Although installing laminate flooring is an alternative for the capable homeowner. Trimming and cutting the laminate boards does require some expertise and practice. We describe in our tutorial how to use the circular saw on laminate flooring.
So, in this tutorial, we’ll show you how to cut laminate flooring like a pro using the tools you’ll need and step-by-step instructions. We include do’s and don’ts, and connections to further films and information. This article will also assist you in determining. If it is even worth your time to cut laminate flooring yourself.
How do you use a circular saw on laminate?
- You can also use a circular saw to cut the laminate floors, but this will require the use of additional tools such as a rectangle and a few different types of floor paint.
- If this dirt is on the pinnacle of newly installed laminate flooring, it is extremely slippery, and you could fall. It’s a good idea to have the empty and dirt pan ready to smooth up on a regular basis.
- A circular saw is one of the tools used to cut laminate flooring.
The Best Way to Cut Laminate Flooring – Step by Step
This fast tutorial will walk you through all of the laminate flooring cuts you’ll need. If anything appears to be simple. It will become so with a little practice. You might make a few false cuts, but those pieces can be saved for when you need a shorter piece later.
Cutting the laminate to the correct length
- Using your tape measure, determine the needed length.
- Make a cut mark on the board.
- Create a straight line across the face of the board using your square and a pen or pencil.
- Make the cut on the waste-side of the line using your cutting tool, then wipe away any residual ink with a moist towel.
Cutting the laminate to the desired width
- The final board to be put before an obstruction such as a wall, cabinets, fireplace must be cut to width. Keep in mind that laminate flooring requires a 1/4-inch expansion margin to avoid buckling when it expands slightly due to heat and humidity. The baseboard will fill in the space.
- To mark how much laminate must be removed, cut a guide piece of laminate waste that is broad the double 1/4 inch.
- Place the guide you’ve produced on top of the piece while it’s still against the wall.
Cutting laminate around pipes and other obstacles
- For pipes, measure the length and width at the center of the pipe.
- Make a mark on the laminate piece where the center of the piece would be.
- Use a hole saw about 1/2 inch in diameter larger than the pipe diameter to create an opening for the pipe.
- Cut the laminate piece in half across its width through the center of the hole.
- Fit the pieces around the pipe, and use glue suitable for lamination to attach the pieces together.
- For cutting around odd-shaped obstacles, use the profile gauge to replicate the profile of the obstacle.
- Lay the profile gauge onto the piece of laminate, and trace the profile onto it with your pen.
- Use the jigsaw to cut out the profile, cutting on the waste side of the line.
How to cut laminate flooring dust free with a circular saw
- If you have ever reduced and set up laminate floors before, you realize that produces a dusty mess. Leaving outdoors is time-ingesting to head backward and forward.
- I’ve provided you with a pair of jigs painted with dirt extractor and a round saw that permits close to dustless parts. Being capable of making all of the rip cuts, cross-cuts, and notches properly alongside the floors’ set-up.
- These jigs were a sport changer for me on laminate floors, set up jobs, and in the end. Permitted me to make a more significant profit. I’ll undergo each of the jigs underneath and explain how they paintings.
Cross-Cut Jig
A jigsaw is a necessary tool for cutting laminate flooring since it allows you to make odd-shaped cuts around poles, pipes, and other obstructions. It can be used to cut boards to width and, if you don’t want to buy a laminate floor cutter, it can also be used to cut boards to length. You’ll be using the saw a lot, and towards the end of the day, you’ll appreciate how much lighter it is than a circular saw.
Ripping Jig
The ripping jig saw is a simple foundation that rapidly connects to the circular saw’s bottom to serve as a spacer. The jig’s foundation is made up of two 1/2″ Baltic Birch layers with an overall thickness of 1″. When moving between the cross-cut jig and the ripping jig, the saw may be retained at the same depth setting, which is important for speed and efficiency.
Because the depth of cut provided by the saw is just slightly greater than the laminate flooring thickness, the cut may be backed up with a piece of sacrificial foam insulation. The foam insulation also aids dust collection by trapping dust at the bottom and directing it upwards to the collecting attachment.
Curved & Notch Cuts
I use a jigsaw with a dust collecting attachment to produce curved and notch cuts. There are various dust-collecting jigsaw models available. It’s a powerful saw with a number of handy functions, one of which is dust collection.
I use the same piece of sacrificial foam insulation to back the cuts, which helps to enhance dust collection by trapping dust at the bottom of the cut. They are composed of high-speed steel (HSS) and are particularly intended for cutting laminate flooring, so they stay sharp for considerably longer in abrasive materials like laminate flooring.
