How to Install SwiftLock

Remove all existing baseboards, molding and bottom wall trim. Make sure the surface of your subfloor is clean, dry and level. Use leveling compound according to the instructions on its package to build up any depressed subfloor areas as necessary.

Roll out your foam underlayment and cut it to fit. Install it according to manufacturer recommendations and make sure not to overlap adjacent lengths of foam.

Slide a piece of SwiftLock flooring under any door casings in the room. If you are unable to do so, measure and mark the casing 1/16 inch above the top of the piece of flooring. Cut the casing to the mark with a coping saw or back saw.

Place a piece of flooring under any door in the room. If you cannot open your door over the flooring, mark the door 1/8 inch over the top of the flooring. Remove the door from its hinges and use a saw or plane to trim it to the mark.

Press the edge of a piece of SwiftLock squarely at the edge of the wall from which you plan to start laying it. Press additional pieces across the room until you reach as close as you can to the edge of the wall or other boundary (such as a doorway) at which you will stop installing your new floor.

Measure the length of the space between the last tile and the wall or line at which you want to end your installation. Multiply the size of the gap between each floor tile (the interlocking tab at the end of the tile) by two and subtract it from the length of the space at the end of the line of tiles. Add the result to the width of one piece of flooring. Divide the sum in half. This is the width to which you should cut the first row of flooring.

Put on your eye protection and dust mask. Use a hand saw or a circular saw to rip-saw sufficient pieces of flooring for your first row to the measurement that results from your calculations in Step 6.

Measure each wall and mark its center with a grease pencil. Snap chalk lines to connect the marks on opposite walls. You should have a plus sign pattern in chalk over the top surface of your foam underlayment. The center line of that plus sign pattern is your baseline. The point at which the two lines intersect to form the plus sign is the center of the room.

Measure from the center of the plus sign pattern to the edge of the wall at which you intend to lay your first flooring. Subtract the gap between each tile (size of the interlocking tabs) from the measurement. For instance, if your wall is 120 inches from the center point, and the gap is 1/4 inch, the result is 119 3/4 inches. Snap a new chalk line across the length of the room at the mark that corresponds to the distance from the center minus the gap between tiles for your room. This is your guide line.

Check each piece of flooring and put any damaged pieces aside.

Lay one of the pieces of flooring that you cut in Step 8 along the guideline at the very left edge of the front wall so the cut edge faces the front wall. Install 1/4-inch spacers between the left side of the wall and the flooring according to the manufacturer's instructions provided with the spacers.

If the wall is crooked, trace the contour of the edge of the wall onto paper and use it as a template to cut boards that conform to the edge of the wall.

Connect another piece of cut flooring to the first piece by inserting the short end of the new board into the short end of the first board. Gently tap the short ends of the boards with a hammer to securely connect them.

Continue with this process until you have installed the last possible full piece of flooring on the right side of the wall. Measure the space between the last piece of flooring and the wall and subtract 1/4 inch.

Cut a piece of flooring to the result of your measurement minus 1/4 inch. Install it with a pry bar if necessary and join it to the short end of the last full piece. Install 1/4-inch spacers to maintain the gap at the right end of the wall.

Tighten any loose joints with a pry bar.

Repeat Steps 14 through 17 until you reach the last row at the rear wall. Use a pry bar if necessary to insert the last row and install 1/4-inch spacers along the last row to maintain the gap.

Install your choice of moldings or baseboards to cover the 1/4-inch gap at each edge. Remove the spacers as you install your trim. Sweep up any sawdust or other debris and wash the floor as necessary.