on their flooring challenges. In this issue, he discusses tools that any committed flooring installer needs and wants to have in his tool box.
“I’m finding more and more contractors on site that are struggling to get the right result and I think this may partly be due to not having the right tools on hand. Can you provide a comprehensive list of the tools and equipment that you would recommend for vinyl flooring installations?” – Rhonda Stuart, Germiston.
For a vinyl flooring installation to be successful, flooring contractors need the right tools and equipment at their disposal. Flooring contractors often find it difficult to afford the correct tools or to replace broken tools, but investing in the tools you need can make a huge difference to the final installation.
At the most basic level, an installer should have a tape measure and carpenter’s pencils, a rollable steel straight edge, chalk line, a good-quality Stanley-type knife with both straight and hook blades, an adhesive trowel with replacement blades, a maxi trowel for screeding, a hand roller and heavy 68kg roller as well as a broom and good-quality vacuum cleaner (wet and dry can be useful).
A sought-after installer that consistently does good work has specialist tools at his disposal. Not only do you need the right equipment to test moisture levels in screeds, but critical tasks such as trimming factory edges off the product, grooving, welding etc. demand the right tools.
To ensure proficiency and a quality professional installation, we have compiled a basket of tools that we recommend:
For more advice from our vinyl flooring specialists, why not download our latest eBook, Flooring contractor's guide: Developing and growing your business with vinyl flooring.
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