Best Way to Cut Vinyl Siding on a House
In some areas, vinyl siding is the number one selection for protecting your dwelling house against the elements. What's nice about vinyl siding is that it'south easily repaired past replacing just a piece or ii. As well, with a bit of DIY know-how, you can probably cover your own home in vinyl siding and salvage a ton of money.
Vinyl might not be complicated to work with, but it can cause a lot of headaches if you use the incorrect tools. Some methods of cutting can melt the vinyl, while others might cause jagged edges that won't look skilful as a finished product.
Luckily, we've compiled our favorite methods of cutting vinyl so you can acquire from our past mistakes and skip all of the blunders. Any of the following five methods are a great choice, and we've even added reviews of each with a tool recommendation to get yous started as speedily as possible.
Comparison of our Favorite Methods in 2022
The 5 All-time Tools for Cutting Vinyl Siding
1. Electrical Shears – Our Preferred Method
Transmission snips were the preferred manner of cut vinyl siding for years. But nosotros're all for any new technology that makes our lives easier and helps us get the work washed quicker, such as a good set of electric shears. These take all of the manual work out of cutting the vinyl. Instead of squeezing those shears repeatedly and wearing out your arm, all you have to do is pull the trigger.
The best thing about electric shears is how much they'll speed up your work. Merely you volition be tied to a power string and they're a lot more than of an investment to get started with. However, if you lot factor in the amount of money you save by speeding up your work procedure, then they're probably more economical in the long run.
We Recommend: DEWALT DW890 18-Estimate Hinge Caput Shear
Pros
- Very efficient and fast
- Swivel heads make for easy cutting
- Electric power conserves your energy
Cons
- More expensive than snips
- Tied to a power cord
2. Dual Slide Compound Miter Saw
True, this is a pretty sizable tool for cutting vinyl. It's nowhere near as portable equally the other methods on this list. Simply it makes up for that in raw speed and accurateness. Electric shears might be quick, but cutting vinyl with a miter saw is downright fast. Pull the trigger and give one piece with the bract and your piece is ready for installation.
Miter saws are set up to give you perfectly directly cuts every time, saving you the demand of marking your cuts across the whole slice like you'd have to do with shears. You can also knock out angled cuts in seconds since miter saws are very adept at angles. It's what they're meant for! This may exist i of the more cumbersome and expensive ways to cut vinyl siding, but we think it's probably also the fastest.
We Recommend: Makita LS1018 ten" Dual Slide Chemical compound Miter Saw
Pros
- Makes perfectly directly cuts every fourth dimension
- Can practice perfect angled cuts besides
- Information technology might be the fastest way to cut vinyl
Cons
- Lacks portability
- More than expensive than other options
3. Tin can Snips
Tin can snips are the tried and true method of cutting vinyl siding. If you talk to an old-schoolhouse installer, they'll likely tell you that this is the only tool you lot need for cut vinyl. These are one of the well-nigh affordable tools for the chore, and they're versatile enough to find enough of other uses every bit well. However, cutting vinyl with snips is definitely slower than electric shears or a miter saw. On the other paw, they're much smaller, lighter, and piece of cake to carry around. You tin fifty-fifty fit them in your pocket!
Snips make very make clean cuts. They also can cut angles and curves, just you have to use snips that are angled the correct way. For this reason, snips commonly come in packs of three, with one directly pair, one angled to the left, and one to the right. But be careful with your knuckles every bit it's piece of cake to scrape the vinyl while y'all cut information technology. And you're certainly going to get an arm conditioning!
We Recommend: DeWalt DWHT14676 Aviation Snip Set 3 Pack
Pros
- Very affordable
- Easy to behave around
- You tin go on them in your pocket
- Makes clean cuts, directly or angled
Cons
- You lot're likely to scrape your knuckles
- It'south ane of the slowest methods
- Without sufficient endurance, you can wear your arm out
- Y'all need several dissimilar snips
iv. Utility Pocketknife
Is at that place any tool that's more than all-purpose than a utility knife? These versatile tools are neat for a ton of different jobs, including cutting vinyl siding. Are they our outset pick? No. But we still usually go on 1 in our back pocket while we're siding considering they're small, like shooting fish in a barrel to behave, and come in handy a lot. However, if y'all want to make a clean cutting across your vinyl, you'll probably demand to hold information technology on a stable surface.
What's peachy well-nigh utility knives is that they're like shooting fish in a barrel to bring up a ladder with you. Not equally great is their propensity to accidentally cut you if you're anything less than careful. Proceed your fingers far from the blade and call up to ever cut abroad from yourself!
We Recommend: MulWark Heavy Duty Zinc-Alloy SK4 Snap-Off Easy Loading Retractable Razor Utility Knife
Pros
- Quick blade sharpening with snap-off blades
- Super-versatile tool
- Easy to acquit in your pocket or up a ladder
Cons
- You'll need to set the vinyl on a surface to cut it
- Slower than other methods
- Safety hazards
5. Bending Grinder
If you've e'er installed vinyl, you probably expected to see the first four items on this list, merely an angle grinder isn't quite as commonly used for this purpose. Just that doesn't mean information technology's not an effective method! In fact, grinders tin cutting through the vinyl almost as speedily as a miter saw just a grinder is much smaller and more portable. You're still tied to an outlet, but at to the lowest degree you can easily move it when yous need to.
