How to cut LVT flooring

Luxury vinyl tiles are a convenient, quality material for flooring your home. The cost of LVT flooring, its resistant qualities, and its realistic looks make for a great fit for a number of rooms in your home. When adding LVT floors to your home, though, it’s important to get the right fit for your tiles to avoid future damage.

If you’re planning on cutting LVT flooring for your home, our guide can give you all the help you need with planning, measuring, and getting the perfect fit for your floors every time.

What tools do I need when cutting LVT flooring?

When you cut your LVT floors, it’s best to come as prepared as possible. Make sure you take safety precautions, wearing gloves and eye protection if needed, and set aside the following materials and tools:

• Luxury vinyl floor tiles
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Utility knife
• Jigsaw/vinyl flooring cutter

How to measure and mark LVT for cutting

Before measuring your LVT flooring, be sure you know how large the area you’ll be tiling is. You can then cut your LVT to appropriate sizes to ensure your tiles don’t leave any gaps in your floor.

Using a measuring tape or ruler, measure up to where you’re planning to cut, and make marks with a pencil to guide your hand when cutting. Avoid using pen for this job, as pencil marks are removed more easily while remaining visible on your tiles during cutting. Plus, your cuts will likely be thick enough to remove any pencil marks once you’ve finished.

Choosing the best way to cut your LVT flooring

You can choose from a range of bladed tools when it comes to cutting your luxury vinyl tiles, but utility knives, jigsaws, and specialised vinyl floor cutters are the most common instruments for the job. 

Utility knives are affordable, convenient, and best suited for straight lines. You can use your ruler for support when cutting, ensuring you get clean lines without any twists or turns. When tiling the edge of a simple square room, it’s usually the best choice.

A jigsaw can come in handy for more complex cuts, allowing you to change angles as you saw for easy shaping. If you’re tiling a room with unique dimensions, such as curved walls, you may want to consider investing in a jigsaw when cutting your LVT flooring.

Vinyl floor cutters are an efficient way to cut through large amounts of LVT in a short time, and can sometimes be used for more detailed angles like a jigsaw. However, given how niche their use is, these are best suited to contractors who’ll be cutting LVT often and aren’t necessary for home use.

How to cut LVT with a utility knife

If you’re fitting LVT in a relatively straightforward space or fitting smaller pieces, then simply scoring with a utility knife and snapping might be the most efficient way to cut your LVT. 

1. Measure the line you’ll be cutting across
2. Firmly hold a ruler against your marking with one hand and hold your utility knife in the other. 
3. Use your knife to score across the planned cut line, with your ruler keeping the knife on its path. 
4. You may need to repeatedly score this line to make a deep enough cut.
5. Snap the tile across the cut line – you might want to snap over something like your knee or an object to ensure a clean break. 

After scoring your tiles , it should be easy to snap – if the tile won’t snap, you might need to score a deeper line through the LVT. 

Utility knives are affordable, convenient, and best suited for straight lines. You can use your ruler for support when cutting, ensuring you get clean lines without any twists or turns. When tiling the edge of a simple square room, it’s usually the best choice.

Using a vinyl floor cutter

A vinyl floor cutter usually comes with a table to slide your vinyl tiles onto, as well as a sawblade operated by a lever. 

1. Set your cutter up on a stable and flat surface
2. Align your markings with the blade. 
3. Once you’re happy with its positioning, lower the cutting handle. 
4. The tiles should snap into two pieces across your marked line.

Vinyl floor cutters vary by manufacturer, so always follow the instructions provided and be mindful of any safety issues.

Cutting LVT using a jigsaw

Jigsaws are complicated tools that require plenty of practice, so you should only consider using one if you’re confident you already understand how to. When using a jigsaw, it’s important to choose a fine-toothed blade – other options risk damaging your floors or giving you an uneven cut. You should also look for a model with reverse teeth, to reduce the risk of chipping. 

1. Secure your LVT to a work surface using a clamp to make sure it stays in place
2. Make sure the jigsaw is facing away from you 
3. Line up the jigsaw with your intended cut
4. Begin moving the saw away from you through the tile, guiding it carefully. 

Be sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions and always wear protective gear before operating a jigsaw. 

What to do after cutting

Once you’ve cut your tiles, you’re ready to start installing them to give your room a new LVT floor. You can read our guides to laying LVT flooring, or installing click LVT, to better understand the process. If you’re not confident in your DIY abilities, we recommend hiring a professional to help with your fitting to avoid damage to your LVT floor.

Cutting your LVT flooring is a simple process if you’ve measured effectively and prepared the right tools for the job. How you cut your tiles is down to personal preference and the scope of your job, but with the right skills, you can add clean-cut LVT floors to your home without shelling out the money for a contractor to cut for you.

Whether you’re looking to add stone effect LVT to your kitchen, or a convincing wood finish LVT floor in your living room, trust Flooring King to help you pick the right option for your home. Our experts can show you the best deals on a range of floors, no matter how ambitious your design plans are. We also pride ourselves on top-quality customer service, with our excellent TrustPilot rating showing just how reliable we are. Browse our collections today and see how we can help you start on your next project.