Knives for linoleum (21 photos): how to cut, how to cut linoleum at home

If you are laying linoleum on a felt basis for the first time, then you need to choose a tool for cutting linoleum of the size you need. Although it is sold in various widths from 2.5 to 5 meters, not all rooms have dimensions in which a piece of linoleum from the store will immediately fall. Therefore, when buying linoleum, you immediately need to buy a knife for cutting it.

Cutting is performed using the following tools:

Universal construction knife. Has a retractable design with fixation of the cutter in a certain position. It looks like a regular clerical knife, but the blade and body are less prone to breaking. It is convenient when cutting thin linoleum, but constantly need to monitor the progress of the knife.

A roller knife, often called a circular knife. Has one or a pair of blades. It is convenient to use both when cutting a straight line, and a curve.

Universal knife. Used when cutting linoleum, carpet, for the cord, leaves the edges even. The steel interchangeable blade is held by a screw in the handle, preventing it from moving.

Monthly. Ideal for trimming corners. Also has interchangeable blades.

Cutter with a disk. For linoleum, a cutter with a cutting disc is selected. The main advantage is the cutting speed.

Often rooms are large in both length and width. In this case, in addition to cutting, soldering of linoleum is also necessary. Pieces of material are overlapped with a cut, we pass along the seam with a soldering iron and roll the resulting seam with a roller

The advantages of special knives

There is a large number of special tools for cutting linoleum at home. They are divided into several types:

For cutting synthetic coatings,

Universal knives, with interchangeable blades,

Special, for precise cutting at joints and corners.

To work with complex contours and corners, special knives are needed. Hook and trapezoid knives are often used. These knives are called designer knives.

Electronic knives are needed for chamfering.

A special place is occupied by the monthly-shaped cutter. It is not only convenient for them to cut corners or seams, it is also very convenient for them to remove glue from the surface of linoleum. The choice of such knives depends on the person’s desire to work and on the level of skill.

Features of cutting

Before cutting linoleum, you will need the entire cutting tool, as well as rulers, level and adhesive tape. It is also necessary to prepare the surface before laying it:

If a carpet was previously lying on the floor, then it must be carefully removed. After that, you need to clean the surface.
If the floors are wooden, then you need to check the condition of the boards. If possible, replace the bad boards. Cracks between them can be putty. If the surface cannot be repaired, then sheets of plywood or chipboard must be laid. It is thoroughly necessary to deepen the hats of the hardware.
If you already had linoleum, then in case of not quite bad condition it can be used as a base for fresh linoleum. The main thing is to thoroughly degrease the surface.
The easiest option is to lay linoleum on concrete floors. It must be remembered that all the bumps will be felt through the new material and cause discomfort, both physical and moral.
Linoleum before laying and cutting must be rolled out in the room - so it will become smoother and the smell will disappear.

If you buy it in the winter, then you need to try as little time as possible to leave the material on the street - he does not like cold. Therefore, we bring the roll into heat and leave it first in a rolled state. Having let lie down a couple of days, the roll can be deployed.

After acclimatization, linoleum can be cut. Need to know and remember:

A monophonic cloth is better to put in the direction of light. This creates the effect of a "monolithic" finish,
The canvas needs to be placed with a pattern parallel to the outer wall, with strict observance of the pattern,
The joint does not have to be in the center of the room. Often make two joints, but at the edges of the rooms. This does not create a visual division of the room into two parts, and the joints at the edges of the room can often hide furniture,
Pipes in a room can become a problem. For cutting cuts for pipes, it is necessary to bend out the material and cut the necessary slots at an angle.

Linoleum covers the entire surface of the floor. It is advisable to leave 5-10 cm on each side in reserve, then they can be cut. At cold temperatures, linoleum can shrink. In heat, waves can occur due to heating. Trim do not need to be thrown away - they can come in handy for minor repairs to the canvas.

After you cut it along the wall and cut it through the holes, you need to let linoleum rest on the floor. Only after that it is necessary to start laying it.

How to choose the right one?

