Laminate Flooring Tools

Tools I use and how to cut laminate flooring

This is a full list of the laminate flooring tools I use to install floors to a high professional standard.

Please don't listen to what DIY websites say about how to cut laminate flooring! You should never use a circular saw or miter/chop saw unless you have expensive, specifically designed carbide tipped blades. These are really only worth buying if you are going to be doing laminate floor installation for a living because they are so expensive! .

Each of the laminate flooring tools here has a quick description of what I use it for and there's more info about cutting laminate flooring under the list;

Pretty self explanatory, think everyone has one. Whilst I use a big chunky one for rough carpentry for jobs like these I use a 5m Stanley pocket tape which like the name suggests, fits neatly in a pocket.

Pencils wear down quickly and when laying dark floors you can't always see pencil lines clearly amongst the dust when you're cutting. A non permanent pen is great for marking and it wipes off easy with a damp cloth.

The laminate flooring tools kit you can buy from screwfix include things like the spacers for the exansion gap, a pull bar and tapping block. The main thing you want out of the fitting kit is the pull bar, you can use small 9mm ply offcuts for the gap and a scrap piece of hardwood for the tapping block if you don't want to buy the kit.

The jigsaw is the best power tool to use to cut laminate floors with for a few reasons. It's light, good because you'll be picking it up all day. The blades are cheap. Man made materials like laminate ruin saw blades instantly. For this reason I buy packs of laminate specific jigsaw blades that are less than a tenner for five and throw them away as soon as they are knackered. I always price these into a job when I'm quoting to lay a floor for someone.

I use this almost every day not just for laying laminate floors but as a scribing tool. The quickest way to cut or scribe timber into an awkward/irregular shape is to push this handy Forge steel profile gauge up to the shape and then transfer it onto the work piece.

It doesn't have to be a combination square if you have a try square, or another type that will do the job fine too. I prefer the combination square because as well as marking square lines when setting out, you can set and use the rule to mark parallel lines with it when cutting boards to width.

Again, not just in the laminate flooring tools box but I use this glue for loads of different jobs around the house. It sticks like sh#t! Gorilla glue sticks to wood, metal, ceramics, is waterproof and can be sanded/stained/painted! Just don't get it on your fingers..

auger drill bits I use when laying laminate floors to drill holes for radiator pipes. Get some pipe collars too to neatly cover the expansion gap up.

Cutting laminate to length

Special handsaws are available specially designed to cope with cutting hard laminate materials. I've got a 'Bahco Superior Hard-Point Laminator Handsaw' that I only use when laying floors. It would take forever if I only used that to cut all the floor boards though, so that's where the jigsaw comes in. Click here to see the right jigsaw blades to cut with.

Downward cutting laminate specific blades don't only cut better and last longer, but because they cut on the downward stroke you can do your setting out and cutting from the face side of the workpiece. Normal jigsaw blades cut on the upward stroke, meaning you need to mark and cut from the underside of the flooring or you'll damage the surface. Marking out on the back of the board is trickier and you're more likely to make an error.

Cutting intricate details and shapes

If you need to cut a curved shape or to scribe to an uneven surface again, the jigsaw may be the best tool to use. If the jigsaw is too large, or you will risk breaking the brittle floor with it then a coping saw does the same job without the power and vibrations. Fit the coping saw blade so that the teeth point towards the handle. This means it will cut on the 'pull' stroke, and ensures the frame of the saw is pulled tight at the same time.

Rip cutting laminate flooring

Whilst it may be tempting to use a circular saw or table saw to rip laminates, unless you have an expensive carbide tipped blade stick with the jigsaw or handsaw. If you have trouble cutting straight lines with a jigsaw then clamp a straight edge (spirit level or straight piece of timber) onto the board. If you don't have clamps, you can screw the straight edge to the waste part of the floor board that will get cut off any way (remember to allow room for the thickness of the blade when doing this).

Once you've got all your laminate flooring tools together there's a step by step installation guide with detailed instructions for dealing with pipes, architraves etc. here.

Laminate flooring tools related pages