Vinyl plank flooring has made its way to the top of many people’s floor remodeling lists due to its durability, affordability, and ease of installation. People have used vinyl plank flooring in just about every room of a home, but when it comes to the bathroom, is it possible?
You can put vinyl plank flooring under the vanity, under the toilet, and around the bathtub. Glue-down planks can go under a vanity, but not click-lock vinyl planks. Vinyl planks must go under the toilet to offer support and vinyl planks can be installed around the bathtub with caulking.
Vinyl plank flooring is incredibly attractive to many who are in the middle of remodeling because there are options to fit just about every budget as well as the promise that this type of flooring is not going to stain, will wear incredibly well, and has a durability that cannot be matched by many other materials. If you are in the middle of a bathroom remodel, take a look below to find out if you can put vinyl flooring around or under your vanity, toilet, and bathtub.
Can You Put Vinyl Plank Under/Around Vanity
With every bathroom, you are either going to have a stand-alone sink of some type of vanity that holds your sink within it. This is, of course (outside of the toilet), what makes this space a bathroom and it must be installed properly to not only work well, but to work well with the material that is beneath it. If you are considering putting in vinyl planks under or around a vanity, can you do such a thing within that space?
If you are using glue-down vinyl plank flooring, you can install this type of flooring under the vanity in your bathroom. Due to the nature of installation, there is no need for expansion of the material once installed, making it an acceptable material to have beneath your vanity.
Within every bathroom, even if you only have a half-bath that does not include a shower, there is going to be temperature fluctuation that causes the materials within your bathroom to expand and contract. Because glue-down vinyl plank flooring is glued down to your subfloor, it is not capable of expanding or contracting in ways that other materials do. This makes it an ok material to put flush up against your wall where your vanity will go over top.
Should You Install Vinyl Plank Under/Around Vanity
When it comes to installing glue down vinyl plank flooring, due to the way this material is installed, it is safe to put it beneath your vanity within your bathroom. Therefore, there is very little reason to think that you should not install glue-down vinyl planks other than the fact of saving material. However, there is more than one type of vinyl plank flooring, which begs the question of whether or not this type of vinyl floor should be installed under a vanity as well.
If you are installing click-lock vinyl plank flooring, you should not install this material beneath your vanity. It is fine to cut the flooring to fit around your vanity and be installed flush up against each side, but putting it beneath the area could result in the buckling of your floors.
When it comes to click-lock vinyl plank flooring, this type of vinyl is installed as a floating floor, which means that it will simply be floating above the subfloor in your bathroom. Because of this, air is able to get to the material easier, which means that it needs room to expand and contract when temperatures differ in the environment. If this flooring is placed under your vanity, there is no room for expansion and contraction, which can cause serious damage to your floors.
How To Lay Vinyl Plank Under/Around Vanity
If you are laying down glue-down vinyl plank flooring, you will first start by removing the baseboards within your bathroom. Once this is done, prep the subfloor by patching any major knicks, repairing any damaged areas, removing any residue, and pulling any existing nails or staples. Leave your flooring in the bathroom for 48 hours to acclimate them to the area, then install your vinyl plank per the manufacturer’s specific guidelines to complete.
If you are laying vinyl plank under or around your vanity, one of the most important steps during installation is to allow enough space to allow for any sort of expansion once the floors have been installed. For glue-down vinyl planks, this space should be a quarter-inch to a half-inch.
If you are installing click-lock vinyl plank flooring, you will need to adhere to the manufacturer’s recommendation for how big of a space you should leave between the wall for expansion. Prep your floors in the same way that you would for glue-down vinyl flooring, cut the short-tongue edge from the first piece, lay it on the floor, then continue in a line until it is complete and you begin the next row. Lay the rest of the room and trim boards as needed until completion.
Can You Put Vinyl Plank Under/Around Toilet?
The vanity of your bathroom has a bit of a different approach for those doing things themself in their renovation process, as the pipes of a vanity come from the wall rather than from the floor itself. This makes installing vinyl plank flooring around or under the vanity a more comfortable idea, but when it comes to the toilet, that can be a different story. If you are looking to install vinyl plank under or around your toilet, can you?
You can put vinyl plank flooring under and around the toilet in your bathroom, as this installation offers the support that your toilet needs in order to stand on a surface that supports the weight of those using the piece. Without this support, the toilet would be only supported by the pipes.
Toilet use is rather different from the use of a vanity because it is designed to carry and support the weight of the individual for a certain amount of time. It can be a concern that by putting vinyl flooring on or around the toilet can leave room for the floor to retain water and thus, buckle and warp over time, but the caulking around the toilet is what helps to prevent this from happening. Therefore, you can install vinyl plank flooring under and around the toilet in your bathroom.
Should You Install Vinyl Plank Under/Around Toilet?
If you are moving into a new space that has a long list of repairs, it can be tempting to cut corners to save a bit of time, money, and manual labor. Although cutting small corners in some areas can be completely acceptable and harmless, taking the easy road when installing the flooring around your toilet can lead to disaster. When it comes to installing vinyl planks under or around the toilet, this is something you can do, but is it something you should do?
