How to Cut Laminate at Home

The decision to decorate an apartment or house with the help of such flooring is made daily by hundreds of people. Beginners usually do not have a question about how to do the styling, since the laminate manufacturer provides detailed instructions and offers all the necessary supplies. But to decide how to cut the laminate. it can be difficult for a home master.

how to cut a laminate at home

The easiest way

Complete list of available tools

Today it is not difficult to purchase a laminate of any strength class. Differences in material can be in the thickness, quality and strength of the protective and decorative coatings. There is a difference in the main board, providing rigidity.

A laminate is produced according to the classical scheme, from MDF coated with several layers using lamination technology, and an all-structured vinyl finishing material, which has only one external protective layer.

A complete list of how to cut a board of the right size (the dimensions of standard planks) for laying the flooring looks like this:

  • hacksaw for metal;
  • saw on wood;
  • jigsaw;
  • construction or office knife;
  • plastic knife;
  • angle grinder, she is also an angle grinder;
  • a circular saw;
  • special guillotine for the laminate;
  • blade cutter.

Each of the devices is distinguished by both accessibility and convenience and speed. The decision about the better to cut the laminate is made on the basis of the requirements for the amount of work, the quality of the cut, and also the accuracy of the processing. If we are talking about a small repair and I want to know how to cut a laminate at home. the list will be greatly reduced.

Hacksaw and wood saw

Hacksaw for metal allows you to get a clean cut without tearing off the decorative coating. And if it is decided to act as a saw for a tree, it is advisable to choose a tool for gardening intended for cutting branches and knots. Work with a hand tool looks like this:

  • with a pencil or marker marks the fishing line;
  • if you need a right angle cuts, it is recommended to use a carpenter’s marking corner;
  • First, a decorative and protective coating is cut. This should be done carefully, minimally damaging the edges.

Then, a board made of MDF is cut through a saw or hacksaw. These tools are the most common option when deciding how to cut a laminate at home.

Hacksaw cutting

Jigsaw

Using a power tool allows you to achieve high speed and with a certain skill. the quality of the cut. But when working with a jigsaw, some rules should be observed.

  1. To work conveniently, markup is done on the front side of the laminate board. In order to prevent tearing of the decorative coating during cutting, choose a saw with the opposite direction of the tooth. Standard. picks up material from the bottom and can damage the upper layers of the laminate.
  2. If it is not possible to use a saw with the opposite direction of the tooth, marking must be done from the back of the board. In this case, the decorative coating will remain intact at the edges of the cut.
  3. For zero feed and high revs, special straight tooth saws can be used.
  4. If you want to achieve very high accuracy and purity of material passage, it is recommended to use special thin saws for curly cuts.

Video: How to Cut Laminate at Home


They work with an electric jigsaw according to the expected scheme: they draw a cutting line depending on the type of saw and pass the material. The advantage of using a power tool is that you can make long cuts, for example, along a wide strip. This will require care or support, which will move the base of the jigsaw.

Video how to cut with a jigsaw.

A construction or office knife is a very successful tool for cutting laminate flooring. You need to do this according to the following scheme:

  • after marking the future cut line on the front side, establish a support, preferably a metal corner or ruler;
  • with a strong pressing blade, the laminate is held along the support.

It is necessary not to move the support and make several passes of the knife until the blade passes more than half the thickness of the laminate board. After that, they break it open with a slight swing. Excessive force is not recommended so as not to deform the edge with a decorative coating.

A plastic knife (along with construction and clerical) looks like the answer to the question, what is the best way to cut vinyl laminate. This material is sufficiently plastic and easily lends itself to a steel blade. A special plastic knife thanks to the bent tip allows you to make a deep passage without excessive pressure, helping to maintain a direct direction.

Cut the laminate with an office knife

angle grinder or angle grinder

A rarely used tool. It’s quite simple to work with. a fishing line is marked and cut through with a disk. But there are also disadvantages. The laminate is on, dirt may form at the edges of the cut, the angle grinder is noisy and quite dangerous to use. In order to do the job quickly and at the same time efficiently, skill and experience are needed.

A circular saw

A hand-held circular saw has an impressive list of benefits. Among them:

  • the ability to adjust the depth of cut;
  • high purity of processing;
  • acceptable noise level;
  • relatively small hazard indicator, manageability;
  • smoke does not form, dirt. only fine sawdust.

To work with a circular saw hand-held class does not require large skills. Recommended for beginners option includes the installation of a reliable support for the movement of the sole of the tool and work on the table.

By adjusting the immersion of the saw blade, you can cut the laminate without damaging the surface of the workbench or other support. The main drawback of a circular saw is that not everyone has such a tool; it is irrational to buy it specifically for laying flooring from a laminate.

Guillotine and blade cutter

Two tools that are specialized. These devices work like this:

  • a strip of laminate is laid in the guillotine, with a cutting line directly under the blade. After that, exert pressure on the working body using a long handle. The disadvantage of the guillotine is the small length of the cut, difficulties may arise when cutting a wide board at an angle;
  • The blade cutter is similar to the photographic one. Hybrid technology is used. both scissor and guillotine. The advantage of the blade cutter is the ability to make long passes of the material, which, with a certain skill, will allow you to process some dimensions of the boards along.

Guillotine and cutter are professional tools. They provide extremely high cleanliness and accuracy of cuts, allow you to process a huge amount of material with stable quality.

Cutter

But the main drawback of a professional tool is that it is expensive, it can perform only one precisely designated operation. Therefore, the home master for a one-time repair does not make sense to look for such devices.