How to Choose the Right Floor Roller for Vinyl Installations

Choosing the best floor roller for vinyl, LVT or other flooring types can help floor-fitters improve adhesion, remove air pockets and create a long-lasting professional finish that customers appreciate. However, the range of vinyl floor rollers available is vast, so it’s important to know what you’re looking for. You may need hand-held, lightweight rollers or upright, heavy-duty rollers. In this article, we’ll discuss the best uses of each roller type and help you decide which is the best floor roller for vinyl or another flooring type.

Essential Tools for Professional Flooring Finishes

Floor rollers are used for installing all types of flooring, providing a proper finish that lasts. There is no substitute for using a floor roller on vinyl and hard flooring. Neglecting this step of installation can lead to uneven flooring, loose areas or air bubbles.

Proper Adhesion

Rolling the floor properly makes sure the adhesive creates a strong, even bond with the flooring. By applying heavy pressure, the adhesive can spread out and bond more effectively.

Professional Finish

Rolling also removes any air bubbles that have been trapped during installation. This creates a flat, smooth surface that will last without lifting edges or rucks in the middle.

Types of Floor Rollers

Hand Rollers

Small, handheld rollers are usually only 4-6 cm wide, designed for rolling vinyl edges or carpet seams to create an even surface. Some are specially designed with curved edges or ball rollers, making them excellent rollers for cove forming. Others have square edges to apply strong pressure close to skirting boards and walls.

Some models have twin rollers with a handle in the middle. This is an excellent design for maintaining even weight distribution across the floor.

Hand rollers for flooring are lightweight and portable, making them ideal for smaller jobs such as bathrooms and utility spaces. They are extremely cost-effective and easy to use.

Full-Size Floor Rollers

Full-size floor rollers are best for large vinyl and lino installations as they apply consistent pressure across wider areas than hand rollers. These can be used from standing, with a long handle and weighted rollers.

These are more of an investment, but speed up commercial flooring jobs immensely. These can be 1m or more wide, providing excellent coverage. Heavy-duty options include 28kg floor rollers, 50kg floor rollers and 70kg floor rollers, suitable for sheet vinyl installation on concrete.

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Key Factors When Choosing a Floor Roller

With such variety available, choosing rollers for flooring depends on the situation. Each type has strengths and weaknesses, so we will recommend the best floor rollers for different types of flooring installations.

Choose Floor Rollers based on Flooring Type

Consider the Project Size and the Shape of the Room

Small, one-off jobs require a lightweight roller that can handle tight spaces and irregular spaces. A shorter handle, curved edge or a dual-wheel roller can be the best tool for these jobs.

Handheld rollers can also be specialised for coved flooring that curves up the walls, particularly used in spaces that require frequent, thorough cleaning such as healthcare facilities, laboratories and food preparation areas.

Large commercial projects call for wider rollers and heavy-duty options, as these require fewer passes to achieve full adhesion. Choose a weight that won’t damage the subfloor and handle the roller carefully to avoid cracking LVT.

For a roller that can go between small and medium-sized flooring jobs, Roberts’ Extendable Floor Roller is an excellent choice. This roller has a long handle that is easy to lengthen up to 67cm, and an additional handle next to the roller head to apply additional pressure as needed.

Weight of the Roller

Heavy-duty floor rollers apply more pressure, but this is proportional to the width. A narrower, lighter roller may achieve the same pressure as a wider, heavier roller. The required pressure depends on the adhesive you are using, which will usually specify roller weight.

With handheld vinyl rollers, the weight comes from a portion of your own bodyweight as downward pressure, applied as evenly as possible.

Choose handheld or lightweight floor rollers for upstairs work to avoid damaging floorboards.

Best Practices for Using a Floor Roller

When using vinyl floor rollers, follow this advice to get the best results.

• Apply consistent pressure across the whole floor
• Work methodically to remove air bubbles, moving north-south, east-west and diagonally to ensure full coverage.
• Clean the roller regularly to avoid adhesive buildup if a small amount squeezes out at the edges.

Browse the Largest Range of Flooring Tools

With the right vinyl floor roller, you can achieve consistent professional results and longer-lasting vinyl. At Re-New Flooring Tools, we offer a wide selection of vinyl rollers, carpet rollers and more to suit various requirements. Whether you need extendable vinyl floor rollers or heavy-duty pressure rollers, you’ll find them in our selection.

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