Dust Extraction
There is a dust collection attachment enclosure on the underside of the shop-made dust collection attachment. The circular saw dust attachment will work with dust extractor. But my personal preference is the Bosch VAC090S with a HEPA filter fitted.
The increased power and CFM (cubic feet per minute) help to catch as much dust as possible. The dust collecting attachment for a circular saw produced at a shop can vary based on the kind of saw you’re using.
The whole thing is held in place by a machine screw that goes through a hole in the saw. It’s incredibly quick and easy. Especially when using a cordless saw that can’t automatically trigger the vacuum because it’s not plugged in.
Best Practice – Do’s and Don’ts
Do’s
- These crucial measures may transform an excellent laminate floor into a superb one while also reducing the risk of future difficulties.
- Bring your laminate flooring indoors and open the boxes a few days before the installation begins. Because laminate expands and contracts, it’s critical that it be given time to adjust to the humidity and temperature of the room. It can be troublesome if you don’t do this.
- If laminate flooring is stored in a humid environment and then put in an air-conditioned or heated house with low humidity, it may warp.
- Once placed, it will begin to contract, and sections may begin to break away. The opposite circumstances in the factory and at home may cause the flooring to expand and buckle.
- Remember to leave an expansion gap all the way around the room’s border. As previously stated, laminate flooring expands and contracts as temperatures and humidity vary. As a result, a 1/4′′ space is required on both sides to allow for this operation.
- Cut 14-inch spacers from spare material and place them every one to two feet along the wall. The first row of boards can then be secured to the spacers. Rubber spacers are supplied with the purchase of a laminate floor package.
Don’t
- Remember to remove the spacers once the floor is finished to allow the floor field to grow.
- For the greatest results, the first and last boards in the room should be the same width. To be sure, measure the room’s total width and subtract 1/2 inch for the sum of the two 1/4-inch spacers.
- Then divide that width by the board’s width. Let’s assume you end up with 20 laminate pieces and 4 inches of waste. Make your first board 2 inches wide by dividing the 4 by 2.
- This means your final board should be 2 inches wide as well. This creates a balanced appearance.
- Because the tongue will be swallowed, don’t include it in your calculations. The preceding piece’s groove Begin measuring from the board’s top edge.
- Cut off the tongue on both the long and short sides of the laminate plank closest to the wall for the first board in the room. Then, following the procedure previously described, measure, mark, and cut the first board such that the first and last boards have the same width.
Tips and tricks
- These laminate floor cutting hints and suggestions can help you enhance your experience and the quality of your work.
- A 12′ tape measure will be enough for laminate floor installation. Because it’s lighter than a 25-foot measure, it’s easier to handle and less prone to scraping the floor if it gets away from you.
- You want to be able to wash away marking lines quickly. And non-permanent ink wipes away with a moist cloth if you act quickly. Some people use a wax pencil, but the wax rapidly wears off and can become clogged with sawdust.
- If you’re renting a laminate floor cutter, inquire about the blade’s age and whether a replacement blade may be fitted before you rent it.
- If cutting straight with a jigsaw is tough, attach a straight edge to the item you’re cutting to serve as a guide.
- If you’re going to use a circular saw, go for the blade with the most teeth. A better cut and less chipping are the results of having more teeth.
Videos and Other Useful Resources
- The website www.carpentry-tips-and-tricks.com has a detailed tool guide for cutting laminate flooring.
- This video from Starrett demonstrates how to utilize a combination square, an important tool for making precise cuts. https://www.youtube.com
- This video demonstrates how to use a shape miter properly – www.youtube.com
- Laminatefloorblog.com gives a good summary of laminate flooring installation from a professional installer.
- These installation guidelines from a laminate flooring company cover a variety of situations, including concrete and timber subfloors – us.quick-step.com
- www.YouTube.comThis video shows how to mark, measure, and cut laminate around a door frame.
- Build Direct has a video instruction to laminate floor installation from beginning to end – www.youtube.com
Buying Guide
Types of laminate floors
The pinnacle layer is a top-notch skinny layer of hardwood lined with an acrylic finish. Otherwise, plastic laminate is artificial, with a layer of melamine at the bottom, a resin-saturated fiberboard center, and a woodgrain print at the pinnacle.
- Its skinny pinnacle layer of natural wood makes it greater vulnerable to dents, injuries, and staining. But not like plastic laminate floors, it can be rejuvenated up to 3 instances with careful sanding and refinishing.
- Plastic laminate is for folks that need the appearance of wooden floors in an area that receives moisture. The bulletproof coat and plastic inner additives make laminate flooring extraordinarily permanent.
Remember lv flooring
Laminate flooring is not the ideal option when it comes to sturdiness and convenience of installation. When you’re in the home shop, have a look at the lovely vinyl (LV) floors. Two possibilities are elegant vinyl tile (LVT), which resembles ceramic tile, and comfort vinyl plank (LVP), which resembles wood (proven here).
