How to cut laminate flooring at home without chipping

Laminate can be cut with saws, discs, cutters and even a knife. The right tool will speed up your installation time significantly. Moreover, its cost is not so high. And it’s better to spend 20-30 dollars on the same jigsaw than to cut with a regular hacksaw. Although there are still many options besides a jigsaw.
Today we will look at all the methods. You will learn how to cut laminate flooring best and from which side. We’ll also talk about how to cut lamellas correctly and without chipping.

You may already have some kind of tool. Most often it is a simple saw, grinder or jigsaw. For them we will choose the right discs and good files.

When choosing a tool for cutting laminate at home, it is important:

Its speed of operation and ease of cutting. There is no point in pulling a heavy machine;
Clean and even cut without chips or burrs + minimum debris. It is clear that all the cuts will go under the baseboard. But laminate flooring can be laid not only on the floor. Often chips can ruin the appearance. Either you need to make a joint between the tiles and the laminate without a threshold;
Will the tool be useful after installation? We take something that will not gather dust in the closet at a reasonable price (if there is nothing to cut with yet);

How to cut laminate flooring with a jigsaw - the right files make all the difference

Most often it is recommended to cut lamellas with a jigsaw. In general, a jigsaw is a universal device. Tools are always needed on the farm. And it's not expensive. The cheapest device can easily be found for $20.

It is light and mobile, you will quickly learn how to work with it. This is what makes cutting laminate really convenient. The main thing here is a steady hand (so that it doesn’t move to the sides) and a selection of files. We'll figure out which side to cut from next.

How to properly cut laminate flooring with a jigsaw:

It is very important which saws to cut laminated boards with. There are special ones on sale for laminate flooring. But if you haven’t found them, it doesn’t matter. To ensure there are no chips on the front side, we make markings and cut on it. And then we simply use a file with teeth pointing down . It is this that ensures an almost perfect cut. All chips will be on the bottom of the lamella. But you only have a file with the teeth facing up at home. In this case, we mark and saw on the back side. That's the whole secret. Some people also use metal files.

You need to cut the laminate in another room. There will be a lot of sawdust. By the way, they fly apart differently depending on the file. Cloves up – sawdust up and vice versa. This means that sometimes you need to wear glasses;
We need to hold the piece we are cutting. Since at the end of sawing he can tear off a piece of the coating from above;

With a jigsaw you can cut laminate not only in length and width. You can easily perform shape cutting with rounded corners. For example, make a beautiful cut for a pipe.

Laminate cutter

Another tool designed for cutting laminate flooring is a cutter that works on the principle of a guillotine.
In other words, it is a sharp knife that, with the help of a handle, is lowered onto the board and smoothly cuts it. To work with the cutter, no skills or force are required; the cut is very high quality, smooth, without chips, and the process itself proceeds without noise or dust.

With the help of a cutter you can easily achieve a perfect, professional-quality result. But it is advisable to use this tool specifically for professionals, since it has a narrow specialization and is intended only for cutting laminate. Therefore, to repair two or three rooms, it makes no sense to purchase this tool.

Another disadvantage is that it is impossible to cut the laminate panel along the canvas, but only across it.

Many people, starting to renovate their apartment with their own hands, simply do not know how to cut laminate flooring. As it turned out, the most convenient and easy-to-use tool is an electric jigsaw.

If you follow certain rules, you can quickly learn and achieve good results. Each of the tools discussed above has some advantages over the others - the choice must be made in accordance with professional skills.

Repair work often involves laying laminate flooring, which has gained popularity due to its attractive appearance, easy installation and maintenance. In the process of installing a floor covering, the need to trim the lamellas inevitably arises. And here a jigsaw comes to the rescue. Any experienced craftsman who works with this tool knows that the laminate file for a jigsaw should be selected carefully.

A jigsaw is the most preferred type of tool, since with it you can get a high-quality smooth cut that does not have chips, burrs or other damage on its surface.

