How to cut linoleum correctly: necessary tools, step-by-step instructions, common mistakes

May 10, 2020
Floor
Rezeda Nikolaeva

Linoleum is often preferred to be used as a floor covering both in a private house and in an apartment. This can be explained by the fact that the material is quite practical and does not require complex care. It is also important that there is a huge range of colors and textures of linoleum on the market. The price of such material is quite affordable. Everyone can choose a product according to their taste and financial capabilities.

This flooring can be used without fixation or laid on a special adhesive mixture. One of the main advantages of the material is the ability to install it without the involvement of specialists. Cutting linoleum at home is not very difficult. But at the same time, it is imperative to know what tools to use for these purposes.

Trimming Features

Quite often people ask how to cut linoleum correctly. To carry out this manipulation during installation, you need to use a special tool, thanks to which you can make a clear and precise cut. It is not recommended to use the most ordinary kitchen knife for these purposes. The best option is to use a tool for a specific type of floor covering.

In this case, the tool should be selected based on the thickness of the linoleum, as well as its density. It is best to use a construction retractable knife for these purposes. The tool is ideal for working with floor coverings.

When cutting linoleum, it is necessary to follow a certain technology. Otherwise, you can get an oblique cut or a large gap between the blade and, for example, the wall. To cut this material yourself at home and still get a positive result, you need to follow these rules:

When cutting the flooring, be sure to move gradually. In this case, it is necessary to make small incisions. It is best to first make a mark with a marker indicating the direction of movement of the knife. It is advisable to do this from the wrong side of the material.
If you plan to work with internal corners, then the linoleum should be cut into a v-shape.
If you are laying a covering that has a pattern, it is better to lay it face up. Then you need to make markings that will not distort the pictures. If you make mistakes while cutting linoleum, you will no longer be able to correct them.
To properly fit two strips of linoleum, the material is placed on top of each other so that there is an overlap. After this, it is recommended to cut both pieces together. This method is very practical. However, it requires the application of certain physical efforts in order for the result to be perfect. Also, when performing this action, be sure to have a sharp knife.
As for the final cutting of the material, it is recommended to do this using a hook-shaped blade. It is necessary to adjust the floor covering only after completing the main work on it. To cut linoleum correctly on the floor and at the same time avoid any errors in the form of large gaps, it is recommended to use a special marker, as well as a metal ruler.

Why is this necessary?

The main advantage of this material is its ease of installation, which even a woman can handle with her own hands. But both the installation process itself and the preparation for it have their own subtleties associated with the characteristics of the material, methods and conditions of its storage.

Reason 1: restoration of elasticity

If you have ever tried to unfold folded or rolled linoleum in the cold, then you probably know that this is fraught with the appearance of cracks on its surface, or even through breaks.

This occurs due to the material losing its elasticity at low temperatures. Flexible and soft in warmth, it becomes brittle and brittle in the cold.

In retail chains, it is usually stored in unheated warehouses, and during transportation it manages to freeze, so when purchasing in the cold season, this feature must be taken into account.

What to cut

To cut the flooring, you can use various construction tools. These include special knives that have the following advantages:

There are no difficulties with replacing blades.
They work very effectively with linoleum both horizontally and vertically.
Make the cut as smooth as possible.
The knife blade has high strength characteristics.
The blade locking system is very high quality.
The handles of the knives have rubberized linings.

Types of knives

To understand how to cut linoleum, it is recommended to familiarize yourself in advance with the list of tools used by professionals. Here is their list:

Construction knife. It is a retractable structure. If the blade is perfectly sharpened, working with linoleum is done quickly and easily. A construction knife is similar to a regular stationery knife. It also has a retractable blade. The difference is that a construction knife is designed for cutting dense materials, such as linoleum, while a stationery knife is used mainly for paper. Therefore, the blade of the first is wider and stronger. This knife is also used to remove thin-layer materials. When using the tool, it is imperative to monitor the progress of the cutting blade.
A special knife designed for cutting linoleum. This tool is equipped with a curved blade, making it possible to cut any floor covering without much difficulty. This knife can be used to make straight cuts and to cut out various shaped parts.
Flooring cutter. Today, this special device is presented in a wide range on the market. The version with a disc cutting element is ideal for linoleum. The tool can fix the canvas in the frame. In addition, to cut linoleum, you can use a device with a fixed cutting element. The flooring cutter can cut a straight edge perfectly.