You can choose linoleum not only in the store, but also think it over at home. There are certain selection criteria:

Fit for purpose,
Does the coating withstand the load in terms of weight and permeability?
Compliance with the requirements,
Compatible with room design.

It is also worth considering what kind of linoleum to choose. There is a huge list of materials from which it is made. For children's rooms, natural linoleum is ideal. It consists of resin, jute fabric and natural dyes. It has many advantages:

Wiping resistance
Doesn't change color over time,
Does not burn,
Easy to clean.

There are also disadvantages of such a coating, such as high cost, fragility and intolerance to high humidity. The structure of felt linoleum is peculiar. It consists of 5-7 layers. Each layer is responsible for certain parameters. The main layers are the face, the protective layer and the base. Also, insulation improves the moisture repellent qualities of the coating. The total thickness ranges from 2 to 4 mm.

PVC linoleum with a fabric thermal insulation base has certain advantages:

Such linoleum has a low thermal conductivity,
Is a dielectric
Not rotting
Easy to lay
It is ecologically safe.

However, it is sensitive to high temperatures, cracking at low temperatures and unstable to chemical cleaners.

Such linoleum is divided into commercial, semi-commercial and household. Household - thin and cheap, its service life is 5 years. Commercial is the strongest and thickest material. Suitable for offices. Its service life is 20 years. The semi-commercial linoleum occupies an average position, its service life is 7-12 years.

There is also colloxin linoleum. It is baseless, and the main material is nitrocellulose. Its advantages: it is elastic, shiny and does not support combustion. It reacts to any temperature changes due to the lack of a base.

There is also linoleum - relin. It should not be used in residential areas due to the release of harmful substances over time. It consists of two layers: the first is bitumen-containing, the second layer is a mixture of rubber, pigments and various fillers.

Accordingly, in the apartment, types such as natural, felt, PVC and colloxin can be used.

Advantages and disadvantages

In general, we can highlight a large number of advantages in laying linoleum:

Cheapness (an exception is natural, but the price pays for with a service life and a service life),
Service life from 7 to 30 years,
The ease of laying linoleum, which one can do by force,
Wear resistance - modern technologies allow even inexpensive material to withstand large and long-term loads,
Does not support combustion (if it is made in accordance with GOST),
Prevents foot slipping on the floor
Heat and sound insulation
Easy to transport
Easy to cut and stack,
It does not require special conditions and facilitates cleaning of the premises,
A wide selection of colors and patterns.

The disadvantages include only those that appear when choosing low-quality linoleum or low-quality laying it on the floor:

The formation of irregularities, the "repetition" of the relief of the floor,
If air gets in or not removed, a hump may appear,
The weak points are the seams. With improper care for them, the service life is reduced by one and a half to two times.
Linoleum is subject to mechanical damage. When finding heavy objects for a long time, visible dents appear in the same place, which are difficult to straighten out.
Over time, elasticity and flexibility are lost,
In some types of linoleum, the release of harmful odors and substances begins over time, so be sure to find out everything about the material and its properties before laying.

See how to lay linoleum in the next video.

How to glue linoleum to a concrete floor

It is not enough just to lay it on a concrete floor, you should also think of a way to fix it. The first is the simplest - fixing it with skirting boards on the sides of the room. However, this method will not always be true, since some geometric shapes require more rigid fixation.

Adhesive tape comes to the rescue, which works on the principle of double-sided tape. It is enough to remove the sticky layer protection on one side and roll out a roll of tape around the perimeter of the room. It should not be overlooked that the adhesive tape is also laid at the joints, if the room is large.

After the whole film has been rolled across the floor, the protection on its other side should be gradually removed, imposing the wrong part of the material on it. The most important thing here is not to remove the protection all at once, everything should be done progressively.

How and how to stick linoleum to a concrete floor over a large area video

The most common way to lay a flooring on a concrete floor is to use adhesives. However, it is worth considering that this method of fixation is considered the most difficult and in order to lay linoleum it requires at least knowledge of minimal skills. Also in this case, there is a high risk of damage to the front of the laying material.

Glue should cover the entire concrete floor, give it time to act according to the instructions and only then proceed with laying linoleum

Special attention should be paid to seams that are additionally coated.

