How to cut a laminate?

Laminate is very often used as a floor covering in apartments, private houses, offices. If before people had nothing to choose from, they knew only parquet (“in a rich way”) and linoleum (“no worse than people”), now eyes are being diverted from a variety of floor coverings - ceramics, wood, cork, bulk floor and other things. Despite the large selection, the laminate remains the most sought after. It is quite practical and fits into any interior. For those who plan to repair, information about how to cut the laminate, how to do it in order to spend less effort, and the result was of high quality, will be important.

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Laminate flooring. Material Features

Laminate is the common name for high density fiberboard. It consists of several layers - stabilizing, bearing, decorative and protective, each of which plays a role.

Important! There are 4 classes of laminate wear resistance (from 31 to 34) - the higher the number, the stronger the floor material. The first two classes are usually taken for residential premises, the rest are commercial. But no matter how durable it is, the laminate does not like water.

If you chose this coating for your floor, then when working with it you will certainly come across the question of what is the best way to cut a laminate during installation, how to do it correctly. And cutting it, of course, will have to, because there are no such rooms that would clearly correspond to the length of the board, and the styling is done by stripping or drawing (Christmas tree, diagonally, and so on). You will have to do the cutting and fitting of the laminate.

What is the main principle in choosing a file for a laminate? You need to get an even cut and keep the internal structure of the board. For this purpose, you can use both mechanical and electrical tools. The home master has at least one of them in the household. Everyone chooses what is more convenient for him to work and what is at hand.

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Laminate Cutting Machine

The machine tool is easy to use, light in weight and does not use electricity, although the cutting accuracy is not so ideal. If there is not much work, then it is quite suitable. How to saw a laminate?

Laminate Cutter (Guillotine)

It is a professional mechanical tool for cutting laminate boards. This is expensive manual equipment that accurately and accurately cuts the laminate without the application of special physical strength, but it is unlikely to be found in an ordinary person, except for someone who is engaged in professional repairs.

Important! This tool, if necessary, can be rented.

The cutter has an impressive size, a long handle and a sharpened blade. In order to make a cut, you need to lower the handle with the blade from top to bottom (as on the guillotine). The cutter cuts through the laminate easily, like a knife, butter, and very accurately, without noise and dust. The edge will be neat, without chipping or chipping.

Important! Such a cutter will not be able to make a figured cut (angle or semicircle).

Hacksaw

Each owner usually has this tool. It is also convenient for them to cut boards, but some physical effort will be required. To obtain a more or less high-quality cut, you need to take a hacksaw for metal - it has small and frequent teeth.

Important! Sawing with a hacksaw for the laminate of each plank will take a lot of time, so for large volumes of work it is better to use a power tool.

Before working, it is important to check the tension, the sharpness of the metal sheet and the reliability of its fixation. To cut it, you need to place the laminate board face up on a flat hard surface, carefully saw it according to the markings applied in advance. The movements should be smooth, without strong pressure.

Important! No matter how you try, there will still be small notches from the hacksaw. But do not be discouraged, most of the pruning goes against the walls, so all the flaws will help hide the baseboard.

Construction knife

We would not recommend using it as a primary tool. Rather, like a lifesaver, when the jigsaw or cutter failed during operation, there is nowhere to take a new one, and repairs must be completed without delay:

• You will have to cut it under the ruler with great effort. You will hardly succeed in cutting through the tablet.
• It is necessary to evenly make an incision of the upper layers, and after that just gently break off the lower part.

Important! Also, with a construction knife, you can slightly trim the edge of unsuccessfully cut fragments.

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Power tool

How to cut the laminate so that the result is the most successful? A power tool will do the job best. It will save your time and physical effort. If it is not on the farm, and the amount of work is significant, then you can rent it or from friends. So, what kind of power tools are used to cut laminated boards?

Jigsaw

The laminate jigsaw is the leader in the frequency of use for this purpose:

• It is not bulky, easy to operate and quickly copes with the task.
• Due to the fact that the process is at high speeds, the cut is smooth and clean.
• You need to use a nozzle for metal or there are special files for a jigsaw on the laminate (T101 Br).

In order to make an incision, it is necessary to start with a pencil to outline the desired line on the wrong side, and then with a construction or clerical knife to draw a little effort along this line to cut through the upper protective layer - this will subsequently facilitate the accuracy of cutting with a jigsaw. Next, hold the plank so that the cut is in a suspended position, face down.

Important! A big plus of using a jigsaw is that it can be used for curly cutting, which is often necessary for laying a laminate, for example, near pipes. For complex cuts, use saw files for a laminate on a jigsaw narrow with small cloves.

A circular saw

This is a more bulky and complex tool. To work with him, you need skills, and in addition, you must strictly follow safety procedures (so that hair, clothes, ties, bracelets do not get into the mechanism).

Its plus is the high cutting speed and the ability to cut several planks at the same time.

Important! This is a powerful tool, so it can be used to easily cut a laminate from a commercial series (it is harder and harder), and it is also most convenient for longitudinal cutting of a laminate.

For work you need a disk with small teeth. Marking is applied on the front side, the board needs to be fixed and gently pushed away from itself in the direction of the rotating disk. The movements should be smooth, without jerking or changes in pressure.

Important! On a circular saw, you can cut a laminate only in a straight line, curly cutting can not be done.

Bulgarian (angle grinder)

This is a fairly convenient hand tool, although it produces a lot of noise and dust. For a smooth edge, you will need a concrete disc or ceramic tile.

Cutting a laminate with a grinder is done on the front side according to the marking.

Important! If you want to save time and cut several boards at once, then you need to take into account that the most even cut will be in the middle of the batch, so put the rough planks first and last.

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Stock footage

When choosing the right tools, focus on your skills and the amount of work.In conclusion, it must be said that no matter what tool you use for cutting a laminate, always follow safety precautions, then the work will be a joy. In addition, if there is not enough experience, we strongly recommend a little practice on rough boards.