How and with what to cut laminate: we use different tools + tips

Laminated board is one of the most popular floor coverings, which is made by pressing a board based on wood fibers or fiberboard. The appearance of the surface will depend on the design of the top layer - it can be made to look like wood, stone, tile, etc.

Laminate consists of four layers, which are “laminated” on the outside with a special protective film. This is the reason for the name of the material.

It will be helpful to know that due to their design, the products are quite easy to use. In this regard, laminate flooring is available to specialists of various levels, ranging from beginners to experienced professionals.

How and with what to cut laminate

The nuances of working with laminate also come down to the fact that it is cut right at the installation site. This begs a logical question: how can you get pieces of laminate of equal sizes without damaging the product itself?

General information

If you choose a wood-based floor covering, people often give their preference to natural parquet or a cheaper, but no less visually pleasing option - laminate. This material is characterized by increased durability and features that will even surpass natural solutions in terms of operation.

In construction stores you can find different laminate designs. World-class companies can offer end users a wide variety of textures that will imitate natural surfaces, for example, trees of various types.

This coating has become popular largely due to the fact that laminate flooring is very easy to install using a locking system. Also, such coatings are quite easy to dismantle and reinstall.

Laminate flooring is quite easy to lay and, if necessary, cut, armed with special tools

The coating is laid in rooms where there is increased traffic. This is largely due to the fact that laminate has increased wear resistance and is not afraid of loads. If you install it in a bedroom or living room, warm wood tones will create a cozy atmosphere, and thanks to its resistance to water, you don’t have to worry about fungus or bacteria developing in the kitchen.

How laminate works

Laying laminate flooring in only one piece is almost impossible. Laminate lamellas are most often made in a rectangular shape. On the surface of the boards there is a thin film of resin that protects the laminate from various types of influences and damage. Under the protective layer there is a layer with a shade, where the formation of a pattern occurs, which in appearance resembles wood of various types.

Next comes a layer of chipboard, which increases rigidity. The last one is a layer of melamine, thanks to which the laminate is resistant to moisture. As a result, it turns out that the thickness of such a coating will be about six to twelve centimeters. If you are sawing such products, it is very important to carefully make the edge. Otherwise, curved chips may form, which will need to be compensated for by valuable centimeters of coating. It may also be necessary to replace faulty elements with new ones.

In order not to waste valuable pieces of coating, which is quite expensive, it is better to prepare tools in advance that will allow you to make even cuts. This way you can protect yourself and install it right away without wasting additional resources.

It is important to make only even cuts - otherwise you can seriously damage the coating, which will affect your expenses.

Laminate cutting tools

When choosing tools for cutting laminate flooring, you should consider a number of features.

1. It is important that the tools are easy to use. Convenience largely depends on the ability to use the tool and people’s preferences.
2. If the tools are light and ergonomic, then with their help you can do all the work much faster. When carrying out renovation work, time is a very valuable resource.
3. An important nuance when choosing a tool and making a cut is that the cut should be smooth, without any cracks or chips. However, there is no need to focus too much attention on this nuance, since some kind of irregularities can be hidden under other elements.

Electric jigsaw

A very simple tool to use that allows you to cut lamellas is a regular electric jigsaw. The jigsaw operates at very fast speeds. This means that all cuts can be made very straight. An important nuance when working with a jigsaw is the choice of a suitable file for the tool. Today, most of these tools include files for such coatings, which can be easily replaced. If we compare with other types, they have a different shape, size and position of the teeth. One way or another, if special files are not available, you can also use standard ones with small teeth, which are used for cutting metal products.

It’s quite easy to cut laminate flooring with an electric jigsaw - you don’t need any special skills, you just need to follow safety precautions

In order not to damage the layer with the image, you need to make notes and all actions with the tool from the inside out. It is better to place the covering on a table or stool so that the part of the panel to be cut is suspended. Firmly fixing the element with your hand, you need to quickly walk with a jigsaw along the intended cutting line.

Bosch has tools for cutting laminate flooring. Solutions from this German company are perfect for getting the job done. The range includes devices for cutting both straight and shaped. There are also tools to make narrow cuts.

Special files for electric jigsaws from the company are presented in a wide range. So, the company has a model in which the teeth are located on the reverse side. Such a file will not harm the coating, and the cuts will be even and smooth.

jigsaw

It is worth using special jigsaw files to cut laminate

In addition to sawing laminate, the tool can be used for working with plywood, chipboard and fiberboard.