If work of this kind is carried out on a regular basis, then it is better to immediately purchase a more expensive but reliable tool. The table below shows the average cost of jigsaws as of July 2021.

Table 1. Average cost for jigsaws

Illustration and model name	Power, W	Speed, strokes/min	Weight, kg	Cost as of July 2021, rubles
400	0 – 3000	1.54	1 100
600	0 – 3000	1.5	1 300
650	0 – 3000	1,95	2 100
500	500 – 3100	1.6	3 400
450	500 – 3100	1.9	4 300
700	0 – 3100	2.8	12 200

Choosing a file

To obtain an even and smooth cut at the end of a laminate lamella, it is not enough to purchase a high-quality tool - the result depends on the correctly selected file. Some manufacturers complete the tool with several types of files. It may happen that you do not need to purchase an additional saw for working with laminate - it will be included with the tool.

The laminate file is distinguished from others by its characteristic features. The shape, pitch, tooth pattern and blade material must be taken into account when purchasing a file. Thus, laminate files from the well-known tool manufacturer Bosch are flexible and durable, since a bimetallic blade is used for their manufacture.

By and large, if for some reason you couldn’t find a file with markings saying that it is designed to work directly with laminate, you can choose another one that has fine teeth and a thin blade. You can get different results:

A file with a wide blade allows you to get a high-quality straight cut.
For a figured or curved cut, choose a thin saw blade.
A neat edge on the front side of the lamella will be obtained if the cut is made from the outside.
To make an even cut on the floor on the front side, choose a file with reverse-directed saw teeth.

The following rules will allow you to get a high-quality cut when cutting laminate and simplify the trimming process itself:

Is it possible to cut laminate flooring with a grinder, also known as an angle grinder?

If you have a grinder at home, feel free to use it to cut laminate flooring when installing. She can cut almost anything in the world. A good owner always has this tool at hand. You can find a new angle grinder for $25 (this is the simplest). The important thing here is to select the right drive. Regular abrasive (black) is not suitable, the board will burn and smoke. Sawing laminate flooring with a grinder is more difficult for a beginner without preparation. You need to get used to the instrument.

How to cut laminate flooring with a grinder - important nuances:

We immediately decide which blade to cut with. A diamond disc best suited (for ceramics, porcelain stoneware). We make markings along the front of the board and cut them immediately. The result will be a very smooth and clean cut, no chips. It is advisable to hold the part of the board being sawn;
The grinder cuts very dusty. If sawdust flies from a jigsaw when cutting, then there is fine dust. It settles on the lamella itself and throughout the room. Therefore, it is better to go outside or onto the balcony to cut laminate flooring.

Cutting laminate with a jigsaw

The best tool for cutting laminate flooring is a jigsaw. This is a fairly comfortable and easy-to-use tool.

The main advantages of a jigsaw over other tools are:

compactness, low weight;

the ability to make a cut of any configuration (wavy, rounded with a different radius);

simplicity, ease of use;

high quality cut without chips or cracks.

Cutting laminate boards with a jigsaw is carried out at high speeds, so the cuts are of high quality - both curly, and across the board, and along the entire blade. The main nuance is the choice of a jigsaw file.

For cutting laminate, special saws are used with a special tooth shape, frequency and cutting method. The standard saw blade for cutting laminate with reverse teeth is marked T101BR.

Video: How to cut laminate smoothly and without chipping

The cut line is drawn on the back side of the laminate (usually the manufacturer indicates which side is best to cut from). Then the board is laid on a table or a special stand so that the cut part is outside the plane of the desktop.

The laminate board is pressed firmly onto the surface with your hand and the excess part is quickly cut off. The most important thing is to secure the board well so as not to damage it and avoid accidental injuries. During the work process, you should not rush or press hard on the jigsaw.

Is it worth cutting laminate flooring with a regular saw?