Roller knife

Roller knife for linoleum - great for cutting materials that consist of several layers. Therefore, if you need to cut dense linoleum, then it is better to give preference to this particular type of knife.

By itself, the roller knife for linoleum is very convenient and efficient to use. The design of the roller knife looks like a small handle with a double-sided roller located below. Cutting linoleum with a roller knife is much safer than pulling out, for a variety of reasons.

In addition, this kind of knife can be used both for cutting materials in a straight line, and in curved lines.

Retractable knife

Retractable knife - has a simpler design than a roller knife. The blade of the retractable knife is placed directly in its body and extends as necessary. In the event that the blade is dull from the edge, then, if necessary, it can be easily broken off, and then used again.

The main difference between a retractable knife for cutting linoleum and a regular clerical knife is the shape and size, as well as the strength of the materials used in its manufacture. Only a durable blade is allowed to be installed in the case of such a knife, which is just designed to perform many repair work related to cutting finishing materials.

How to choose a knife for linoleum

When choosing a knife for cutting linoleum, you should understand what density and strength the material will be used, as well as know some other points that relate primarily to the choice of linoleum knife.

So, choosing a knife for linoleum, you should first pay attention to this:

The quality of the materials of manufacture of the handle. Ideally, linoleum knife making materials should be strong, best if made from metal.
Without fail, a reliable knife must have a metal handle, and the same base made of steel.
The handle of a construction knife should sit well in your hand and be covered with a layer of rubber or plastic.
If the knife for cutting linoleum is not selected as a retractable type, then its blade should be made only of stainless steel.
In this case, the thickness of the blade for cutting linoleum should not be less than 0.5 mm, or better, and even more.

A bit about linoleum

In general, such a thing as linoleum has been known for a long time, of course, over time, the composition of this material has changed. There are natural varieties of linoleum, but the price is "sky-high", and we will talk about the most popular material.

At the beginning of the 20th century, when its factory production began, in principle, its composition has not changed to this day. The most common form is PVC linoleum (polyvinyl chloride). The name speaks for itself: quite a lot of chemical elements are part of such a coating.

Types of knives

As mentioned above, there are enough varieties of tools. But you need to know where and which is better to apply. Let's look at the types of tools in more detail:

ordinary construction knife having a retractable blade and a retainer. To acquire such a tool is when cutting, not a thick material. It looks like a clerical knife, but more massive, due to the width of the blade,
there are also so-called - universal knives, they are used for cutting and carpet, and linoleum, a fairly reliable option,
circular knives are quite widespread, useful when cutting a long straight or zigzag line,
a month-shaped knife, very convenient when working in corners, and has interchangeable blades,
a cutter with a disk, mainly used for cutting long straight lines, in the corners it is useless.

Special knife for cutting linoleum.

Quite often, people are faced with the problem that it is impossible to buy a piece of linoleum of the right size. This is a completely normal situation, and the knives will help to properly cut and lay the material, in accordance with the room.

Which knife to choose

For each type of material, a specific knife is suitable. The blade is not thick, and not fragile, but in the range from 0.6 to 1 mm. The handle is comfortable and reliable, it is better to have an anatomical shape. During trimming, the pressure on the blade can be quite strong, it must withstand such a load. Based on how the work tool is correctly selected, the whole process will depend. There are many models - do not make a mistake in choosing.

How to trim

At the time of purchase of the material for laying, it is better to take with a small margin. This will avoid in the extreme case of unnecessary costs, and a small piece is always suitable for repairing the coating. Different things happen.

Spread linoleum around the room.
Leave it for one day (written above).
Do not forget about the shrinkage of the coating, do not forget about the reserves of 1 cm at the edges.
Prepare all kinds of knives at hand, level, profile and marker.
A square ruler will greatly help in working with corners.
It is better to start laying from the window of the room.
If you follow all the technology correctly, then if there is a junction, no one will ever notice it.

Cutting linoleum with a special knife.

It is better to leave this business to professionals. They will choose the right tool. And if you decide to do it yourself, carefully study the tips.

