INSTALLING NEW VINYL PLANK FLOORING - WHICH BLADES

[redsoxsurfer]

Hello group experts,
Next week I'm installing my new floor system in my newly built basement woodshop, about 1,500sqft. It's a waterproof hybrid system, whatever that means, lol. It's actually pretty good stuff. Heavy scratch and dent resistant, super durable, great for the shop.

I plan on utilizing my CSC SYS 50, and KAPEX, maybe a CARVEX cut here and there. 

What blades would you all recommend for this material? Standard wood blades, high tooth count?

I've read Vinyl/Laminate floor planks destroy blades, I'm guessing because of all the glue and resin.
I don't mind using FESTOOL blades, price isn't my concern, cut quality is.
I can also get budget blades (Freud, Amana, Tenryu, etc) if I'm going to destroy them and get a few of them.

What say you, experts?

 

[Crazyraceguy]

I have never cut vinyl flooring, but I have literally cut miles of High Pressure Laminate (countertop laminate) with a TS60 with no ill effects. The Festool blades are very good quality and won't do you wrong. As long as you use the correct blade, when cutting specific materials where they designate a particular blade, everything is fine. They make special blades for things like plastics, metal, ripping wood, abrasive stuff (cement board) etc.
I would start with the blade that comes with the saw, they are the "universal" which cuts most things adequately. If you don't get the desired results, we can adjust from there.
The jigsaw may be more of a question. I would assume that, when dealing with flooring, the jigsaw is used to cut around pipes, and other protrusions? Blade choice may be a little dependent on you. Are you comfortable with cutting upside-down?

 

[Packard]

A good saw blade costs as much as some of the less expensive dedicated guillotine cutters designed to cut luxury vinyl planks.

I would lean in that direction.  They are light, dust-free, nearly silent and don’t require electricity or batteries.

In any case, another option.

I just googled.  They range from $50.00 to Under $300.00.

My search:
https://www.google.com/search?q=luxury+vinyl+plank+cutter&client=firefox-b-1-m&sca_esv=4f96d473e3b1885e&ei=RBWYZ6X9FPH_ptQPjs3U0Ag&oq=luxury+vinyl+plank+cu&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiFWx1eHVyeSB2aW55bCBwbGFuayBjdSoCCAAyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBhAAGBYYHjIGEAAYFhgeMgYQABgWGB4yBhAAGBYYHjIGEAAYFhgeMgYQABgWGB4yBhAAGBYYHkigc1DtF1imXnABeAGQAQCYAZoGoAHtIqoBCzYuMy4xLjUtMy4yuAEByAEA-AEBmAIQoAL6JcICChAAGLADGNYEGEfCAg0QABiABBiwAxhDGIoFwgIOEAAYgAQYkQIYsQMYigXCAgsQABiABBiSAxiKBcICCxAAGIAEGJECGIoFwgIREAAYgAQYkQIYsQMYyQMYigXCAggQABiABBixA8ICCxAAGIAEGLEDGIMBwgIREAAYgAQYkQIYsQMYgwEYigXCAg4QABiABBiRAhjJAxiKBZgDAIgGAZAGCpIHDTUuNS4xLjAuMS4zLjGgB-Nb&sclient=gws-wiz-serp

 

[peter halle]

I hope that you get numerous responses.  In past threads I know that the guillotines have been mentioned as well as jigsaws.  Because, if done right, in most circumstances all your cuts should be covered by trim so to allow for expansion.  I personally used a jigsaw for my laundry room floor.

Peter

 

[Woodenfish]

If done right you are never going to see a cut line. Use whatever you have.

 

[Cheese]

I'd start by going to the website of the flooring manufacturer and see what they recommend. I'd imagine they'd have suggestions for any and all types of cutting tool blades being used on their product, including hole saws.

 

[jonnyrocket]

If this flooring is the hybrid “vinyl” with the plastic core, such as the Mohawk from Costco and Lifeproof from HoneDepot, then a blade designated for plastics is what you want. I recently installed the Mohawk from Costco and used the CSC SYS 50 with the plastics/aluminum blade and it was a perfect.
If you are using a hybrid “laminate” that has a wood based core, then using a wood or laminate blade is better. 
Choose your blades based on what the core or majority of the material is made from.

 

[usernumber1]

score and snap

jigsaw (any blade you hate)

lots of labor

 

[woodbutcherbower]

Don't over-think this.

I've installed enough LVT vinyl-plank flooring to cover a small country. Use a regular fine-toothed wood blade, and a Bosch T101AO blade in your jigsaw for circles and corners. You'll be cutting relatively soft plastic so all will be good. The only type of flooring which destroys blades is regular laminate - the backing layer is full of recycled material, usually full of ground-up screws and nails. It's also bound together with alumninium oxide which is massively abrasive.

Fair warning - it's going to be a horrible job because every cut statically charges the LVT chips and they stick to everything. Guillotines are all well and good when every cut is a straight plank-edge - but real floor-laying isn't like that. You'll encounter multiple occasions where you need to make multiple cuts on a plank end = going around a right-angled corner being a typical example. 

Leave at least a 10mm expansion gap around all of your main floor edges. Cover the gap using a quadrant moulding pinned to the baseboards - not to the floor. Even better - install your flooring first, then sit your baseboards on top of the finished floor.

Don't try and make accurate cuts around your door frames. Instead - undercut the frames and architraves with a multitool, and slide the boards under them. It looks way, way, way better than a ton of sealant used to fill gaps. If you need to trim the boards to facilitate this - make sure any resulting cut gaps will be hidden by your baseboards.

All of the above becomes ten times the PITA if you're using a herringbone pattern.

It's all illustrated here. Replacing an old floor laid by a guy whose multitool wouldn't cut straight. The right-hand jamb's OK - but the one on the left is bad. I eventually replaced the architrave trims (not pictured) because I couldn't live with this - and I couldn't hand this over to my customer with a clear conscience;

[attachimg=1]

Good luck with your project.

 

[redsoxsurfer]

Thank you all for the replies. I do seem to be over thinking this as most stated.

Packard - The vinyl floor guillotine seems a smart choice, I'll look into that, though it might only be a once use tool.

Crazyraceguy - I comfortable cutting upside down, jigsaw won't be an issue too much.

Woodenfish - You're right, cut line unimportant. It'll just be covered up. Hack away, lol.

Cheese - Unfortunately the website for the material wasn't much help, in that it didn't really list which types of blades would be useful, I wish it did though, it was my first stop in trying to find the answer. I think it might of said the guillotine route was the best, mainly because they sold them.

jonnyrocket - I did a little bit more research. The flooring is wood based, and PVC free. Wood blades ought to get the job done. Thank you for your info, it told me what to look deeper for.

woodbutcherbower - Lots of info there. Thank you so much for your time in answering my question. I will utilize all the tips you suggested with the baseboards, etc. I have a few packs of Bosch blades for jigsaws so I'm covered there, good tip there. And I have a Vecturo but luckily I don't have any door jambs in the basement to fight with, at least where the flooring is going in the shop area.

Thank you all for the tips. I'll be sure and try to post pictures as the work progresses. So far I have just walled off the shop area, put down a raised floor, and done a simple wall length workbench just so I have something to put things on. I primed/painted all the plywood walls and flooring is next. Then shop cabinets, Miter station, big assembly table and other odds and ends.

Thank you all!