Cutting laminated flooring

[joe]

What sort of hand saw is best to use for cutting click flooring. I cut a small piece on a band saw and saw sparks fly. A hand saw will stand no chance in my view. Thanks for any help. Joe

[Cicero]

================================== A small pull saw will probably do it as they work quite well on other laminates (worktops, Contiboard, etc.).

Cic.

[The Medway Handyman]

Sparks? WTF? Any kind of saw will cut laminate. Sparks?

[TMC]

Tony

[DavidM]

I use either a cheapish (£8) Stanley hardpoint handsaw from one of the diy sheds, or a jigsaw with a ceramic tile cutting blade (it has finer teeth than an ordinary woodcutting blade). The jigsaw is also good for cutting flooring panels to fit around basin pedestals, WC pans etc. Use paper to make a pattern then transcribe this onto the wood. Seal the edge with silicone sealer. In most case the edges are hidden anyway, so doesn't matter if they aren't dead straight. David.

[John]

A ceramic tile cutting blade in my experience has grit on the cutting face not "finer teeth". I wouldn't use a tile blade on laminate flooring. On a side shoot, a relative has asked me to lay some laminate flooring but wants to pay me in money (rather than beer). I said no but she insists so I said I would do it for "half the price of a professional". She is reluctant to get quote as she doesn't feel happy in what would obviously be a waste of the contractors time in providing a quote. What's the going rate for laying laminate flooring per square metre? The room is a straight forward rectangle with a fire hearth and she wants it beaded rather than skirtings off etc.

Cheers

John

[Steve Walker]

Yeah, I remember sparks occasionally when cutting laminate with a handsaw last year. I assumed they were packing the substrate layers with dense, heavy material and it had a bit of ferrous material in it. It was a good, fine-toothed hardpoint so I don't think it was particles of saw blade flying off.

[Steve Walker]

I managed fine with a new Stanley JetCut handsaw, although it was knackered after laying a couple of medium-sized rooms.