How To Cut Laminate Flooring?

Having laminate flooring at home provides many benefits for us. Some of those benefits are easy maintenance and a beautiful finish to make our living place look as fancy as possible.

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There will come a time where you may want to handle the laminate flooring to turn it into something else, which inevitably will require some cutting and reshaping. As you know, it is not hard to mess this material, which is why we need to be very careful while cutting it.

Through the next article, we’ll cover the steps needed to accomplish a perfect laminate flooring cutting with barely any chipping, and no unwanted damage either.

Cutting Laminate Flooring

Before you get your saw to start cutting laminate flooring carelessly, you should know that there are three methods to do it properly. We’ll talk about them next, and we’ll explain every step required to accomplish the cutting process without creating unnecessary damage to the materials.

Observation

If necessary, do some cutting on spare materials. This will allow you to feel comfortable using your cutting tools, as well as mastering the technique you will be using on the real materials. It is better to practice first than going unprepared and ruining the laminate flooring materials.

Cutting the Floor Board with No Chipping

If you cut the laminate boards unproperly, they will chip. You can prevent that issue by following the next steps. The time required for these tasks may vary depending on how much materials you want to cut, which means that you’ll need plenty of patience. An estimated time would be two hours.

Grab your preferred chalk or pencil, and use it to mark and set the measurement points from where you’ll start cutting, up to the ending point.
To keep the board steady, use a stand or a clamp.
Put on your goggles, a face mask, and safety gloves.
If you want to do long cuts in a straight line, you can use either a table or a circular saw. However, if you want to cut in angles, utility knives would work good, with jigsaws being an alternative if you don’t like using one of those knives.

Using the tools mentioned above guarantee the result will be what you want exactly. As long as you do it carefully and following the marks you did earlier, you should be able to cut in a straight line, delivering a perfect finish for the laminate materials you’re cutting.

For Cutting Lengthwise

You could cut the materials lengthwise too. Fortunately for us, doing it this way doesn’t require any special accommodations. You need to follow the steps mentioned in the previous section, and you shouldn’t have any trouble while cutting the materials successfully.

The only requirement would be to have a steady laminate board. You can set it up securely using a stand capable of keeping both ends of the board in their place, ensuring the board won’t fall when the blade makes contact over it.

Dealing with Curved Cutting (And Notches)

Of course, in some cases, perhaps a curved cut would be more fitting. If that’s what you want to get, don’t make a rushed decision using the saw without proper preparation first. A jigsaw, for instance, could create unexpected damage as you try to do the curved cutting.

What you want to do is use masking tape. Place it over the cutting lines and cut through it. Once you get the tape out, the result will be a clean edge. Also, this method makes it possible to cut without creating too much chipping, which is convenient for us.

Considerations to Keep in Mind before Cutting

Since you’ll be cutting potentially expensive materials, and ruining them could be pretty easy, make sure to follow the next tips before starting the cutting. If you do, you’ll reduce the risks of creating a mess significantly, and your possibilities of success will be higher.

Cutting in a straight line could be complicated when you’re using a jigsaw, so you’ll need to find your way around it. One quick solution would be to clamp a straight edge, which will work as a guide for the piece you’re currently cutting.

For circular or table saw cutting, the number of teeth on the blade could make a significant difference. The more teeth it has, the finer the cut will be. Additionally, having a blade with plenty of teeth means that there won’t be much chipping as it makes contact with the materials you want to cut.

The blade’s manufacture date is essential when you’re cutting the laminate floor. It is easy to know how old the blade is if you own it, but it is not so clear when you hire a professional to provide the cutting service. Ask all the questions, and request they use a new blade if needed.

When you’re installing a laminate floor, the small housing, the 12-inch tape measure should be more than enough for the job at hand. In comparison, it is more lightweight than the 25-inch measure, which makes it easier to handle. Also, there’s less chance you’ll scratch the surface of the flooring.

For marking spots on the floor, many people use a wax pencil. However, the wax blunts rather quickly, which can become a problem when you’re using the sawdust. Whatever pencil you use, make sure you’ll be able to erase it easily afterward and do it as soon as you finish the cutting.

Final Words

Knowing how to cut laminate flooring allows us to make those needed changes to our home. It is quite handy when you want to redecorate your place, as it allows us to ditch professionals that often charge too much money for a task we can do ourselves.
Remember, be patient and as careful as possible while handling the power tools. Don’t rush it. Even if the cutting takes longer than expected, you want to commit to the task to avoid ruining the flooring.