Laminate Floor Tools

About Laminate Floor Tools

Installing laminate flooring requires a specific set of specialist tools designed to ensure professional results with tight joints, accurate cuts, and damage-free installation. Our range of laminate floor tools includes everything from precision cutting equipment and spacing tools to tapping blocks and pull bars that help you achieve seamless, gap-free flooring every time. Whether you're fitting laminate in a single room or tackling a whole-house installation, having the right tools makes the difference between a professional finish and a problematic installation.

Quality laminate floor tools from trusted brands like Roughneck, Edma, Marshalltown, and Bessey are designed to protect your expensive flooring materials whilst making installation faster and more accurate. Laminate flooring guillotines and cutters allow for clean, chip-free cuts without the dust and noise of power saws, whilst spacing tools ensure consistent expansion gaps around room perimeters. Pull bars and tapping blocks enable you to close joints tightly without damaging the tongue-and-groove edges, which is essential for preventing moisture ingress and ensuring the floor's structural integrity.

From professional flooring contractors working on commercial sites to DIY enthusiasts tackling home improvement projects, the right laminate flooring tools reduce installation time, minimise waste, and help achieve that perfect professional finish. Modern laminate cutters can handle not just standard laminate planks but also engineered wood, MDF, and various composite flooring materials, making them versatile additions to any toolkit.

Jargon Buster

• Pull Bar: A shaped metal tool used to close the final gap between laminate planks and walls or obstacles where a tapping block cannot reach. The hooked end grips the plank edge whilst you tap the opposite end to close the joint.
• Tapping Block (Knocking Block): A protective block placed against the edge of laminate planks before tapping with a hammer to close joints. Prevents damage to the tongue-and-groove edges whilst distributing impact force evenly.
• Expansion Gap: The essential space left around the perimeter of a laminate floor installation (typically 10-12mm) that allows the flooring to expand and contract naturally with temperature and humidity changes without buckling.
• Flooring Guillotine: A manual cutting tool specifically designed to make clean, straight cuts through laminate planks without chipping or creating dust. Operates with a shearing action rather than sawing.
• Spacers (Gap Spacers): Small wedges or blocks placed between laminate planks and walls during installation to maintain consistent expansion gaps. Removed after installation and hidden by skirting boards.
• Cross-Cutter: A specialised cutting tool designed to make precise crosscuts in laminate and wood flooring, particularly useful for final planks in rows that need accurate length adjustments.

Who Uses Laminate Floor Tools?

• Flooring Specialists: Professional flooring fitters and contractors who install laminate and engineered wood floors as their primary trade
• Carpenters and Joiners: Chippies who include flooring installation as part of broader carpentry work on renovation and new-build projects
• General Builders: Construction professionals who need to fit flooring as part of complete property refurbishments
• Property Maintenance Teams: Facilities managers and maintenance operatives working on commercial properties, rental portfolios, and social housing
• Interior Designers and Shopfitters: Professionals creating complete interior spaces including flooring in retail, hospitality, and commercial environments
• DIY Enthusiasts: Home improvers tackling laminate flooring installation projects to save costs and develop practical skills
• Kitchen and Bathroom Fitters: Specialists who complete flooring installation as the final stage of room refurbishments

How to Choose the Right Laminate Floor Tools

Assess Your Project Scale: For one-off domestic installations, manual cutters and basic installation tools may suffice, but professional fitters working daily should invest in heavy-duty equipment like professional-grade laminate guillotines that withstand constant use and deliver consistent results across multiple jobs.

Consider Cutting Requirements: Laminate flooring guillotines offer clean, dust-free cuts and work quietly indoors, making them ideal for occupied properties. For projects requiring angled cuts or intricate shaping around obstacles, you'll need a combination of guillotines for straight cuts and jigsaws or multi-tools for detailed work.

Quality of Construction: Look for tools with hardened steel cutting blades, reinforced frames, and ergonomic handles. Brands like Edma and Marshalltown offer professional-grade durability, whilst Roughneck provides excellent value for money with robust construction suitable for both trade and DIY use.

Versatility Matters: Some advanced cutters like the Edma Straticut Vario can handle various materials including laminate, engineered wood, and MDF up to different thicknesses. If you work with multiple flooring types, investing in versatile equipment reduces the number of tools you need to carry.

Ergonomics and Portability: Lightweight designs like the Marshalltown Lightweight Wood Flooring Shear reduce fatigue during extended use, whilst compact tools are easier to transport between job sites. Consider storage and vehicle space when selecting larger equipment.

Complete Kit Considerations: Ensure you have the essential trio of pull bar, tapping block, and spacers alongside your cutting tools. Adjustable spacers like the Bessey AV2 offer flexibility for different expansion gap requirements and work with various floor thicknesses.

Popular Accessories

• Replacement Blades: Spare cutting blades for laminate guillotines and shears to maintain clean cuts
• Measuring and Marking Tools: Tape measures, combination squares, and marking pencils for accurate plank measurements
• Underlay and Moisture Barriers: Essential preparatory materials that sit beneath laminate flooring
• Floor Levelling Compounds: Products to correct subfloor irregularities before installation
• Laminate Floor Repair Kits: Touch-up markers and filler sticks for concealing minor damage
• Skirting Board Installation Tools: Trimmers, mitres boxes, and fixing tools for completing the installation
• Knee Pads and Kneelers: Essential PPE for protecting knees during extended floor-level work
• Profile Trimmers: Specialized tools like the Stanley Laminate Trimmer for finishing around door frames and obstacles
• Transition Strips and Thresholds: Finishing profiles for doorways and room transitions

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I install laminate flooring without specialist tools?

While it's possible to install laminate with just basic DIY tools like a handsaw and hammer, specialist laminate floor tools significantly improve results and efficiency. A laminate cutter produces cleaner cuts than a handsaw without dust or noise, whilst proper spacers ensure consistent expansion gaps. Tapping blocks and pull bars prevent damage to the delicate tongue-and-groove edges that cheap alternatives or improvised tools might cause.

What's the advantage of a laminate flooring guillotine over a circular saw?

Laminate guillotines offer several advantages: they produce zero dust, work silently (ideal for occupied buildings), require no electricity, create perfectly clean cuts without chipping the decorative surface, and are actually faster for repetitive straight cuts. They're also safer with no exposed rotating blades. However, power saws remain necessary for angled cuts and intricate shapes around obstacles.

How do I know what size expansion gap to leave?

Most laminate flooring manufacturers recommend a 10-12mm expansion gap around all room perimeters and fixed objects like radiator pipes. Check your specific flooring manufacturer's installation instructions, as requirements vary slightly. Using purpose-made spacers ensures consistency, and the gap will be hidden once skirting boards or beading are installed. Larger rooms or those with significant temperature variations may require slightly larger gaps.

Are expensive professional laminate tools worth it for DIY projects?

For a single domestic room, mid-range tools from brands like Roughneck offer excellent value with sufficient quality for DIY use. However, if you're planning multiple rooms or whole-house installation, investing in professional-grade equipment from Edma or Marshalltown pays dividends through better results, reduced frustration, and faster work. Quality tools also retain resale value or can be loaned to friends tackling similar projects.

Can laminate floor tools be used with engineered wood flooring?

Yes, most laminate flooring tools work equally well with engineered wood products, as installation methods are very similar. However, check the maximum thickness capacity of cutters and guillotines, as some engineered wood boards are thicker than standard laminate. Tools like the Edma Straticut Vario are specifically designed to handle various flooring types and thicknesses, making them ideal for professional fitters working with multiple materials.