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A worker installs vinyl panels beige siding on the outside of house

Posted On: August 16, 2021

How To Cut Vinyl Siding Properly [Video]

Are you tired of waiting for someone to come fix your siding?

Sometimes you don’t feel like waiting to schedule a contractor to come and fix your siding and want to do it yourself. Luckily, most vinyl siding is relatively easy to DIY, especially replacing a small section that got dented or scratched. But to do so, you’ll need to know how to remove, measure, cut, and install vinyl siding. We’ll cover the proper way to cut vinyl siding first.

Most homeowners with some decent experience DIYing projects around their home could manage to replace some vinyl siding. But, it’s essential to know how to correctly cut vinyl siding before you begin. The last thing you want to do is waste material because it was cracked or damaged while cutting it to size.

So we’ve got a few tips for which tools you should use and how to properly cut vinyl siding when you need to.

Tools Required for Cutting Vinyl Siding

There are three main tools that are necessary to accurately and adequately cut through vinyl siding without damaging it. Of course, you’ll need at least one of these tools, but having all three will ensure the absolute best, cleanest cut.

  • Miter saw/Circular saw
  • Tin snips
  • Utility knife with a hook blade (ideally)

Before you start, you’ll also want to have all of these:

  • Safety goggles
  • Carpenter’s square
  • Measuring tape
  • A straightedge
  • Pencil
  • Vinyl siding (of course)

How to Use Each Tool to Cut Your Vinyl Siding

Each tool has its own specific use and intention for cutting through your vinyl, as long as you do it the right way. Here’s where and how to use each tool to cut your siding materials.

Miter Saw

worker uses a miter saw to cut vinyl siding

A miter saw would be used for longer, more angled cuts, like when you need to really customize a piece or just have a ton of pieces to cut through. Your hand would not be pleased with you if you used tin snips to cut a whole bunch of vinyl siding pieces manually.

You can use a miter saw like the one in our video above to cut small individual pieces. But a table saw or extended miter saw would be more ideal for bigger pieces of vinyl siding or if you need a more extreme angle.

Something very important to note is that you should turn your saw blade around when using a miter saw to cut through vinyl siding. If you cut with the blade edges pointing down, you risk chipping your siding. Turning it around will create a much smoother cut for finer, more precise lines.

Tin Snips

When it comes to cutting vinyl siding, your handy pair of tin snips are going to be your most versatile tool to use. Keep them handy when you’re installing, replacing, or repairing your own vinyl siding: they’ll come in super handy. Tin snips can cut at any angle and are built to easily cut through without any struggle. Need to quickly cut off a piece that won’t fit, or cut out a section to fit around an exterior outlet? Your tin snips can do the job quickly and efficiently. However, for more tight corners or spots where you need to get right up to the edge to cut, you probably want to bring in reinforcements (your razor blade).

Utility Knife/Razor Blade

the retractable utility knife with Heavy-Duty Utility Blade

For any straight edge cuts you need to make, a sharp utility knife will work perfectly. While most utility knives will work, ideally you will have a utility knife with a hook blade that makes cutting through tough vinyl siding much easier. It hooks the edge and drags it through to make a seamless, straight edge cut.

While minor vinyl siding repairs and projects can be easy to DIY, larger-scale projects definitely require the expertise of a professional contractor. Northface Construction has replaced the siding on thousands of homes and knows the ins and outs of removing, cutting, customizing, and installing vinyl siding. We can install all types of siding materials and projects for whatever your needs and wants are.

When you find that the level of skill required to cut and replace vinyl siding is more than you can handle, call Northface Construction to get the job done.

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