There is also a model that is perfect for shaped cutting of laminate or other wood coverings.

Some important points.

1. A narrow file will make the cut more accurate.
2. If you need to make a cut in the shortest possible time, then a tool with large teeth will be the ideal solution, but the risk of damage to the material will increase.
3. Always use verified equipment that has all the necessary certificates of authenticity.

Step-by-step instructions for cutting laminate using an electric jigsaw

Guillotine

To cut the desired pieces of laminate panels, you can use a guillotine. If we draw an analogy with a jigsaw, then a guillotine has a device with a mechanism. Externally, a comparison can be made with large scissors. Such a device will not make noise, and using a guillotine it is easy to cut across the panel. True, it’s not worth purchasing a tool just to make repairs in one room. The guillotine will be more useful for people who constantly lay floor coverings - specialists. It would be better to borrow such a tool for a while.

You can use a special guillotine that will help you cut the laminate evenly

A circular saw

You can make cutting using professional equipment - a circular saw.

A circular saw will also do the job well.

It is important to know that if you use a circular saw, it must have a special-purpose blade suitable for working with metal products. In addition, to operate a circular saw, you need to have a certain level of skill.

When working with a circular saw, the panel is placed face up and firmly fixed. You need to be very careful when working with such a tool. Always remember safety precautions when working with equipment that can cause harm to people. Always button your sleeves and watch your arms.

The most budget circular saws will cost about forty dollars. It makes no sense to purchase such equipment to cut laminate flooring. In addition, it is quite large, and bringing it into the house is not an option. If you have such a tool, you can use it to perform all manipulations with the laminate. It is necessary to use a disc for working with metal products, however, it is worth having experience so as not to damage the product and not harm your health.

Nuances of working with circular paper.

1. You need to make markings and make cuts along the front side.
2. It is important to firmly fix the part on a flat surface with the pattern facing up. It is important that the lamella is installed correctly, and not so that one person holds it with his hands, and the second makes the cut.
3. If you have a machine with a “circular”, then everything is done in the same way as described above.
4. If a machine is used, the laminate is not fixed, but is simply carefully brought to the cutting disc. It is important to use protective equipment and protect your eyes.

It is important to follow safety precautions when working with a circular saw

Fraser

You can also use a router to cut laminate flooring. It is unlikely that every person has such equipment at home, however, specialists who work with furniture products usually always have a router in stock. With this tool you can make a perfect cut.

You can use a router if you have such a tool

Knife

A standard construction knife can also help with cutting laminate flooring. With its help you can cut several panels of covering. It is worth understanding that if there is a lot of work to be done, then you should use another tool.

Hacksaw (saw)

It often happens that when laying a coating, a fairly common tool is used - a hacksaw. One way or another, in order to cut panels quickly and efficiently, you need to choose the right tool. But if there are no other options available, then you can also use a hacksaw, which is used for working with wood. It is worth understanding that under such circumstances it will be much more difficult to do all the work due to the large size of the cloves. Due to this, all cuts may be uneven.

If you only need to cut a few lamellas, a hacksaw can easily handle this task.

The best solution in this case would be to use a hacksaw for working with metal products. Such a tool has many small teeth, and it will be able to make even cuts.

It is important to understand that this solution is worth using if there is not much work to do. Making cuts with non-power tools is much longer and more difficult. That is why specialists use equipment that runs only on electricity.

Bulgarian

A tool such as a grinder is used for sawing various parts, including laminate. Working with a grinder, you can make a fairly even cut. When working with the tool, you need to lay the panel with the top side where the decorations are applied. Do not forget about the use of special discs with small teeth. For example, discs that are designed for working with metal products are excellent for sawing laminate flooring.

Many people use a grinder to cut laminate flooring, however, the work needs to be done outside

Attention! When working with an angle grinder, a characteristic smell is felt, dirt and dust are formed. Carry out all work with the tool outdoors. You should not start working with an angle grinder if you do not have any experience with the tool - it can be very dangerous and lead to serious injuries. You should always remember safety precautions and wear protective elements: special protective glasses and long sleeves to protect your hands.

Hand saw: nuances of work, safety precautions

If the work area is small - one or two rooms - and there are no electric cutting tools, a hand hacksaw is quite suitable. The hand saw blade should have very fine and frequent teeth.