How to cut linoleum

Often, craftsmen use kitchen knives or, at best, ordinary stationery knives to cut the coating canvas to fit the room area. This choice is usually motivated by the fact that cropping irregularities can be masked by a skirting board along the perimeter and a metal door when the canvas joins the floor from another room. In part, this choice is justified by savings, but the use of all kinds of overlays at the joints significantly spoils the appearance of the finish. In addition, kitchen and office knives are only suitable for cutting soft and thin linoleum. When you try to cut thicker canvases with them, such as semi-commercial or insulated linoleum, you can simply turn the edges into a fringe, make notches or creases.

So, which knives are best used for cutting linoleum?

Used for thick types of linoleum, cardboard, carpets and carpet. There are several types:

the first one has a circular or trapezoidal blade, the shape of the handle of the knife allows you to apply force along the cut line (away from you), there are guides from below. These knives are better for creating long straight cuts,

the second type - knives with a conventional handle and a massive curved blade. The direction of the cut line is toward you. Also suitable for any floor coverings, but if used improperly, the seam may have irregularities.

Retractable construction knives with interchangeable blades. The design is very similar to ordinary stationery, but they have a strong trapezoidal blade and a more solid handle design.

Also suitable for cutting thick types of linoleum, but you need to apply a lot of physical effort to make the seam smooth. It must be remembered that the quality of the work performed with joints will largely depend on the tool for cutting linoleum, so you should take the choice seriously.

What is the cutting technique

Before cutting, it is necessary to unfold the blade from the roll position and let it lie down at room temperature for at least a couple of days. This is necessary so that at the time when the linoleum will be cut, there are no waves and creases on it. Next, linoleum should be marked and proceed to pruning. To create even cuts along the walls, it is necessary to press the linoleum canvas with a solid ruler or other direct rigid object.

It should be borne in mind that linoleum can change its size a little bit with time - dry up or, on the contrary, break out. Therefore, during the initial cutting, it is better to leave a couple of centimeters overlapping the walls, and cut back to back just before the final fixing of the skirting boards.

To create neat joints, it is necessary to lay both overlays and cut them at the same time. The seam will be smooth and almost invisible. If the drawing is supposed to be docked, then you need to think about this in advance, at the markup stage.

How to cut

Before cutting, the panels are leveled so that the joint is perfect. Usually, this does not cause big problems - the edges of the rolled panels are quite even and may require only a slight modification of the joint for laying the gluing cord during hot welding. At the junction with the walls everything will be much more complicated. When cutting, it is necessary to leave a small gap of a few millimeters between the wall and linoleum.

It will be required so that after some time the densely pressed sheet of material has the opportunity to expand slightly. It is not possible to immediately press the entire canvas tightly to the floor - small irregularities still remain, and after they walk on the floor for some time and put the furniture, it will “go apart” a little. The clearance will solve this problem.

Trimming is quite simple - a similar method is used to cut the wallpaper near the ceiling. A strong, stiff ruler or rule is applied to the material and a cut is made with a knife. If the walls are uneven, you can make a kind of pattern that repeats the profile of the walls and transfer the line to a piece of canvas that will be adjacent to it. Do not forget about the gaps. The same patterns are transferred to the material and all joints with different pipes and other communications. If you cut not “in place”, but according to previously drawn contours, everything turns out to be much more accurate, and the fit will be denser.

Calculation and selection of linoleum

To verify the popularity of linoleum, it is enough to turn your attention directly to the assortment of construction stores. In most of them you can find a huge selection of this particular material, which is offered to potential buyers of comparatively favorable cost.

It should be carried out according to the markings on it. From these two figures, you can understand two factors for which room the cover is intended and the intensity of the load that it can withstand during operation. Marking according to the principle of laying in the room is divided into the following indicators:

Number 4 - for enterprises,
Number 3 - for offices,
Number 2 - for living rooms.

The intensity is marked with numbers from one to three and increasing, depending on the endurance of the material. However, class designation in this way does not mean at all that, for example, linoleum can be laid for a house only with designation 21-23. Much depends on the functionality of the room, for example, class 31 is preferable, since it is easy to wash, and it is most patient with mechanical damage. The better the class, the higher the cost.