Both are incredibly durable and waterproof, as well as being among the easiest types of flooring to install anywhere in the world. Luxury vinyl is a better alternative than jagged subfloors because of its flexibility.
Remember the Underlayment
All laminate floors foam underlayment. Don’t bypass it. Underlayment prevents the ground from clicking at the subfloor as you stroll throughout it and perform it experience a chunk softer. It also makes plans less complicated to put in, avoiding lesser disagreements within the subfloor.
Some underlayment has self-adhesive tape to sign up for one series to the next. Go in advance and purchase the unique laminate and wooden floors set up the device as well. You’ll want it to drag collectively floors ends in which every row adjoins a wall.
Take a Finish Based on Lifestyle, Not Plainly Looks
If you’re starting out as a hoodlum, go for anything that makes you feel unfashionable. However, if you have one of these wacky households with children, dogs, and a lot of guests, you need to be especially cautious.
Flooring with a variety of grain patterns and a low-gloss finish. Distressed or hand-scraped floors will look far better, be much cleaner, and last much longer than floors with gleaming, continuous grain ornamentation.
Avoid Wide Lumber, Except the Substrate is Absolute.
The amount of slab or subfloor unevenness permitted by the symbol and the type of flooring you receive will be specified in the instructions.
Wider planks can be more difficult to secure on bumpy ground, stop joints may not be level with each other, and there may be larger gaps beneath the planks that you will see when you walk through the ground.
If your concrete or timber subfloor is choppy, you’re better off going with a more linear plank approach and paying attention to the ground leveling aggregate.
FAQ
How do you cut laminate lengthwise?
Take a few steps to reduce laminate alongside. Let’s talk underneath the steps. take the location alongside the partitions and go away approximately 1/3” across the partitions. Laminate floors lay the beam down and ensure the discourse is orientated via way of means of the wall.
The laminate location floors at the board at the strong floor and lock it into the ground. Take the identical system for each laminate committee and reduce them with inside the identical way defined above.
Does a laminate floor need underlayment?
Underlayment for laminate floors is a need too. Because laminate is hollow ground, it needs to flippantly dispense throughout your subfloor.
Underlayment is ground float, offers it stability, help, noise reducing and helps the locking structures among programs to guarantee the strong floors project.
Is laminate flooring easy to remove?
The technique to cast off laminate floors is straightforward. Newer technology laminate floors aren’t always connected to the subfloor and may reuse if eliminated carefully.
Can laminate flooring be installed on stairs?
Laminate floors may establish on stairs. It is a first-rate manner to amplify your lovely ground onto your staircase. Placing laminate floors on stairs is one occasion you may not use it as a floating ground system, so do now no longer use underlayment.
Can laminate flooring be installed under kitchen cabinets?
Placing laminate floors beneath shelves is a not unusual place query for the landlord. When putting in laminate floors in kitchens and bathrooms, You cannot location shelves or any hardware that is supposed to be bolted completely to the ground at the laminate.
Can laminate floors be installed over carpet or tile?
Fitting laminate floors over carpeting isn’t always encouraged in maximum setup situations. Because carpet is typically plush and smooth, your laminate floors could now no longer have the assistance it wishes to maintain the locking machine sturdy.
Can I install laminate flooring on concrete?
Laminate floors may be set up over concrete, timber, or carpet subfloor or different surfaces. placing underlayment is straightforward however it needs to be accomplished specifically to keep away from any damages.
How long does it take to install laminate flooring?
Placing in a standard 10-by-20-foot reach is 4 to 5 days with a further day introduced for every extra apartment. Laminate floors with a minimum of 3 days to acclimate to the surroundings of a room to save you troubles like particleboard expansion.
Does the floor feel different to walk on since it’s not nailed down?
Stable hardwood flooring has to be constant into role via so both gluing, nailing right down to the subfloor. However, you are making plans, becoming your hardwood ground to joint, then you’ll want to mystery nail them into place.
Can damaged pieces be replaced?
Installation in an ordinary 10-by-20-foot room is 4 to 5 days, with a further day delivered for every extra room. Laminate floors desire as a minimum a few days to acclimate to the surroundings of a room to save you issues like particleboard expansion.
Final thought
So, while all of those jigs and strategies are positioned together, they invent a reducing setup. It is brief, green, and smooth, as I noted earlier. Having all equipment make each form of reducing proper beside the floors is a significant time-saver. I preserve all the jigs.
You also can watch the accompanying DP Shop Talk scene underneath to study greater approximately the jigs and spot them in movement. If you’ve got any remarks or problems, make sure to depart them within the remarks field at the lowest of the page.