A hacksaw is best suited for metal, since laminate is a hard, very durable, pressed material, and it is difficult to cut it with a conventional tool with large and sparse teeth.

The laminate board is sawn from the front side, and to prevent nicks and chips from forming, masking tape must be glued along the cut line. On top of the tape, draw an exact line under a ruler or square along which the material will be cut.

An electric hacksaw will greatly facilitate and speed up the process, and the quality of the cut will be better. Using an electric or hacksaw for metal, you can make corner cuts in the laminate, but such tools are not suitable for rounded cuts (for example, under a pipe or an arch column).

To cut, the board must be laid on the work table so that the cutting line is at least 20 mm from the edge of the table.

Cutting vinyl laminate

The type of lamellas that will be used during installation determines in most cases the necessary cutting tools. If you plan to lay the flooring yourself without the help of professionals, then you should take a closer look at soft laminates.

At home, the process of sawing soft types of laminate, for example, based on cork, will not present much difficulty. These types of coatings have increased wear resistance and water protection. In addition, this laminate is quickly installed.

The easiest way to cut vinyl laminate is with a regular utility knife and a ruler.

To cut these types of coatings, you do not need to use any special tools. You will need a simple ruler, pencil and knife. You need to mark the cut line with a pencil and then just go through it with a knife. Next you just need to bend the laminate. It is also possible to make cuts in the form of shapes - for this you can use ordinary scissors.

However, to cut other types of panels with multiple layers, where there are particularly strong wood fibers or chipboards, special tools may be needed.

Instead of a resume

Each type of tool for laying and cutting laminate flooring at home must meet the following criteria:

• be sure to be in good working order;
• be convenient to use;
• have little weight;
• ensure the quality of performance of the work assigned to him;
• inexpensive.

By far the best tool for cutting laminate flooring is a jigsaw. It is universal, convenient, can cut lamellas lengthwise, crosswise and rounded, does not require special skills, is lightweight and not expensive. It is only important to choose the right file.

Follow our advice, and the cutting tool you choose will make the process of laying laminate flooring simple and of high quality.

How to trim installed laminate?

It happens that you need to trim the laminate that has already been installed on the floor. For an inexperienced person this can be difficult.

If you believe the reviews, then the most optimal way under such circumstances would be to use an angle grinder. As experienced users advise, a grinder with a diamond-coated disk is best suited for such work. While doing all the steps, it is important to be very careful and remember to change the position of the tool without affecting it too much. Don't forget to always keep your finger on the button in case you lose control.

You can also trim laminate flooring that has already been laid on the floor, although this is more difficult to do.

In addition, you can use a not so simple tool, but it is safer - a cutter. There are special cutters that are used for working with wood - this is exactly what is best suited for cutting laminate. As professionals say, you need to make two parallel cuts the width of a chisel with a cutter. After this, you need to use a chisel to select the cut panel.

You can also use a jigsaw. You need to unscrew the protective casing so that you can get to the space under the wall, and then carefully cut off what is unnecessary. This method is not the most convenient, but it does not require disassembling the coating.

There is also such a tool as a renovator. The equipment is a grinder that can make cuts in places with difficult access. Such equipment is not cheap, but you can always order a tool from China for about thirty dollars.

Helps cut laminate and renovator

renovator

important recommendations

It will take a lot of practice to get used to working with a jigsaw like the Bosch GST 8000E and getting straight cuts. The main thing is not to forget about the main features of working with this power tool. So, tips for beginners on how to work with a jigsaw correctly:

• Before any operation, you should check the serviceability of the tool - only a well-functioning device can give an even and high-quality cut.
• The files must not be dull. This is checked visually - sharp peaks of the teeth indicate the good condition of the cutting blade.
• When cutting, the lower plane of the jigsaw must fit entirely on the surface of the workpiece. This guarantees both evenness of the cut and prevention of vibration.
• Deformation of thin sheet material can be avoided by using a backing.
• It is important to follow the manufacturer's instructions when selecting saws and cutting modes.

To better understand how to work with a jigsaw on wood, you should watch videos from experienced craftsmen.

How to make cuts without chipping?

To do all the work properly, it is important to properly prepare for it. The first step is to choose the tool that will be used for cutting. You need to choose based not only on the availability of equipment, but also take into account your ability to handle such tools.