Not only should you install vinyl plank around a toilet, but it should be installed under the toilet as well. By installing vinyl plank under the toilet, the toilet is given necessary support to hold heavy weight by giving it a base that supports it, rather than sitting on the subfloor and pipes.
If you try to save a bit of time and material by only installing the vinyl plank floor around the toilet, you will be left with an end result that looks rather incomplete and unfinished compared to the rest of the area, as a gap will exist between the flooring and the toilet. Not only this, but the toilet will not have proper support beneath it which can result in an easily moved toilet, too much pressure on the pipes, and the potential for the toilet to damage the floor and pipes as well.
How To Lay Vinyl Plank Under/Around Toilet
To lay vinyl plank flooring under the toilet, you first need to consider the flange, which is a piece that keeps your toilet to the floor and hooks up directly to the drain pipe. This part should be right up against your vinyl plank flooring and may need to be adjusted in order to get the correct heights secured so that the toilet can be properly anchored down and avoid any loose toilets when in use. Measure for the height the flange will need to be, then proceed.
Once you have the flange accounted for, you can then remove the toilet and begin prepping the subfloors, being sure that it is level, is free of any major imperfections or inconsistencies, and has no preexisting residue. You will then fit the flange as needed and continue.
When you complete this step, you can begin moving forward with the installation by adjusting your flooring to fit the measurements of your bathroom and beginning with the first line. Leave the recommended space between the flooring and the wall (per the manufacture) and cut holes in each necessary piece to make room for the water lines. You can then lay these pieces and cut them to fit around the flange and drill the necessary holes for the piece.
Copyright article owner is ReadyToDiy.com for this article. This post was first published on July 18, 2021.
Once this stage is complete, you can then move forward with installing the remainder of your flooring. Be sure to tap each row into place and pay close attention to how end pieces need to be cut. When you get to the final row, take the proper measurements to not only cut the row to fit, but also leave that necessary gap between the last row and your wall. When this is done, you can install any needed transition pieces and reinstall the baseboards in the area.
Can You Put Vinyl Plank Around Bathtub?
Now that you know you can install vinyl planks around a vanity and should install vinyl planks beneath your toilet, you may be wondering what the rule is when it comes to bathtubs. Bathtubs are notorious for being water pits, of course, due to the nature of their job, which can make installing vinyl floors around them rather nerve-wracking. However, when it comes to vinyl plank flooring around bathtubs, can you do it?
You can install vinyl planks around a bathtub, as it would be impossible to install vinyl planks beneath the tub if this item was already installed. Even if the tub was not installed, putting vinyl planks beneath it does not offer support, making it an unnecessary addition.
For a vanity, it is fine to place glue-down vinyl plank flooring beneath it and it is necessary to play vinyl flooring beneath a toilet to give the foundational support the toilet needs. However, when it comes to the bathtub, vinyl plank flooring can simply fit up against the outside of the tub to offer a natural flow from the start of your bathroom to its end. This means much less hassle during installation and offers a seamless finish once the flooring has been installed.
Should You Install Vinyl Plank Around Bathtub?
Knowing that you can install vinyl planks around the bathtub, you may be wondering if this is something you should do, considering the water output that typically comes from this area in the bathroom. No one wants a floor that is going to buckle due to water damage, therefore, it can be rather daunting to think of installing an item right in water’s direct line of fire. If you are wondering if you should install vinyl plank flooring around your bathtub, take a look below.
You should install vinyl plank flooring around your bathtub, as this material act as a protectant for your subfloor and will keep water (along with the application of caulk) out of your subfloors, keeping the area sturdy for years to come.
Vinyl plank should be placed up against your bathtub to create a barrier that protects the subfloor in a way that leaving the space exposed, cannot do. With a bit of caulk running along the tub to connect the floor to the bathtub, this seal will help to keep water away and leave your floors dry.
How To Lay Vinyl Plank Around Bathtub
If you have a rectangular bathtub that is set on the floor, you will only have to install the vinyl plank flooring in a very general manner, accounting for any tile resizing that may be needed if you finish a piece up against the tub, rather than starting from the tub and going out. This makes laying vinyl plank around a bathtub very easy, and one of the least time-consuming parting of installing a vinyl plank floor in a bathroom.
To lay vinyl plank around a bathtub, you will need to follow all of the preparation steps that were previously mentioned in “Can You Lay Vinyl Plank Under/Around Vanity?” and finish by caulking the area around the tub that meets with the vinyl, allowing enough space for expansion before caulking.
To know the space you need to leave up against your tub, check the manufacturer’s instructions to see what the necessary spacing entails. Follow these guidelines, lay the floor, allow the caulk to dry, and you should be able to use your bathtub without a single worry about water damage.
Check out our Vinyl Plank Flooring Project Calculator to estimate your project.
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ReadyToDIY is the owner of this article. This post was published on July 18, 2021.