But in that location are some more than downsides to using a grinder for this. First, the wrong cut bicycle can melt your vinyl instead of cut information technology. Nosotros suggest using a metallic cutoff bicycle for masonry as nosotros've had nifty luck with this method. You can utilize black cutoff wheels, but they're very abrasive and tend to cook the vinyl.
Besides, grinders are very noisy and quite a scrap pricier than utility knives or snips. But if you've already got a grinder in your collection, then this is a very viable option.
We Recommend: DEWALT Bending Grinder Tool
Pros
- Cuts chop-chop
- Small and portable car
- A metal cutoff wheel volition final a very long time
Cons
- Wired to an outlet
- It's noisy
- More than expensive than manual methods
- Can melt the vinyl with the incorrect wheel
Buyer's Guide – Choosing the Best Way to Cutting Vinyl Sliding
In truth, any of these 5 methods of cut vinyl siding will work just fine for yous. That said, there are withal reasons why you might choose one method over another in whatsoever given situation. If yous're still unsure of which method is best for yous, and then keep reading; nosotros're about to get a flake more than in-depth in this brusk buyer's guide.
Choosing the Right Cutting Equipment
Every job is different and and then is every person performing this piece of work. What'south best for one individual may non be best for another. And then, let'southward take a look at the chief traits that we're using to compare these methods. Determine what traits are most important to you and so cull the method that prioritizes those traits.
Efficiency
How fast can you get the job washed? The faster you tin can cut the vinyl, the shorter the projection will accept. In the long run, this can save y'all a lot of money and time.
If efficiency is a major priority for y'all, and then you'll want to focus on the electric cutting methods like a prepare of electric shears or a miter saw. A miter saw makes faster cuts and reduces the number of marks y'all accept to brand. Just electric shears are easier for yous to move around.
Portability
The problem with using electric power tools for cutting vinyl siding is that they lack portability. Think of a miter saw for a moment. They're cumbersome and difficult to move. You'll likely ready it in one place and leave it there for the elapsing of the job. Electrical shears are more portable, merely y'all're withal tied to an electrical outlet and you certainly can't fit a set up in your pocket or tool chugalug.
Without question, the manual cutting tools are much more than portable than electric ones. Utility knives and tin snips are small and lightweight; easy to fit in your pocket or tool belt. This means that you can carry them upwards the ladder with you while installing the vinyl, then y'all won't take to come up all the fashion back downwardly just to brand a small-scale cut to get a piece to fit properly.
If you're siding a whole dwelling, you're going to be moving around a lot and portability could become a major factor. As well, fifty-fifty on a simple repair, having a portable, quick tool like a utility knife tin be a lot faster than hooking upwards a miter saw.
Electricity
We've covered some of the major advantages and disadvantages of using power tools to cutting vinyl siding. But here's something else to consider; where's the electricity coming from? You might realize that the closest outlets are likewise far to reach. If yous're siding a newly-congenital habitation, there might not even be power there for y'all to utilize! Make certain yous consider where y'all'll exist pulling ability from before purchasing power tools for your vinyl siding project.
Price
A lot of people decide to accept on the vinyl siding of their home in social club to relieve money. There's no doubtfulness, you tin save a ton by doing this piece of work yourself, simply only if yous don't have to invest a lot in new tools and learning how to utilise them. Likewise, even pros are on a budget and if yous're tackling a side chore, then the pennies all add up.
If you're trying to go on the price of your vinyl siding project depression, and then you have two groovy options. Beginning, you tin utilize the tools yous already have. Electric shears might be our top recommendation, but if you've already got a perfectly proficient angle grinder around, then salve some cash and use that instead.
Alternatively, you can opt for hand tools like utility knives and tin snips. These are very cost-effective, even if they're not equally efficient as other cut methods.
Conclusion
As y'all can see, no matter your budget or skill level, there'southward an like shooting fish in a barrel style for you to cutting vinyl siding. You might not make it look every bit easy as the pros on your first become, only give it some fourth dimension and you'll be making clean cuts quickly before you know it.
We recommend using electric shears equally a offset choice or even a miter saw. These will speed up the entire siding process for you and relieve you more money and fourth dimension in the long run. Only you don't take to spend that much to get keen vinyl cutting tools. You can always opt to get old-schoolhouse with a set of snips or a utility knife. They might non be as glamorous, but they're still equally effective.
- See Besides:Cost To Install Vinyl Siding
Featured Image Credit: Needpix
Contents
- ane Comparison of our Favorite Methods in 2022
- 2 The five All-time Tools for Cutting Vinyl Siding
- 2.1 one. Electric Shears – Our Preferred Method
- ii.2 2. Dual Slide Compound Miter Saw
- 2.3 3. Tin can Snips
- 2.four iv. Utility Knife
- two.five five. Angle Grinder
- iii Buyer'south Guide – Choosing the Best Manner to Cut Vinyl Sliding
- 3.one Choosing the Right Cutting Equipment
- 4 Determination
Source: https://housegrail.com/best-way-to-cut-vinyl-siding-which-tool-to-use/
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