Installing Trim Around Vinyl Floors

Vinyl floor installation and trim installation are often companion projects. Before you install vinyl flooring, you should remove the existing trim. This will prevent you from harming the trim during the installation. Installing floor trim after you've laid the vinyl will help keep it in place. Vinyl flooring edges have a natural tendency to curl and pull away from the floor, unless they're properly anchored. Understanding how floor trim is critical for the longevity of your vinyl floor and planning for this trim as part of your flooring project will save you money, headaches, and help give you the best floor possible.

Options for Installing Floor Trim
You have three basic options for floor trim installation with your vinyl floor. You can remove and reinstall your current floor trim. This is naturally the cheapest option. You can install new floor trim to maximize the beauty of your new vinyl flooring. Or you can choose to install quarter-round trim, which may last longer than reusing your old trim, but shouldn't cost as much as a new full trim installation. Each homeowner may have different needs and preferences for the area where the flooring is being installed. Talk to a contractor about the price difference for each option and what each trim has to offer your home.

Decorative Trim Installation
The primary reason for installing floor trim is often the function of holding a flooring installation in place, but that doesn't mean decorative trim won't add a nice touch to your floor and walls. Floor trim comes in any number of colors or textures, including a nearly limitless number of wood finishes. Finding the right trim can act as an aesthetic transition from your vinyl flooring to your wall covering. Since you may need to replace the trim anyway, this is the perfect time to consider installing wainscoting. Hardwood floors can be prohibitively expensive for some homeowners. If this is the case, a new vinyl floor with decorative wood paneling can provide a new floor and a similar elegance to hardwood flooring for significantly less cost.

Written Estimates from Vinyl Floor Trim Contractors
It's important to get a detailed written estimate for any home improvement project, and your vinyl floor installation is no exception. The need to remove and/or replace your trim is one area that is often left off an initial estimate. Halfway through the project the contractor may come to you and tell you in order to maintain your vinyl flooring you'll need to install new trim around the entire area of vinyl flooring. Obviously, this increases the total cost of the project. Unless you get a detailed written estimate, you have little recourse to force the contractor to install the necessary trim. Unfortunately, it may also mean that another contractor, who gave you a slightly higher initial estimate and would have done a better job, had already included the cost of trim installation in his or her estimate. Not every contractor follows this pattern, but we simply mention this to urge you to ask questions about your estimate, what it includes, and what it doesn't.

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