Then you need to measure everything so you know how much to cut. This is a very important stage, so rushing here will be unnecessary, as you can ruin the coating. It is also important to remember the thickness of the cutting element and take this information into account when taking measurements.

After all the measurements have been taken and the cut area has been marked, you need to draw an even cut line for the laminate panel.

Once everything is finished, you need to move on to sawing the panels.

How to cut laminate correctly so that there are no chips

Use of a construction knife

If you don’t have a metalworking tool, you can cut the workpiece using a stationery knife. It would be better to use a construction knife, since it has greater rigidity and ease of holding.

To cut a panel, lay a metal corner or strip along the marking line and, leaning on the device, make a cut with a knife. In this case, the workpiece is placed with its front side up and a lot of force is applied when moving the tool along the cutting line. Cardboard or plywood is placed under the panel and the knife is repeated along the cutting line until the upper layers of the laminate are destroyed. After passing through most of the thickness of the material, the workpiece is broken off.

Which side should you cut from?

In most cases, the laminate flooring is cut crosswise to reduce the length. However, there are times when it is necessary to make a longitudinal cut.

Under such circumstances, it is better to use electrical equipment, since even a special-purpose cutter is intended only for cross-cutting. The best solution would be an electric jigsaw. Using such a device does not require any specific skills, and it also allows you to cut panels in various ways without much difficulty.

Using tools you can make both longitudinal and transverse cuts

Sawing accessories

Almost every material has a specific group of processing tools. It’s hard to imagine the result of the idea of ​​cutting ceramic floor tiles with a jigsaw, or cutting metal tiles with a utility knife. The most expensive diamond glass cutter will be useless when cutting a regular sheet of paper.

Anyone who has encountered a similar problem understands that to cut a laminate board you need to use a special tool that preserves the internal structure of the material.

Such tools include:

• Electric jigsaw;
• Circular Saw;
• Hand saw;
• Laminate cutter.

Which tool is best for cutting laminate flooring at home?

If you choose the right tools, you can install the coating quite effectively and in the shortest possible time. Cutting must be done in a separate room.

You can use any tool, the main thing is to have the skills to work with it and to properly prepare for cutting laminate

A circular saw

A circular saw is not something you can use to cut laminate at any time, however, if you are the happy owner of such equipment, then feel free to start sawing:

1. Place a fine-toothed disc onto the shaft.
2. Draw a cutting line on the slats.
3. If the cut is made along the plank, then set the width on the machine.
4. Saw the lamella by pushing in front of you.

The main advantage of a circular saw is its speed, which allows you to cut a lamella lengthwise in a matter of seconds, however, due to the dimensions that you can see in the photo, it is rarely used, in addition, you cannot cut certain pieces of laminate with it, for example, under a column or ledge in a wall.

conclusions

Based on the above, we can conclude that there is a wide variety of tools for cutting coatings.

You need to choose depending on the size of the room and financial capabilities.

For example, specialists who professionally lay coatings must be armed with special equipment. However, those who want to install roofing at home can get by with cheaper solutions.

If you do not have special equipment, you do not need to purchase it - you can cut the laminate using a hacksaw

The primary task when installing laminate flooring is to avoid the occurrence of chips and cracks. In this regard, it is important to calculate everything properly.

You can cut laminate flooring using almost any equipment with a cutting part. It is important to do everything carefully. It is worth choosing a tool based on your skills, planned amount of work and funds.

The most optimal solution for cutting coatings is an electric jigsaw, since this tool is universal and does not require any specific skills to work with it.

If you have any doubts about laying and cutting laminate flooring, it is best to trust the professionals. There is only a risk of spoiling the material, which will greatly affect the funds.

Jigsaw

This is a more expensive tool, but choosing it is the best answer to the question of what is best for cutting laminate flooring. A jigsaw is worth buying only if the amount of work is too large to cut everything by hand, or if you don’t mind spending money on purchasing it.

How to cut laminate flooring with a jigsaw:

1. Install a reverse fine tooth blade into the jigsaw. If the blade comes with an expensive and high-quality tool, then you can use it, otherwise purchase it separately.
2. Draw the lamella.
3. In this case, the lamellas need to be sawn, placed face down and secured to a hard surface.

Another advantage of a jigsaw is that it can cut not only in a straight line.