How to cut linoleum?

The most popular flooring at the moment is linoleum. This is not surprising, since this material is very durable, easy to install, inexpensive, looks solid. Many people decide to install it on their own during repairs in order to save time and money, and this is the right decision. But many have a question: how to cut linoleum? We will deal with this nuance in this article.

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Tools for cutting linoleum:

• Ideally, for cutting linoleum it is necessary to use a special knife for cutting floor coverings with a hook-shaped cutting surface. If you have such a tool, there will be no questions about how to cut linoleum correctly. This knife easily cuts both thin and thick linoleum, carpets, rugs, makes both straight and curly cuts if the room has a complicated shape.
• The second most suitable tool for cutting flooring is a construction knife. It is very similar to a regular stationery knife for cutting paper, but has a thicker, more durable blade that can cut even the thickest material. But such a knife has a drawback - it is quite difficult for them to make a curly cut.
• You can also use a cutter for flooring to create even cuts of roll coverings. Using it, you can very quickly and easily cut a large piece of flooring.

All of the above tools can be purchased at any hardware store.

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Alternatives

If you need to cut linoleum at home, and there are no special tools at hand, then you can use the following improvised tools:

• ordinary sharp knife;
• stationery knife for cutting paper;
• big scissors.

Important! It is undesirable to use improvised means, since the cut can turn out uneven, ragged. You can resort to their help only when you need to urgently cut off the linoleum and the edge will be hidden under the baseboard.

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How to cut linoleum?

• Before proceeding with the cutting of the flooring and its laying, it is necessary to withstand the coating in expanded form in the room for 1-2 weeks. This is necessary to completely straighten the flooring and eliminate waves.

Important! You should not try to level the rolled product on your own (namely, applying the load) - quality material should become smooth on its own.

• After this, it is necessary to cut the material along the length of the room, taking into account allowances - on average they are from 3 to 7 centimeters.

Important! It is necessary to make allowances so that if the material dries, it does not become smaller than the area of ​​the room.

• In order to smoothly cut linoleum, you need to attach a heavy metal ruler to the site of the cut and use a cutting tool to make sharp cutting in one motion.
• After cutting the flooring, it is better to leave it for a few more days until completely leveled.

Important! In case it is necessary to combine two pieces of flooring, one layer is tightly applied to the other and a quick, precise cut is made with a sharp cutting object. In such a joint should turn out perfectly smooth. If it has a pattern, then before the cut it must be perfectly evenly connected so that there is no noticeable difference when joining.

We cover the coating differently

There are two more ways to trim linoleum evenly:

1. Drawing a straight line with a pencil or other writing object and making a cut along the marked line.
2. Having put the material close to the wall and running the knife straight along the bend.

Cut curved shapes

Well, when the room has the shape of a square or rectangle, then you just need to cut a piece of the desired shape and size from the roll coating, which can be done even with a regular knife. But if the room has decorative elements that cannot be removed or pipes, then you will have to try.

For cutting material of indirect shape, you need a dense cardboard, which will be used as a pattern, and scissors.

In order to cut linoleum under a pipe or other object that cannot be removed from the room, it is necessary to make a pipe shape on a cardboard, cut it, try it on, cut it, if necessary. Next, you need to make accurate measurements of the location of the pipe on linoleum, attach the layout to it and cut it out.

Important! Cutting linoleum is much easier than other flooring, such as laminate, parquet or tile. It is also easy to install, so anyone can lay it on their own.

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How to lay linoleum with your own hands?

Before laying this coating, you need to carefully study the base:

• Linoleum fits well on concrete and wooden floors, on parquet, but it is important that the floor is even and clean.
• If the floor is level, then the preparation will take very little time - you just need to remove debris and dust with a vacuum cleaner, remove other impurities and dry it. If particles of dirt remain on the surface, then after a while they will begin to protrude onto the surface of the roll coating.
• If there are potholes or bumps in the floor, it is advisable to make a screed. If there are imperceptible differences on the surface, then alignment is not necessary.
• If the floor is plank, and there are many gaps between the boards, they must be eliminated with putty or by covering the floor with plywood.
• If there is old linoleum on the floor, then it is not necessary to remove it, quite the contrary - it can serve as an excellent substrate for a new coating. But if both the old and the new are very soft, then in the future dents and holes can form on the surface.

After the base is studied and prepared, you can put a new roll coating. To do this, you need to evenly distribute it in the room, level it and fix it with the help of a plinth.

Important! If the coating is very thin (although it is desirable to take a thick linoleum, since it lays down and serves much longer), then it can be fixed with a special glue that will eliminate the appearance of waves and creases.

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Stock footage

If everything is done correctly, then linoleum will lie well in the room and will last a fairly long time. This is an ideal material for self-installation, which is suitable for any room and is inexpensive.