Quick Reference Guide
Installation Standard
Conform to current AS / NZS 1884 standard and these Instructions.
Sub-floors
Concrete, cement sheet, timber (with approved board underlayment).
Installation System
Full spread hard-set adhesive.
Seams
Heat weld or chemical weld.
Pattern Repeat
900mm x 1250mm. Install in same direction.
Coving
Readily coveable with pre-formed Armstrong Flooring cove fillet.
Adhesives
Use Armstrong Flooring recommended adhesives as set out in the Armstrong Flooring Recommended Adhesive guide or other reputable brand adhesives that have been tested with Armstrong Flooring/Walling products.
Trowel Size
V1 1.6mm deep x 1.6mm wide x 1.6mm apart or trowel as per adhesive manufacturer's recommendation.
Special Instructions
All rolls of Armstrong Flooring products are marked with a 'batch number', and rolls are numbered in consecutive order. When using more than one roll, ensure rolls have the same 'batch number' and are installed in roll number order when used side by side in the same area.
WARNING!
Resilient floorcoverings, adhesives, and underlays manufactured in or imported to Australia prior to 1 January 1984 may contain asbestos. If it cannot be definitively established that previous floorcoverings, adhesives, and/or underlay do not contain asbestos:
- Avoid creating dust; do not sand, dry sweep, dry scrape, drill, saw, bead blast, or mechanically chip or pulverise existing floorcoverings, adhesives, or underlay.
- The previous flooring should only be removed by an appropriately licensed asbestos removal contractor.
To The Installer
Before cutting and installing Armstrong Flooring floor coverings, inspect materials in a well-lit area to ensure correct product, colour, pattern, and quantity. Verify that given areas are from the same batch and that there are no obvious transit damage, manufacturing defects, or visual faults. Armstrong Flooring reserves the right to refuse an adjustment or claim for materials cut or installed where a reasonable inspection before installation would have identified the fault.
If there is a problem or doubt, stop immediately and call Armstrong Flooring Customer Service on 1800 632 624 (AU) or 0800 449 649 (NZ).
Do not cut or install any damaged or defective material unless accepted, agreed, and approved by all parties concerned.
Job Site Preparation
Rolls should be stored upright with space between them. Prior to installation, material should be allowed to relax flat to acclimatise to job climatic conditions. Roll out flat and stack up to ten sheets for 24 hours at 15°C to 28°C. Temperatures in areas to be covered must be maintained at a minimum 15°C to 28°C for 48 hours prior to, during, and after installation. Never install if the room temperature is less than 15°C, as per current AS / NZS 1884 section 4. Cold subfloors can significantly delay adhesive open and drying times.
Vinyl flooring sheet material direction, seam, and cross join placement must be approved by the client prior to installation. Do not place "T" joins in doorways. Avoid cross joins and seams in heavy traffic areas. Wherever possible, lay sheets down the length of the room to minimise seams. Seams should run toward the main light source and/or the length of the room. Sheets must be installed to avoid colour differences by keeping batch and roll numbers together.
Prepare and clean a cutting area (sweep/vacuum). Armstrong recommends using a vinyl dolly to roll out the sheet vinyl face up. Cut required lengths, loosely roll face in, and stand in the area to be installed to further condition the vinyl.
Subfloors
The subfloor condition significantly impacts the appearance, life, and serviceability of the floorcovering. Imperfections will show through the installed covering. The subfloor must be dry, hard, rigid, smooth, level, porous, and free of contaminants (old adhesive, dust, grease, paint, oil, pens, asphalt, marking paint, crayons) that may affect adhesive bonding or cause discolouration/transfer. Damp proofing must comply with the National Construction Code and other building requirements; an effective damp proof membrane is essential where required.
Concrete Subfloors
Concrete subfloors must be cured and completely dry. New slabs require at least one day of drying per mm of thickness. Slabs in contact with fill, hardcore, or the ground need a damp-proof membrane. Waterproofing additives and curing compounds do not replace this. A moisture test is mandatory per AS / NZS 1884 Appendix A. RH Moisture vapor in concrete slabs must not exceed 80% relative humidity.