Please note that the important point will be not only the class and the decorative feature. When choosing linoleum, most buyers pay attention to its quality regarding insulation and sound insulation

This requires a coating that has a foam base.

Tips for choosing and laying linoleum from the video manufacturer

If you are planning to independently calculate the future flooring, you must consider a number of certain indicators, such as the width and length of the product, its type, length and width of the floor. The cut-off part of the coating should cover the floor completely, since when laying, linoleum is not subject to absolutely no stretch. Based on these data, you can calculate the minimum amount of required material.

On the floor

The base in the form of linoleum is perfect for any carpet, but only on the quality of its installation depends on how smooth and beautiful it will look on the floor.

There are some nuances of working with linoleum on the floor, the essence of which is as follows:

The roll is stacked so that one edge fits snugly against the wall, and the other unfolds on it.
The coating should be flattened to create a clear cut line. As an option, for accuracy, the level is used, which presses the coating against the wall, leaving a small gap for the passage of the knife blade.

Along the wall

Carrying out the working process with linoleum in an upright position, it is necessary to take into account the fact that the walls often have obvious irregularities.

Following a few simple rules, you can easily make any cut:

So that it has a neat appearance, it is worth using a special cutter with a durable blade.
The maximum allowable gap can be no more than 1 cm, so that in the future there will be no problems with the installation of skirting boards.

How to choose the right model?

When choosing a knife, you must be guided by some of its features. A high-quality tool has a strong metal (in some cases, wooden) handle coated with plastic or rubber. The blade is made only of high quality steel (stainless).

The handle should fit perfectly in the hand and not slip. The elasticity of the working part is the main quality, the steel plane should not bend. The plate thickness is 0.6–1 mm; it corresponds to the dimensions of the tool in width and length.

Before starting work, it is worth checking the degree of sharpness of the blades and the reliability of the case. It is subjected to considerable loads, which it must withstand. Training is also necessary: without practice it will be difficult to work, the hand needs to get used to the instrument.

The offered range of knives for slicing linoleum is great. It will not be difficult for the master to choose the one that he needs for high-quality performance of work.

How and what to cut linoleum at home: a step-by-step description and recommendations

Marmoleum is a modern eco-friendly floor covering that has gained real popularity only in recent years.

Marmoleum is often called natural linoleum, although in fact it is rather a well-thought-out marketing move, since these materials have very little in common.

Marmoleum is made exclusively from natural ingredients. Among them are resins of coniferous trees, linseed oil, jute, cork chips. Thanks to these components, a strong and wear-resistant material is obtained. Marmoleum can be laid directly on the screed, as it comes on its own cork underlay, providing excellent sound insulation.

This flooring is made in the form of rolls or tiles of different sizes. The second option is much more common on the market, since rolled marmoleum is quite difficult to cut and stack.

Properties and advantages of marmoleum

Marmoleum is recommended to be used even where the floor is subjected to aggressive mechanical stress. This flooring is not afraid of heels, falling objects, furniture, scratches, numerous cleaning, direct sunlight. That is why it can be used with equal success both in children's rooms and in shopping malls.

The natural resins that make up the marmoleum provide one of its unique features: over time, it only becomes stronger. In addition, this flooring has bactericidal properties, is slightly flammable, and when burned does not emit carcinogenic or toxic substances.

Marmoleum disadvantages

Marmoleum is not very plastic. Tiles made of this material may crumble at the edges and break off during sloppy cutting. If for several years heavy furniture (cupboard, sofa) will stand on the floor covered with marmoleum, dents may occur.

Marmoleum is one of the moisture resistant materials, but still it is not recommended to fill it with water. If water will fall into the connecting slots for a long time, side sections may swell.

A diverse range of linoleum drawings allow you to choose it for any interior. Linoleum is a practical and simple material that does not require highly qualified work. The correct cutting of linoleum before laying is one of the important conditions for the aesthetic appearance of the floor covering. Let us consider in detail how to properly cut linoleum and what is needed for this.

To correctly cut linoleum you will need:

notched trowel,
sharpened knives
long ruler (2-3 m),
elbow (1 m),
short ruler.

