I got the Fauna color. good installation, beautiful color

Has anyone installed MSI Andover Hatfield? Would love to see some pictures. Love the samples I got but website said HIGH shade variation. The 3 pieces I got seemed to have consistent shade so I would love to see some pictures. I was hoping for low to medium shade variation.

My contractor just installed MSI Hatfield in one of his projects. I think the planks might be considered high shade variation, but all planks are similar. It looks great!

Thank you for sharing Trina! It looks really good!

@andreas do you have updated pictures? I'm thinking about MSI Everlife lvt myself.

@shaxs finishing up the space... coming soon!

nice and congrats! here is my space lol. A long way to go

@shaxs here's one photo... went down pretty easy despite some slight unevenness. Did the whole main floor (living room, hallway, kitchen/dining area)

@shaxs and it looks and feels amazing. The fauna is a fantastic color

@Andreas Matsoukas any issues with it?

none whatsoever... love it.

@sarahtom none whatsoever. love it

I am attempting installation now and am very frustrated. Any tips for the installation??

The edge type will tell us the technique. Which product did you purchase? Can you find a youtube video about the CLICK system? There are three of four different techniques because there are three or four different 'types' of click edges.

Drop-lock is different from Valinge systems (will be called 2G or 4G or 5G...which means 2nd generation, 4th generation...you get the idea). The Uniclic system is different from both of them.

Let us know a little bit more about your product...link us to the installation instructions and we will help offer some 'installer' tricks.

Msi prescott series.. I think its the Uniclic one. I can't get the seams to all touch.. there are small tiny gaps in between some of them. Floor is level. We are using a tapping block. We've watched every video. I sincerely regret thinking we could do this.....

And most other spots we can't get the seams to meet.

Some seams touch without gaps... but unfortunately more have the gaps than the areas that are flush

https://www.msisurfaces.com/vinyl-flooring/installing-lvt/

OK...it looks like they use a 'knock off' click system. They do NOT list Uniclic or anything else...which tells me they are DIY click system from in-house engineers. That makes this a little tougher.

I've read the installation instructions. They are IDENTICAL to Uniclic...which is unfortunate. Uniclic is really tough to work with in a thin rigid vinyl - especially with the attached underlay. Sigh. I know. It sounds so good at the time...but afterwards it turns into a bit of an issue.

OK...here's one of my takes on this edge system. You MUST click the short edges together FIRST. You MUST have spacers/shims at the wall...must. You MUST snap the chalk lines to get true 90deg corners and the ever-elusive 'straight line'. All of this is known to pro installers (who cost $3-$3.50/sf for vinyl....because it is SOOO TRICKY...)

You MUST trim the wall edges (the tongue)...this is HUGE. Many people skip this...thinking 'ah..no big deal. The shims will deal with it.' and that's false.

OK...Once the first row is fitted together you need to start on the second row. You will be working 2-3 feet away from the wall. You will push the first 3-4 runs into place once you get these runs clicked together. These are LIGHT planks so you will need to click 3-4 rows (we call them runs). Your HELPER (yep...you need two people for most of this...DIYers really need the two sets of hands for the first 1-2 rooms) will STAND on the first few runs.

Now to the technique - I'm sorry to say but you will have to remove all these planks (I call it unzipping your floors) and start again. Any group of planks that are flush and well installed, keep them together if you can...but be prepared to redo 90% of everything you have done.

So...after the first run has had the short edges clicked together, you move onto run #2. You can click together 2 planks (short edges) to start the next row (one will be cut to start the next row...one will be a full plank). But that's a technique you can use once you get the hang of things.

Your cut plank will line up with the bottom of the row (again, this is super important because of the expansion gaps that are being held in place by the shims....see where I'm going with this?). You will ANGLE the long edge into place. The angle will be 45 deg. The long edge ANGLES into the slot of the existing run. I prefer a slightly lower angle. I find (with THICK 12MM LAMINATE...ahem....twice as thick as what you have) the angle that works the best is the angle your KNUCKLES produce by wrapping around the edge. That's it. It is quite a low angle. A little closer to 10-20 deg.

Now you will, with your hands...wiggle this into the edge. Allow the plank to drop a bit. Check to see if you have a flush joint. It will NOT click! It never clicks. Now...if it does not sit flush, LIFT THE PLANK again...do NOT tap this...not yet. Do some more wiggles and jiggles. If you need to, you can do a LIGHT tap while the plank is lifted in the air (again...very low angle...just 1"-2" off the floor). That low angle plus a little tap SHOULD engage the edges.

It is DESPARATELY IMPORTANT you SET the FIRST PLANK IN EACH ROW!!!!!Now onto the SECOND plank in that row. You will set the SHORT edge first. Again, the plank will be in the air...you will get as close to the long edge as you can (there will be a gap...maybe a credit card width). You will wiggle the short edge into place...it should go nicely...but ALWAYS TAP the short edges. Always. They FEEL like they go in nicely...but they LIE! They NEVER slide into place...ever.