The concrete surface must be plane, smooth, sound, and free of abrupt deviations per AS / NZS 1884 section 3. Contaminants preventing secure adhesive bonding must be removed mechanically (e.g., diamond grinding, shot blasting). Unsatisfactory surfaces must be repaired and levelled with a cementitious underlayment per manufacturer's recommendations.
Heated Subfloors
Flooring can be installed over heated subfloors if the surface temperature does NOT exceed 28°C. Otherwise, discolouration or material alterations may occur.
- Prior to installation, turn heating on for a minimum of 7 days to remove residual dampness.
- Turn heating off 48 hours before and during installation to allow the subfloor to return to the recommended temperature.
- Do not turn heating on until 48 hours after installation completion to allow adhesive to set and cure. Gradually increase temperature by 2°C per day.
- Avoid maximum heating for 7 days post-installation to prevent hot spots detrimental to the adhesive bond and floor coverings.
Strip Wood and Panelboard Timber Subfloors
A moisture test is required per AS / NZS1884 Appendix A. All timber subfloors need at least 450mm of good cross ventilation to prevent subfloor moisture build-up, which can cause distortion, movement, bubbling/lifting, or underlay distortion showing through the flooring.
New timber subfloors must be rigid, sound, seasoned, and free from cupping/warping. Old timber subfloors require re-nailing loose boards and replacing worn/damaged ones. All timber floors must be sanded or planed to a clean, level finish without undulations.
Overlay subfloors with hardboard or approved fibrous cement vinyl flooring underlay, installed and fastened per manufacturer's instructions. Stagger all board underlay end joints. Sand all joints and raised edges smooth and level. Hardboard underlay must be installed over structural grade particle board using the specified adhesive and fixing system.
Advise clients of the potential for board underlay joins to show through in certain lighting conditions.
Existing Resilient Floors
Armstrong Flooring recommends removing existing resilient floor covering prior to installing new resilient floor coverings. Note: Existing resilient flooring may contain asbestos – refer to the 'WARNING' panel.
Expansion/Construction Joints
Armstrong Flooring does not recommend installing resilient floor coverings across expansion/construction joints. Various joint covers are available and should be specified by the architect or agreed between the contractor and client.
Installation
Cut material to length. Trim one factory edge, overlap the second sheet by a minimum of 10mm, and under-scribe the joins to leave a maximum 0.5mm gap.
Loose lay the first two lengths. Step back and inspect the overall effect before adhering. If acceptable, proceed. If there is a problem or doubt, stop immediately and call Armstrong Flooring Customer Service on 1800 632 624 (AU) or 0800 449 649 (NZ).
For flat installations, use paper template, bar, or direct scribing techniques. For coved installations, use the 20mm or 32mm cove fillet. Internal and external corners should be butterfly corners at a 45-degree angle. Cove height is set per job requirements.
Adhesive Application
Sheets can be lapped or tubed. Once the vinyl is pulled back for gluing, vacuum clean the subfloor surface and the back of the vinyl.
Follow adhesive manufacturer's instructions:
- Spread recommended adhesive on the prepared substrate using the recommended trowel notch size.
- Allow adhesive to tack up; tack time depends on site and subfloor conditions.
- Lay vinyl flooring into the adhesive, ensuring full wet transfer onto the back of the vinyl. Use a cork push board or similar to expel trapped air.
- Roll the vinyl with a 45kg roller in both directions (East/West, North/South) to flatten adhesive trowel lines and ensure full adhesive transfer.
Chemical Welding
- Overlap material for pattern match requirements.
- Double cut the seam using a straight blade and straight edge.
- Roll vinyl edges into the adhesive, avoiding adhesive between sheets. Allow 24 hours for adhesive to dry and cure before seam sealing.
- Cover the seam/cross join with quality masking tape, rolling it for good contact.
- Use a rolling knife down the seam/cross join to split the tape.
- Insert the needle and allow seam sealer to flow into the seam to melt the wear layer, fusing the two together.
- Allow approximately 20 minutes before removing masking tape and excess seam sealer.
Heat Weld Joins - Seam Preparation
- Trim the first side using a sheet vinyl edge trimmer or by cutting 10mm from the factory edge with a straight blade knife and straight edge.