Prepare linoleum for slicing. To stabilize, keep the rolls warm for at least 2 weeks. Unpack, roll and cut linoleum with sheets of the required length, taking into account the allowance for cutting and shrinkage. The longer the blade, the greater the allowance. With a web length of more than 10 m, leave a margin of 50-60 mm, with a length of up to 10 m - 30-40 mm. For a small room up to 6 m long, leave a margin of linoleum of not more than 20 mm. Fold the sliced sheets in a stack for up to 4-5 days for full straightening.
Lay the prepared linoleum on the floor and mark the contours of the walls on it. Press linoleum firmly against the floor with a ruler. Make a sharp knife with a puncture and a small incision. Continuing to press the blade on both sides of the cut, cut along the entire ruler along the ruler. When you reach the corner, make a V-shaped cut in linoleum. If the room has a complex floor contour (pipes, columns, bay window, etc.), prepare patterns of protruding parts in advance. First, mark up on thin paper or newspaper, and then transfer it to cardboard. Cut linoleum on complex areas with small stripes and precisely on the pattern.
Cut linoleum with a color pattern. Pre-lay the material with the pattern up. Having laid the linoleum cloth parallel to the wall, press it with a long ruler and cut it off. Where one canvas ends, put the following. Carefully select the pattern of adjacent pieces, and put them in the overlap at the junction. Designate the future seam. To prevent linoleum from moving when slicing, put a heavy object on it. Slowly cut two layers along the ruler and collect the trim. In rooms with a large area, you have to cut several canvases and select drawings according to the border of linoleum. In this case, cut the joining edges with a ruler and a knife, not forgetting the exact combination of the pattern.

How and what to cut linoleum at home: a step-by-step description and recommendations

Cutting technology

Trimming the edges of linoleum to the wall

Material prepared, and additional tools? Do not forget to arm yourself with a square, an iron ruler, a notched trowel and of course do not forget about the knife for cutting linoleum. And so, a little about linoleum cutting technology.

For a quality fit, roll out a roll of linoleum and leave it in the room you plan to cover for a while. During this period of time, he will take the right shape and settle down well.
It is recommended to cut strips leaving at least two to five centimeters of allowance for trimming and adjusting the pattern. It is also worth considering that the material will still have to sit down over time.
After you cut everything, put all the sheets in one pile (or one sheet, if it is in size) for several days until completely flattened. Means that do not stick it.
After time, lay the cover in its place, and you can begin to fit. To bypass communications (pipes, protrusions, etc.), it is recommended to make a pattern on paper or cardboard, then transfer it to the coating itself and then trim the linoleum itself.
If the room is perfectly flat and you don’t need to do any racing, you can immediately start finishing trim.
It will be difficult to fit angles at an angle of 45 °. In such cases, you need to press it with a square to the floor, and cut it strictly according to the ruler.
If the material of your choice has a complex ornament, cut the face out.
It is customary to start clipping from the window, as well as the sticker on the wallpaper. In this case, be sure to use a ruler for this matter.
How to cut off the first sheet, it should be fixed no matter how heavy the object is before connecting the linoleum to each other. Put the second sheet on the first overlap and draw the knife over two materials already. Before connecting linoleum to each other, check the docking pattern. If the sheets are large, they will not just move once again.

With drawing

How and with what to cut linoleum at home, if it has a drawing?

It is necessary to take into account the size of the rapport:

Before cutting the canvas, you need to fold them and align the section of the joint of the picture.
If the canvas is applied one to the other, then you need to find the connection points of the pattern and mark them.
When connecting 2 canvases, you need to trim the excess so that later patterns are connected.

After linoleum, fixing plinths is required. This finish varies in width, coloring, m.

This allows you to choose the perfect baseboard for your own linoleum. Experienced specialists are advised to use PVC skirting boards for this: their properties are better suited for such a floor covering.

For fixing plastic skirting boards use dowels 6x40, fixed at a distance of cm from each other.Wood products are mounted on self-tapping screws. The installation of the veneered baseboard is carried out by the installation clips that are included with the product. The baseboard is fixed after the complete laying of linoleum.

