Hi Mo

Firstly - I think you've being very brave to attempt this.
Laying vinyl and carpet is something I leave completely to the pros -
at least that way it's them that gets to replace the stuff if they
cock up the cutting.....

So - no tips from personal experience - only from watching
other people doing it !

On Fri, 4 May 2007 21:01:07 +0100, "Mo" wrote:

Anyone have anymore tips to offer before I start tomorrow?

The floor is flat with plastic tiles. Tonight I will remove all the stuff
that can be removed and wash the floor.

Tomorrow I'll draw out the room on paper. I have also bought a massive roll
of lining paper which I will put down on the floor and tape together. I will
then have a lifesize template of the room.

I'll then go outside and cut around the template. Bring the vinyl in, cut
around the finer details.

If you have somewhere big enough, I'd be tempted to lay the vinyl and
the paper template out and cut the vinyl before bringing it into the
room where you're going to fit it.

Finally I have some strong double sided table
which I will tape down the perimter and some of the centre with. Finally,
I'll have those things that go in between doors nailed down to stop movement
even further

Any tips on:

1) The best way to get a flush cut with the blade- what is the best approach
to getting straight edges?

The people I've seen often use one of those Stanley knife blades with
the curved blade - the sharp edge is hook-shaped. Don't know quite
what the benefit is....?

Also - the usual techinque seems to be to cut diagonally towards an
outside corner - then you can get the vinyl to lie down flat on the
floor and you can cut along the 'skirting' line with the knife.
Judging by the bits he left behind - the last fellow to fit some vinyl
here seemed to deliverately 'over-cut' the vinyl - and then 'shave
off' thin slivers to get the final fit right.

Don't remember if you said what room you were fitting - if it's a
kitchen, remember that many kitchen units have clip-on plinths - so
you can tuck the vinyl underneath the plinth and not neeed to make an
accurate / visible cut....

2) How to go about getting the template cut out. Obviously I'll leave extra
on edges but how much?

If for example I leave extra on the outer corners, when I put it down - all
of my 'inner' corners will not match up exactly - so it actually makes more
sense to go for a perfect templae cut out....hmm..

Don't think that'll work - I'd leave a couple of inches all round - at
least..... but then, I'd also get a vinyl fitter in !

Good luck

Adrian