A simple wood saw will certainly cut a laminated board, but... It has large teeth - there will be chips and torn areas if you cut from the front side. You can try sawing laminate planks with a hacksaw. Its teeth are much smaller and thinner. In any case, using a simple saw or hacksaw is a long, tedious and very difficult task.

Moreover, pressed boards dull the tool very much . What a jigsaw or grinder does in a couple of seconds, you need to suffer with a saw for 1-2 minutes. After cutting several lamellas, my hands hurt and I’m all sweaty. And half the room is not laid out yet. Now imagine that you sawed off crookedly. A novice craftsman does not always manage to cut correctly the first time.

Which saw is better to use? If you need a perfect cut without chips, we buy a hacksaw. Its price is 5-10$. It is not a fact that one hacksaw is enough to lay laminate flooring in the entire apartment.

Cutting the laminate

We will not consider the categories and class of laminate, types of locks and installation methods - all this has nothing to do with sawing. In this case, we will simply define the concept of cutting laminate flooring and the tools that can and should be used for this.

Recommendation: when cutting laminate with any tool, especially if there is a need to make shaped cuts, it is advisable to secure the panels to the table with a rigid clamp.

Hacksaw

Source: euro-parket.ru

Most often, when choosing what to cut laminate at home, they choose a hacksaw for wood or metal, but there are some nuances here. So, you have decided on the line along which you need to cut the panel into pieces. If a hacksaw is used for cutting, and this is the most popular tool used for this purpose, then it must be well sharpened, with fine teeth and the correct setting. In the case when a tool with poor sharpening or incorrect cutting is used, the cut will turn out to be torn, which cannot always be avoided. A sloppy cut will also occur in situations with large teeth, which are more suitable for pruning trees in the garden.

Another option for cutting laminate flooring at home without chipping is a hacksaw. Small teeth and a wavy line of the blade around them allow you to make an even and clean cut, which is practically no different from cutting with an electric jigsaw. But there are some nuances here too. The width of the laminated panel varies from 90 to 330 mm, and if such a hacksaw is suitable for a narrow board, then for a wide one it is not: the fastening part will rest against the panel and will not allow it to be cut to the end. If a cut needs to be made along the board, then a hacksaw is ideal for metal - its device allows you to turn the blade perpendicular to the holder.

Electric jigsaw

Source pro-instrument.com

The vast majority of experts, when asked what is the best way to cut laminate, will definitely point to an electric jigsaw and nothing else. This is the only cutting tool that can easily make not only straight, but also curly lines, which are indispensable when going around all household communications and architectural elements (pipes, cable ducts, columns, etc.). In order to get the most out of your jigsaw when cutting laminate flooring, you need to use small-toothed saw blades designed either for cutting laminate or cutting metal. Also, if your tool has the ability to turn off the pendulum mode, do so - the line will be sharper.

But when it comes to how to cut laminate, and at the same time you need to simply cut the panels in a straight line, where such places will be hidden by baseboards, then all the points that I mentioned in the previous paragraph simply lose their significance. That is, you do not have to select a file (can be used with any tooth size), and there is also no need to disable the pendulum mode.

Hand circular saw

Source masterpopolam.ru

A hand-held circular saw, or, as it is more often called, a hand-held circular saw, is excellent for cutting laminated flooring in any direction, with the exception of curved cuts. This tool is very good for installing laminate floors with right angles, where all panels will be the same size. The fact is that the circular saw blade passes freely through lumber 50 mm thick, that is, you can stack 4-8 boards (the thickness of the laminate varies from 6 to 12 mm) and cut them with one movement of the circular saw. This approach almost doubles the installation speed, which is what professional finishers pay attention to in any case, since this is their income.