How to choose a tool

To perfectly cut linoleum for any room, you need to familiarize yourself with the information on choosing tools in advance. The knife must have the following characteristics:

Have a reliable handle. It can be made of wood or metal. As for the cutting blade, it is made of high-quality stainless steel.
The tool must be selected according to the thickness of the material. This will help avoid problems when cutting the flooring. It is best to use blades between 0.6 and 1 mm.
The knife must withstand heavy loads.

In order for the workflow to be fast and convenient, it is important to know the variety of tools that are available on the market today. There are products that are designed for cords, for chamfering, as well as various scissors. To choose the right tool, it is imperative to take into account the thickness of the specific linoleum and its structure.

Here are some popular linoleum brands

Sinteros is a household PVC linoleum with a foam backing and a polyurethane protective coating 0.15 mm thick, meets hygienic standards, costs from 345 rubles/sq. m., various colors are available.
Juteks (Yuteks). Household PVC linoleum 2.7 mm thick, of which 0.15 mm is the protective layer, wide selection of decors, price from 213 rub./m2. Semi-commercial linoleum of the same brand has a protective layer thickness of 0.6 mm, costs from 399 rubles / sq. m.
IVC - semi-commercial linoleum 2.4 mm thick, protective layer 0.5 mm, price from 417 rubles / sq. m.
Tarkett is a semi-commercial linoleum with a thickness of 2.4 mm, with a protective layer of 0.6 mm, an additional protective and antibacterial coating, can be used with heated floors, costs from 747 rubles / sq. m.

How to cut flooring evenly

How to properly trim linoleum when laying it so that the cutting process goes without any difficulties? To do this, you need to know about some of the intricacies of this floor covering. Linoleum is a very durable material. If there are dents, small cuts or other defects along the edge of the canvas, then there is a possibility that this material will fail quite quickly.

Of course, it is better to purchase high-quality linoleum. However, no one is immune from annoying problems. It is important to remember that the deformed part of the flooring (if it cannot be replaced) should be handled as carefully as possible. The cutting of the canvas should be done very accurately.

PVC linoleum can be cut using a well-sharpened knife. At the same time, you cannot be distracted. Otherwise, you can quite easily deviate from the given direction. As a result, the cut will be uneven. To avoid such situations, it is best to use a special pattern for the work. An ordinary long ruler is ideal for these purposes.

Quite often you have to lay two (or more) pieces of linoleum on the floor, since the width of one is not enough from wall to wall of the room. The floor covering is fastened using cold welding. If the linoleum initially has uneven edges, then it will not be possible to make the seam invisible. To get out of this situation, it is recommended to step back 1-2 centimeters from the edge of the canvas and make a perfect cut that aligns the edge.

It is recommended to work with maximum precision. A leveling cut must be made along the edges of both pieces of linoleum that are planned to be joined into one sheet. To do this, they are placed on top of each other and one common cut is made. The tool for this work must be used very sharp.

Thanks to this method, the seam is less pronounced and stronger. Before you start cutting linoleum, you should check again all the measurements, as well as the quality of the cutting element.

You should start cutting the flooring only if it has become “accustomed” to the microclimate in a particular room. You can leave the material in it for a day, after unrolling the roll. During this time, the linoleum adapts to the humidity level and air temperature in the room. This will increase the quality of its installation.

The work on cutting the floor covering looks like this:

Draw a cutting line on the inside or outside of the material. It is this that will subsequently serve as a guide when working with a knife.
A long ruler must be attached to this line. Press it with your hand onto the floor covering.
Using a sharp knife, make a cut. In this case, the blade of the tool should be guided along the ruler, resting against it.

Technology and installation methods

Preparing the floor for linoleum

The base for laying linoleum must be thoroughly cleaned of debris, dried, secured or replaced with loose or damaged elements (parquet, boards, tiles). Often, preliminary leveling of the surface is required; its technology depends on the base material and the size of the unevenness.

Cutting linoleum

Linoleum brought from the cold cannot be immediately unrolled; it must lie in a warm place for at least 12 hours, and before laying, unrolled linoleum must rest for about 2 days.
the roll is rolled out with an overlap on the walls, if there are distortions or niches, and if there are none, almost close to the wall, with a gap of 5-10 mm; cardboard patterns are made corresponding to the niches and protrusions;
using a ruler, circular trimming is carried out around the entire perimeter (if the walls are curved, trimming is carried out along the wall itself); gaps of 5-10 mm should remain between the edges of the linoleum and the walls to compensate for thermal expansion; if the walls are completely crooked, it may be worth leveling them with gypsum boards, read more about this.
if it is necessary to join several pieces, the linoleum is cut according to a previously drawn up plan, the pieces are overlapped and pressed with a load;
the cut linoleum is kept for 2 days to a week, until its surface becomes perfectly smooth, then, if necessary, the excess is cut off, the pieces are connected at the bottom with double-sided tape, and the seams at the top are cold welded;
Along the perimeter, the linoleum is pressed against the baseboards.