Good. Now that the short edge is in, you will GENTLY lift BOTH planks in that row....yep...the entire row gets lifted...no matter where you are in run...sigh...no one tells you that. Again, this is a VERY LOW angle...the height of your fingers. You will tap in the long edge CLOSEST TO the short edge. Yep. Still lifted by 1"...you will GENTLY GENTLY tap the area by the short edge (the one connected to the first plank in the row). You will work down the length of the plank with this technique. Tap tap...wiggle wigge. Move down a hand width. Tap tap...wiggle wiggle. Move down...repeat. All while the plank is sitting at a VERY LOW angle.

Now the second plank of second row is in place...lightly tap the SHORT EDGE in place once again...I guarantee it will have wiggled too much. Remember: ALWAYS TAP the short edges after every plank has been set. This is HUGE.

Do this until you have 3-4 runs in place. Push them (with your partner) to the edge of the wall (remember the chalk lines??? yah...you need to follow them now) that has the shims in place. Now for the rest of the room.

I like to work while KNEELING on the floor that has already been clicked together. That means you will be REACHING and tapping TOWARDS YOU. This is MUCH EASIER. Your weight will hold the planks in place AND you will plop down WEIGHT on the areas you are NOT kneeling on.

Now the long edge gets easier to deal with. You will reach forward and WRAP YOUR FINGERS around the long edge. You will have your fingers/knuckles SCRAPING on the subfloor/vapour barrier (if you are on concrete). Plenty of people will tape their knuckles. Black electrician's tape works REALLY well...it's slippery and slides nicely on the subfloor.

Now that your fingers are wrapped around the edge of the plank AND sitting on the floor, this is the ANGLE that you will work at for the rest of the job. You will tap the edges towards you. This is much easier this way.

Again, the short edges go first...then you wrap your fingers around the long edge...and you tap it towards you. Once it is set, you tap the short edge JUST TO BE SURE.

Once you get the hang of this, you can work with two planks clicked on the short edge and move them into place with the long edges. After a room or two, you can then move up to three planks together...but this gets tricky and you will need to manage the weight AND the angles AND the short edges.

Whew! I hope the 'wrap your fingers around the edges' helps. It is the single biggest technique for a 'knock off uniclic' edge I know.

THANK YOU for your help. Before this reply was seen, I had already taken up the three or so rows we had already done and started fresh. We took our time and now everything is going great- we have some family in town so we have been doing it little by little, but if we had the time I'm sure we could get it all done in 2 days. (About 800 sq ft) so again, thank you for being so thorough because nothing else was as clear as that. Honestly they should go over it better in their own installation video. Here is the progress so far, everything is dusty due to recent construction but it's going well. Cheers!

MUCH better! That's what a floor should look like. Good for you for taking your time. You should clap yourself on the back! A single pro can get 300 - 500 sf per day of vinyl. The thicker laminates (12mm or so) can get closer to 600sf per day.

I'm glad my poorly written explanation was enough to keep you at it. I hope it helps. For some reason, the 'click' edges that are used with laminates have been used with vinyl. The on-line videos and instructions are often for the thicker/easier laminates. The vinyl gets lost in the shuffle. I guess the manufactures think that a click edge is an edge is an edge. It isn't. The material and thickness determine the ease of install.

I'm confident you will manage the rest quite nicely. And for this reason (ahem...asking questions and reading poorly written replies) I often find the homeowner can install a nicer floor than some 'guy' who does it to make money while waiting for his real job to call.

We installed MSI... it wasn’t a treat but after 1500sqft... we got it ☺️

@Annette Federonis beautiful kitchen, do you have more photos of the kitchen darker brown cabinets ? what Brand color ? wall paint ? floor color ? Thank you ! Lovely choices

We have finished our largest room, and next week we will begin with one of the guest rooms and then the other half of the house... here are the before and

Befor

After

While we are near the end of this reno project, we haven't done baseboards, backsplash or our open shelving in the kitchen yet. And the new couches won't be in for a couple months (thanks covid) so they won't blend in like they do now with the new floor color

@Anthony Jones, which vinyl plank was the easiest to install? I am loving the look of the Andover Bayhill Blonde, but don't want to cry myself to sleep over install.

Has anyone installed Cryus Braly? We're considering it, but I'm afraid it will be too dark. Wondering if it appears lighter when it is in the entire space as opposed to just the small area of the sample.

We just paid a fortune to have MSI Braly installed on our entire first floor. The installer did a great job but I hate the color. It is too dark shows every speck of dust and pet fur. I find myself constantly sweeping, swiffering, damp mopping. It is ridiculous. I am 68, have osteoporosis. Wasted money.