When cutting transversely, longitudinally and diagonally laminated flooring panels with a circular saw, consider which direction the saw rotates. And it rotates towards the operator, that is, it cuts from bottom to top, and this indicates that there will be chips (torn surface) on the side on which the tool is used. Therefore, in order to get a clean cut line, the board must be held with the wrong side up while cutting.

angle grinder

Source zen.yandex.ru

Beginning finishers, when looking for something to cut laminate with, often opt for an angle grinder (angle grinder), and there is nothing wrong with that (I also started with an angle grinder). The only question is which drive you will use. If you choose from the usual range, and these are cutting discs for metal, for ceramic and concrete products, as well as a universal option (for concrete and metal), then there is no difference. That is, you can cut off, and in this case, grind the laminate with any of them, only the process will be accompanied by strong smoke, therefore, for laying a laminated floor indoors, this is not an option. A saw blade is needed here.

Now special saw blades for angle grinders are being produced with a mounting hole diameter of 22.2 mm (this is a standard parameter for all angle grinders). Using this device, laminate can be cut in the same way as with a manual circular saw - across, lengthwise and diagonally. Just remember that the circular saw is specifically designed for this purpose, but the grinder is not. This suggests that extreme caution should be taken and that a protective cover, like the one in the top photo, should not be dispensed with - it can prevent injury to the hands.

Recommendation: if, when cutting with an angle grinder, the saw blade rotates towards you (from the left - clockwise), then the cut should be made from the back side, and if away from you - from the front side.

Guillotine for laminate

Source youtube.com

A guillotine for laminate flooring has now appeared on the finishing tools market, and even experienced specialists use it when laying floating floors, since laminate flooring sometimes needs to be cut without dust and noise. Let's evaluate this device. It has an aluminum alloy frame and a steel knife with a handle, for which it is sometimes called a cutter, although this is incorrect - the blade presses on the panel, so it chops rather than cuts the workpiece. But the point is not in the name - more attention should be paid to the width of the laminate with which you are going to work: the guillotine is designed for a board width of no more than 210 mm, but there are lamellas of 330 mm, in addition, the outer row, as a rule, has to be cut to length . So in such cases the guillotine will work like scissors.

On the top side of the panel, a fairly even cut is obtained, although somewhat flattened, but on the underside, the knife tears the stabilizing layer of the laminate (chipboard). However, this is not a particular problem, since the working side is still adjacent to the base and is never visible. It should also be noted that cutting will require physical effort, and you will not be able to work with one hand for a long time - you will simply begin to get tired. It is also very important to monitor the sharpening of the blade - it shrinks quickly, since knives are not made of tool steel (too expensive).

Knife

Source youtube.com

There is another tool for cutting laminate - a construction knife with a replaceable blade. Yes, yes, don’t be surprised - you can also cut the panel this way. In order to do this, you need to use a ruler with strong pressure to make two or three passes with the blade along the front of the laminated board to cut its protective layer. Moreover, the higher the class of the laminate, the more difficult it is to do this, since such a coating is responsible for abrasion, therefore, with increasing class it is made thicker. After passing the knife, you need to break the panel on your knee, or put it on the table so that the cut coincides with the edge of the tabletop, press it with your hand or a clamp and hit it sharply with the inside of your palm.

But this option can only be considered as exceptional. If you need to cut off a fragment less than 10 cm, it will be extremely difficult to break it off, not to mention cutting thin strips. In addition, the described method is not suitable for cutting panels to length, which is necessary when laying the last row.

Note: if you hear the phrase “laminated steel”, do not think that this has anything to do with the cutting of panels of the same name - blades and combat knives are made from this metal.

Circular saw/machine or circular saw

The cheapest circular saw, meaning saw, costs from $40. It makes no sense to buy it specifically for cutting laminate flooring when laying it. And dragging a huge machine into the apartment is also not an option. If you are the happy owner of this tool, you can safely cut laminate flooring with it. To do this, we use a metal disc. A beginner will have to learn how to use a circular saw. This is not safe; even experienced craftsmen sometimes get injured.