Training

Before you familiarize yourself with how to correctly and how to cut linoleum without the help of others, you should familiarize yourself with the preliminary work. The roll must be kept indoors for days during acclimatization. This time is necessary to prepare the foundation:

Gender must be equal.
It is necessary to remove the baseboards.
All cracks are puttied and wiped.
It is necessary to eliminate the tubercles, knocking down with a hammer, and then level the floor surface with a solution.
In a woody rough field, it must be inspected for protruding hats of nails and screws.
If there are huge cracks in the basement that cannot be closed, then sheets of chipboard or plywood are laid.

This allows you to extend the life of linoleum, as well as to prevent the penetration of cold into the room.

After the preparation is complete, you can work with the coating.

To do this, roll the roll on the floor in the position in which it will be, and leave for 2 days to straighten. This is necessary for stabilization.

Glue or not

Before laying linoleum, you need to decide whether you will glue it or not. There is an opinion that it is not necessary to glue it in houses and apartments. It is pressed by skirting boards, furniture, large-sized appliances, etc. All this "holds" him in place. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. It usually works on hard semi-commercial and commercial types of coating, but does not work on softer - domestic ones.

The point is thermal expansion. In summer, when it’s hot, linoleum expands “crawling out” from under furniture and appliances. In autumn, it shrinks to its previous size, but does not come back under furniture. Waves and knolls form. Therefore, most agree that it needs to be fixed.

If you don’t stick it, it might look like this

Just keep in mind that linoleum either does not need to be glued at all, or completely glued. Glue in some places - almost guaranteed to get after a while humps and swelling.

Conclusion

Most craftsmen recommend using professional tools - knives, carvers, markers or edge cutters for laying linoleum for two simple reasons. Firstly, with the help of a special device, even an amateur can lay more or less high-quality flooring. Secondly, much less effort, time and patience will be required to carry out the same amount of work. The tool does not have to be bought, it can be borrowed from friends or rented for a couple of days. In any case, it will be cheaper than working with a clerical knife and an awkward movement to spoil the expensive flooring.

What is better to cut?

For proper installation of linoleum, it is recommended to use special knives. As you know, there are a large number of options for knives for linoleum, so you need to know about the purpose of each category of these tools. All models are distinguished by individual features that you need to know so that the cuts have a neat and presentable appearance.

Everyone is familiar with the clerical knife. Often it is used at home to cut paper or wallpaper, but few people know that it is also used to work with thin linoleum. But this option can only be used for straight cuts due to the relatively soft blade.

A construction knife is considered one of the best options. It can be safely used even after direct laying of linoleum. The retractable blade function helps to quickly and easily remove excess material. This type of blade is thicker than clerical, and the process of working with it is carried out as quickly and conveniently as possible. Such a knife is used most often, since it is able to cut linoleum of almost any thickness.

The universal option does a great job with straight cuts, but it is not recommended for curly work. If the product has high quality indicators, then the lines will turn out to be smooth and accurate.

Useful Tips

Qualified specialists in the field of laying linoleum recommend that you carefully approach the choice of a knife for working with this material. Only a professional approach will allow you to qualitatively cut the product without damaging it.

When laying, it is worth considering other recommendations:

Pay particular attention to wear class. The thicker the transparent coating layer, the higher the class and better product.
Equally important is the composition of the material, which determines how easy the workflow will be. It can be of two types: heterogeneous and homogeneous. The first option can have up to 7 layers, and the second is characterized by increased resistance to wear, due to the presence of special substances in the composition. It should be noted that it is much easier to work with the first type.
To obtain the most accurate joint, it is necessary to connect two sheets with a small gap and cut them in the middle along the connection with a suitable knife. Only in this case, the edges will ideally converge with each other, and will have a presentable appearance.

All these recommendations must be taken into account when laying linoleum. A correctly selected knife and adherence to a certain technology will achieve the desired result in the form of a smooth and beautiful flooring without visible flaws. It depends on the quality of the tool in how much this or that type of linoleum will last without losing its pristine features, and the joints at the same time will be practically invisible.