In rooms over 25 sq. m. Linoleum must be laid with an adhesive composition. If linoleum is attached to mastic, its back side and base must be primed with drying oil (for oil-chalk mastic) 1-2 days before gluing; for bitumen mastic, the primer itself is used, only with the addition of three times the volume of gasoline.

Wall cutting process

We continue to consider how to properly trim linoleum when laying. It is indicated above that this work must be done with a special knife. Another way to cut linoleum? If you do not have the necessary tools, you can use large, sharp scissors. In practice, a situation is often observed when the floor covering is not cut out in advance, but rather laid out in the room where it is being installed, and then cut out along the wall. The material must first be spread out for a day (more is possible). Next you need to do the following:

Align the canvas along the wall. Check that there are no waves or creases left on it.
Press the linoleum to the floor where it meets the wall.
In the place where the material is creased, pass it several times with a wooden block (you can use a ruler).
Make a cut, retreating 2-3 mm from the wall.

This is exactly how you need to cut linoleum on the walls.

Laying stage

The canvas ready for installation (cut, rested, primed) is rolled on both sides (with the backing facing out) so that it ends up approximately in the middle of the room.
Concrete floors in half the room from the center to the walls are coated with mastic using a spatula.
You need to wait 10-15 minutes, after which half of the roll is rolled out, glued and rolled towards the walls with a massive roller until the remaining air is removed and the surface is completely leveled. Then the same operation is repeated for the other half.

Final trimming and gluing of edges is carried out after 3 days.

If joints are provided, the application of glue ends 10 cm before the joint. The pieces are overlapped, with a margin of 2-3 cm. When the mastic is completely dry, and this requires at least 3 days, the excess is cut off under the ruler and the seam is processed by cold welding.
Using a similar principle, linoleum is laid on a concrete floor using PVA glue, only the canvas does not roll, but is bent, and the glue is applied with a notched trowel (see article about puttingtying drywall) on its underside; trimming can be done immediately after gluing.
We recommend reading the article about disguising toilet pipes in a plasterboard box. Article

The process of cutting material for a toilet

It is quite rare to install linoleum in a toilet. As a rule, floor tiles are installed in this room. However, in some cases, laying linoleum justifies itself, for example, if you need to carry out repairs quickly and without large material costs.

If this is exactly the situation you have, the question naturally arises of how to properly cut linoleum for a toilet. This must be done as accurately as possible so that there are no gaps left. If this rule is neglected, microorganisms (for example, mold spores) and moisture will quickly enter the linoleum floor and cause rotting. The process of cutting the flooring in the toilet is as follows:

Place the toilet on the floor.
Outline the contours of its sole. To do this, you can use a washable marker.
Remove the toilet.
Using a construction knife, cut a hole in the floor covering along the marking line.

After installing the toilet, the cut site on the linoleum must be sealed with sealant, even if the gap between the material and the plumbing equipment is minimal.

Details

You will see a visual view of the device above. The price will depend on the manufacturer and the specific region, but it is rarely more than 400-560 rubles for a simple-level branded product. For a finishing specialist, it is better to buy higher quality equipment, the price of which ranges from 750 to 1100 rubles. Among the manufacturers, we can note the products of the company Romus, Santul. For construction work with your own hands, knives from Fit, Biber and Jituls are quite suitable.

How to correctly cut rolled coverings

To carry out work on cutting linoleum sheets, in addition to the purchased knife, you will need to prepare a square, a tape measure and a long ruler. To obtain a template, you will need plain paper or cardboard with high density. When working, try not to rush and take all measurements more than once. Cutting requires confident movements, applying effort. If necessary, you can draw up a layout of the canvases, and after that they will begin cutting them according to the calculated parameters. The technology for cutting flooring material with your own hands will be made from the following:

Before cutting linoleum, it must be kept indoors for 1 to 2 weeks at room temperature. More precise timing is specified in the instructions or on the paper tab that comes with the coating.
Afterwards, the roll is cut to the length of the room, taking into account the allowance, and for a canvas with a length of 5 to 6 meters, the allowance is 2 cm, less than 10 meters from 4 to 5 cm, and if more than 10-12 meters, then all 5-7 cm. This is required to store material for trimming and natural shrinkage.
The cut sheets must be left for 4 days until they are perfectly straightened. If “waves” remain on the surface, then there is no need to try to eliminate them using third-party methods. High-quality roll-type coating straightens naturally.
Next, the cut pieces are laid out along the length of the room, and if there are protruding communications and other decorative elements in the room, then you will need to prepare a paper template. Afterwards, the pattern is transferred to the linoleum and cut in the required places.
If the room has the correct shape, then the linoleum is moved close to the wall with an overlap and cut at the junction.
To join the patterned canvases, the first canvas is laid out on the floor surface. The second is laid on top of the first until the joining edge forms a continuation of the pattern. All that remains is to press with a long ruler and cut through two pieces.

Upon completion of cutting, the material must be moved to one half of the room and the working part must be removed from dust, abrasive particles and construction debris. Afterwards you can start fixing and joining it.

Pipe cutting

This need arises in the area of risers going from your apartment to your neighbors living on the floor below. How to cut linoleum for a pipe? This process is not easy. It requires a special approach. It is especially common to cut linoleum to accommodate the battery pipe. This process includes the following steps:

Place the material with the wrong side on the pipe. Give it a good squeeze.
Make a mark in the center of the pipe on the linoleum.
Make an even cut from this point to the nearest wall.
Draw a circle at the designated point on the linoleum. It is necessary that its circumference touches the mark. The cut should pass through the center of the circle. The diameter of this figure and the pipe must match.
Use a knife to cut a circle along the drawn line.

Trimming corners

Above we looked at how to trim linoleum on walls. We must not forget that every room must have corners. It is necessary to trim the linoleum in them, following a certain technology:

The flooring material must be pressed to the floor in the corner of the room. The canvas must first be carefully straightened.
Make a cut perpendicular to the floor in the place where the linoleum “fits” onto the wall.
After this, make two cuts along the walls (left and right of the corner).

The process of cutting fabric in a roll

Sometimes it is necessary to cut linoleum in a roll. This needs to be done as smoothly as possible. Otherwise, you will have to make an additional cut to level the blade. You need to do the following:

Unroll the roll to the required length.
Mark the required amount of material (for example, 2 meters). Place a dot at this point.
Attach a square to the canvas and draw a line. It should run perpendicular to the edge of the linoleum.
Make a cut along the line.

There is another way to cut linoleum correctly. It is necessary to set aside the same size from the edge of the previous cut on one and the other side of the roll along the edge. Use a ruler to connect the marked points. Make a cut along the resulting line. In this case, you can use a knife or sharp scissors.

How much linoleum should I buy?

Before purchasing linoleum, you need to measure the room, make sure that the opposite walls are the same length (otherwise, focus on the dimensions of the larger wall and add another 5-7 cm to them), if there are niches (see also the article Do-it-yourself TV niche) lead measured from the deepest point of the niche. If the room has a complex shape, sometimes it is more profitable to lay linoleum on the concrete floor not in one piece, but to join several. In this case, you need to first carry out a plan for cutting the linoleum with your own hands and it is better to choose a monochromatic or abstract pattern so that there are no problems with its combination.

Linoleum is produced in rolls of different widths, up to 5 m, in half-meter increments; you need to choose a width that is as close as possible to the width of the room, but not less. The length can correspond to the length of the room to the nearest centimeter (taking into account niches), but it is better to add 5-7 cm for cutting. Thus, for a room 3.3 m wide and 5 m long, you need to buy and lay linoleum 3.5 m wide and 5.05 m long.

We recommend reading the article about leveling the floor for laying laminate flooring. Article to contents

Expert advice

To properly cut linoleum, when working with flooring, it is advisable to follow the following recommendations from professionals:

Do not start cutting material immediately after it has been purchased. It is necessary for the flooring to remain in the room in which it will be installed for some time.
Start working with linoleum after it has been laid out on the floor. It should be left in this position for a day.

If you are using a floor covering with a pattern, you need to make the cuts with extreme precision. Before you cut the linoleum evenly, you should lay it out on the floor face up. At the junction of two pieces of flooring, match the pattern. Only after this can you mark the cutting line.

Additional nuances

Accurate cutting and following instructions are essential to a successful flooring installation. However, it is important to keep other details in mind. Even the best cutting will end up lumpy and look unsightly if the subfloor is prepared incorrectly and the complex of work on preparing the base is ignored. Linoleum is laid on a flat, dry and clean surface.

No haste, correct measurements, a steady hand and adherence to the algorithm will ensure a beautiful and durable floor covering for your home.