Features of using a circular saw:

Mark and cut along the front side;
Securely secure the workpiece on a flat surface with the image facing up. Just to secure it, and not so that one holds and the other saws;
If you have a circular saw, mark and cut also on the side with the pattern;
When using the machine, the laminate board is not secured. It is carefully placed on disk. Be sure to use glasses to prevent large sawdust from getting into your eyes.

Tool capabilities

The main characteristics required for a tool for cutting laminated boards:

Light weight and easy to use.
Possibility of smooth cutting without chips and cracks.

With this tool, thanks to its lightness and convenience, you can achieve better results when cutting material. The main thing is to choose the right file with a special tooth pattern and fine pitch.

A professional tool, in principle, is supplied with a set of different files, but if you don’t have one, then you can use a regular metal file.

Cutting with a jigsaw

In order to cut the laminate correctly and at the same time maintain the integrity of the decorative coating, you need to follow some cutting rules.

First, you need to draw a line with a pencil on the inside of the cut.
Then place the panel on a clean table so that the cut area hangs from it.
To ensure proper cutting, press the material against the table and cut through the laminate in the intended location.

Thanks to the use of this tool, you can quickly and efficiently cut laminate flooring. Only for this purpose a metal cutting disc must be used. Working with such a tool is more difficult than with a jigsaw.

Before cutting, the material must be laid on a flat surface (with the pattern facing up) and secured. When cutting you need to be extremely careful. The saw is moved with slight pressure, slowly moving the disk along the marked line and not stopping in one place.

This is also a very convenient tool that a home craftsman has. It is used for cutting any material, including laminate. As with other tools, for quality cutting you need to follow some rules.

To ensure that there are no chips left at the cut site, the cut should be made from the front side.
Since there are no special discs for cutting laminate, you can use those that are used for cutting concrete, metal or ceramic tiles.

This tool is also well suited for such work. It’s just better to use a hacksaw because it has fine teeth. A wood hacksaw is not suitable for cutting because its teeth will tear out pieces of the decorative surface.

We advise you to study - Which finish is better for doors: veneered, laminated or with PVC film

This is a professional tool that allows you to quickly cut material. It works on the principle of a guillotine, and laminate cutting is carried out quickly, without unnecessary noise or chips. The design of the cutters allows you to cut the material in the transverse direction without applying additional effort.

This is a backup option that can be used for cutting laminate flooring. It can come in handy if your grinder or jigsaw breaks and you only have a few boards left to lay.

The laminate board must be marked in advance and placed on a clean surface, decorative side up.
You need to apply a ruler to the cut site and make a deep cut with a knife (2-3 times if necessary).
Then, holding one side firmly, you need to press on the other half. The laminate should break at the point of the cut.

There are plenty of laminate cutting tool options. Having good experience, you can cut it off efficiently and quickly with any of them. The difference lies only in the time spent on it.

Special cutter, guillotine for laminate

A home craftsman should definitely not purchase this expensive tool. Moreover, he is very bad at cutting laminate lengthwise. For the $40-50 they are asking for it, it is better to buy a more expensive jigsaw. The device consists of a base and a handle with a blade for cutting lamellas.

The principle of its operation is quite simple. Place the laminate board on the base and lower the handle down. However, there are some peculiarities when working with this tool. Here they are:

As mentioned above, this guillotine does not cut lengthwise well;
It does not cut very neatly; the cut piece looks like a stub. Even a sharp cutter blade literally tears the laminate;
You need to apply a lot of force, and the blade quickly becomes dull. My hands get very tired. Thick laminate over 8mm may not be cut;
Only used for cutting laminate. Those. This device will no longer be useful on the farm. This means it is not suitable for home use.

How to cut quartz vinyl laminate

There is a laminate that bends. This is a special waterproof sample for baths. It is made of PVC and is not afraid of water at all and does not swell. It costs more than classic laminate. It is much easier to cut than regular laminated boards.

Here you don't need a jigsaw, a grinder, or a saw. Such bendable lamellas can be cut with a regular knife. use a construction or stationery knife to cut vinyl laminate .

