"Larry Bud" wrote in message
ups.com...
I'm planning on helping my girlfriend install new vinyl in her long,
narrow kitchen. It's 24' long, and about 11' wide (at it's widest).
It then narrows down to about 8' where the cabinets are located.
Think a thick "T" shape like this

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I understand vinyl comes in 12' widths, so we should be able to do
this without a seam, but I'm wondering the best way to lay out and
trim the vinyl. She has no other room in the house where we could lay
this out flat to trace a template, and it's 20 degrees outside right
now, so I'm thinking we can't drag the floor to the garage either, or
can we?
The price difference in the cost of the material will be trivial, since you
buy it by the roll-foot, not square foot. With a seam, 19', without, 24'
off the roll, so may as well go no-seam. Definitely a job for a pro, to get
a good fit and get it to look right. I'd start checking the remnant rack at
the local flooring dealers- roll ends are usually pretty cheap, if you can
wait awhile for a pattern you can tolerate to show up. As to the installer-
I used a guy who was moonlighting on himself- a one-man company who does
installs for the big dealers by day, and does side jobs after supper. Good
job, and way cheaper than I expected. Guys like that usually prefer cash, of
course. Installer will make a scribed red resin paper pattern, just like it
shows in the DIY book, and do the cutting elsewhere. He doesn't need to lay
it out fully, he can do half at a time. You may have to wait for a break in
the weather, if outside is only option. Some installers will take the
pattern back to their place to cut, if close, but expect that to increase
the costs.

As to how to save money- you can pull up and reinstall the baseboard
yourself, and maybe put down the 1/4 luan ply, if old floor is lumpy. If
there is a dishwasher, best to pull it so it can be floored under, or at
least not trapped.

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