@Annette which MSI design is that?

Horrible product and poor customer support. Over 40-50% of planks were damaged on delivery, long wait for replacement flooring and then those planks didn't attach to existing/ original planks. Final delivery to finish floor included more damaged planks as well as showroom samples- complete with display stickers and chipped corners. We have installed many laminate and tile floors over the years and this is by far the worst product to date. We have been waiting for 4 months to have MSI evaluate the failures that have occurred after installation and still can't finish the trim in our new kitchen- very disappointing.

i have installed hundreds of thousands of feet of LVP and this is by far the worst. Definitly don’t recommend this product at all

@Meghan Goodman Interior Design did you ever install the Bayhill Blonde? I’m looking at the Andover or Cyprus series, but getting pretty skeptical after these reviews. would also love to hear from the pros which is easiest to install between lifeproof, traffic master, mowhawk, MSI… other suggestions?

No! I decided on Flooret Craftsman in Nakan. Fantastic product and super easy to install.

We chose the MSI Everlife Cyrus series LVT for our main floor when building our new home. It has been nothing but problems in terms of the quality of this item. We are having it replaced next week for the third time! due to manufacturer defects in the floor. The first time, there was a problem with some planks having a totally weird different sheen on them. The installer couldn’t tell as he laid them down, but once finished with the whole floor and stepping back, he could see groupings of planks that were very noticeably shinier than the others. And, of course, these were near the end of the room so to get to them he had to rip up the flooring to that point. So, another floor was installed. Again, there were a few of these shiny boards but I had given up and they were in a less conspicuous spot.
A few months later, we noticed this little bump on one of the planks. It looked like a nail head popping up but that wouldn’t make sense since nails are not used at all in installation. So, then we started looking over the floor really closely. We found over 75 of these bumps throughout the flooring, some bigger, some smaller. And, what was happening is that eventually they began to split and crack and become very noticeable.
The installer has contacted MSI about this defect and next week, MSI is coming out here to take a look. I am hesitant to install this product again though because of the problems we have had. Has anyone else experienced this?

Photos below show (1) looking through the rails, on the right side you can see one of the planks is shinier than the one next to it, this I decided to live with or it would have meant ripping up about 15 feet of floor to get at it. It is visible only at certain angles so I gave up.
(2) one of the many bumps popping up through the tile from we don’t know what.

@mikokitty what color is that? We were about to pick up our MSI vinyl floor tomorrow in Cyrus Akadia, but after seeing your photos I am not so sure anymore.

Horrible product, we have installed several laminate floors and had nothing but problems with the MSI. Gaps opened between boards and cracking of the grooves. When we complained the company sent an inspector that stated the problems were installation related and our floor had too much slope. New flooring vendor found no problems with install and replaced with different product that is performing great. We paid extra to have them remove the 3 month old MSI and throw it away- $3k down the drain.

Akkadian is the color I believe. The MSI rep came out to our home to see it and has agreed to replace our entire floor. I’m not exactly thrilled though since I don’t really trust this floor any longer.

Akadia is the color (spellcheck changed my spelling above)

Update: as we wait to have our replacement floor installed, we now see that the corner on a plank has curled up so, in addition to the bump issues, not matching sheen, this floor’s edges are curling less than one year after installation. (See above for my details). Again, it is only my husband and I who live in this house, we travel extensively and are usually gone at least 2 weeks a month. We don’t have pets. If this floor can’t hold up with our use, it’s useless. We don’t see the point in having it reinstalled for the third time!

Andreas, How is your MSI EverLife holding up? I know there were some negative comments after your original post. Your photos looked great. Just wondering how you like it now that you’ve lived with it for awhile.

We got the MSI CyrusXL installed and we've had problems, but I think that has to do with our subfloor. We've had laminate installed before with no issues. With vinyl plank, you have got to make sure your floor is even throughout. LVP will expose any subfloor unevenness due to the thinness of the planks. With slight variations, the click-lock system becomes unstable - you will hear crackling and popping sounds until the planks start to come apart. My MSI flooring is also warping in some areas. I don't think the quality is terrible, but you need to have perfectly even floors with no variations - these floors are unforgiving otherwise. Also, don't DYI, hire a skilled floor contractor to install finicky floors. After 8 months, we're going to remove them and going with laminate which is more forgiving to floor variations (leveling 1,400 sq is very expensive - going with floors that are better able to handle slight unevenness).

I love the way mine looks, but when walking on it, will make a hallow sound in places. this was installed in basement(previously carpeted). i suspect not completely level. any way to fix. i think it makes it seem cheapso, and it certainly wasnt!!!

Anyone that has MSI Everlife LVP how is the noise component? Is it clicky? Also any other comments, good or bad are welcome!

Of course tbry blame installation. They couldn’t deny manufacturer fault though with our floor (see above)