Take a ruler or square, apply it and you can immediately make a cut with a knife. The ruler is pressed tightly against a piece of laminate. And then we draw a knife along the ruler. After this, carefully break the two parts with your hands.

Some craftsmen advise cutting ordinary laminate with a stationery knife. Do not do that. You'll just break the boards in vain.

How can you trim laminate flooring if it has already been laid?

Sometimes it is necessary to trim the laid laminate flooring. For example, unfortunately the builders forgot to make a gap of 8-10 mm at the wall. In this case, the coating may swell. Or your laminate has already stood on end and rested. They removed the baseboards, but there is no indentation from the wall. What to do?

Those who have a jigsaw can use it. To trim, unscrew the platform (protective cover) from the jigsaw so that it does not interfere with crawling under the wall. Next, turn the jigsaw upside down and carefully cut off the unnecessary edges. This is not entirely convenient, but you do not need to disassemble the laminate.

There is also such an interesting device - a renovator (in other words, an angle grinder for hard-to-reach places). The operating principle is that the cutting surface oscillates left and right, like a pendulum. It costs $50-60, but on Chinese sites you can find it 2 times cheaper.

This tool will perfectly cut laminate anywhere. It also has metal and sanding attachments. They can be used to cut holes in wood and drywall. You will crawl into the most inaccessible places. The device is many times safer than grinders and circular grinders. It is almost impossible to get injured when using it.

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.

The best way to cut laminate flooring at home and where to cut it

A beginner can lay the floor much faster. To do this, choose a good and inexpensive tool. The boards need to be cut in another room.

When laying laminate flooring, all cuts will go under the baseboards. This means that chips on them are not important to us. In this case, we use a jigsaw (it is not expensive) with any file. If you want to saw off without chipping, buy the right file. We cut from the right side;
You can cut laminate flooring with a grinder. In this case, only a diamond blade will do. Cut from the side of the drawing;
Holders of a circular saw also saw along the face of the board. And be sure to wear glasses;
Vinyl slats are easy to cut with a utility knife;
You can cut the laminate that is laid with a jigsaw or renovator.

How to make laminate from plywood

Even used construction pallets, stripped into planks, can be used as a source for making an analogue of laminate. It will turn out even more realistic, since you can do without cutting and won’t have to imitate the texture of wood. But not everyone has such raw materials, while plywood is sold in any specialized store or hypermarket at a very reasonable price, and therefore will be considered as a base for a homemade laminate. The flooring process is gradual.

Preparing plywood - how to cut sheets into planks

There are several such tools and almost everyone who sometimes makes something with their own hands or is faced with repair work has at least one. Suitable for cutting plywood:

electric jigsaw;
a circular saw;
hand jigsaw;
hand saw.

Of course, if we are talking about a paving area of a couple of squares, it is realistic to get by with a hand tool, but if the scale is larger, it is very difficult to master them without an electric one. The fastest way to cut the plywood is with a circular saw; only the disc should have fine teeth; equipment with large ones can damage the cut. Using a jigsaw, you will have to try to maintain an ideal cutting line, otherwise during installation there will be problems with joining the dies. If you only have a hand saw (with fine teeth) in your arsenal, but there is a strong desire to master the plywood laminate, the blade must be moved smoothly: sharp jerks or stops are a high probability of deforming the cut.

If you have a milling machine, you will get a coating from plywood that is almost as good as the original - just cut tenons and grooves on the dies for reliable fixation. In this case, when laying, you will get thin seams, just like a real laminate. But even without a grooved connection system, the cladding will visually imitate it, although in terms of the installation method it will be closer to parquet. The dimensions of the imitation must match the dimensions of the original - the dies are 18-19 cm wide and 1.2-1.3 m long. As for the thickness, it is selected based on the desired result: the higher the traffic in the room, the thicker the plywood should be, but it is hardly advisable to make an imitation from a material thinner than 6-7 mm.