- The second run of vinyl should overlap the first by 10mm to 15mm.
- After placing vinyl into adhesive, under-scribe the join using a recess scriber set for a maximum gap of 0.5mm. (Ensure no subfloor or adhesive is visible through the gap).
- Cut along the scribe line with the knife upright for a square edge. Roll the cut edge of vinyl into the adhesive using a hand roller.
- Roll the entire floor in both directions using a 45kg roller.
Heat Weld Installation
Grooving and heat welding must be done once adhesive has set for 24 hours. Use a fine air stream speed nozzle for best welding results and to reduce surface damage. Armstrong Flooring weld rod must be used.
Groove just through the wear layer and into the white backing, taking an even piece from each side of the seam/cross join.
Set the hot air welder temperature (fitted with a speed nozzle) to fuse the weld rod to the sheet. Settings are affected by electrical supply, cord length, wire size, site conditions, and subfloor temperature. As a guide, a Leister weld gun with a speed nozzle should be set to 400-450 degrees. Practice welding on scrap material until correct settings are achieved.
Insert weld rod into the speed nozzle and immediately insert into the groove. Hold the welding gun at an angle parallel to the material. A good weld will flair slightly on each side of the seam. Excessive flaring indicates going too slow. Scorching can occur if the heat setting is too high or if welding too slow.
To change welding directions, shave off excess weld rod, groove the end of the weld rod for approximately 20mm to create a splice. Start welding from the opposite direction, overlap the grooved weld rod, and continue for another 20mm before lifting off.
Allow weld rod to cool to room/floor temperature. Skive excess weld rod in two passes: the first pass with a quarter moon knife/trim plate/Mozart trimming tool, and the second pass flush.
Diagrams illustrate corner techniques for coved installations. 'Half butterfly' and 'Full butterfly' show how corners are cut and folded. 'Butterfly corners cut at 45°' indicates the specific angle used for creating these corners.
Diagrams show two methods for applying adhesive to sheets: 'Lapped', where sheets overlap, and 'Tubed', where sheets meet edge-to-edge. The process involves pulling back the vinyl, cleaning the subfloor and vinyl back, spreading adhesive, and then laying the vinyl.
Diagrams illustrate the heat welding process. One shows grooving the seam and inserting weld rod. Another shows the welding gun angled parallel to the material. A final set of diagrams shows the two-pass skiving process to remove excess weld rod after cooling.
Too much heat can cause crazing, blistering, or scorching. Test heat settings on scrap material before welding.
Precautions During Construction
Protect all vinyl flooring during construction using a cardboard or paper-based floor protection system. For additional or solid protection, install a cardboard/paper system first, then rigid material (plywood, hardboard) over it.
Surface protection must only be applied over clean floors. Do not apply tape or stick protection directly to the flooring. Do not allow water to sit on or under protection materials, as this can cause irreversible whitening/clouding. If protection materials get wet, remove them immediately, allow the floor to dry, and re-apply protection.
Armstrong Flooring does not recommend plastic materials for protection (e.g., builder's plastic, corflute®, sticky back carpet, vinyl protector, films) as they can damage the floor/wall.
Post Installation
- Remove all debris (sweep or vacuum).
- Damp mop using pH 7.0-8.5 neutral floor cleaner (follow manufacturer's instructions). Allow 48 hours before mopping.
- If necessary, wet scrub using an automatic scrubbing machine or single disc polisher (< 600RPM) with pH 7.0-8.5 neutral floor cleaner.
- Remove all floor preparation materials and adhesive residue from flooring and skirtings/kick boards. Adhesive residue may be removed with a clean white cloth dampened with small amounts of mineral turpentine (follow container warnings), then rinse with clean water (test in an inconspicuous area first).
- To allow adhesives to set and dry, avoid heavy rolling loads for at least 24 hours. If unavoidable, protect flooring with paper-based protection, then disperse weight with rigid material (plywood, hardboard).
For detailed maintenance instructions, refer to the Armstrong Flooring Cleaning and Care Instructions for Heterogeneous Flooring Products.
Contact Information:
AU: customerservices@armstrongflooring.au
NZ: customerservices@armstrongflooring.co.nz
