Vinyl siding the major concern when installing vinyl siding in cold temperatures is that the material can become somewhat brittle and may crack when being cut.
Best way to cut vinyl siding in cold weather.
If you have a lot of siding to cut it s worth investing in a cutting template.
This tool is also ideal for making longer cuts since utility knives allow the best control out of all three types.
This convenient tool latches onto the sides of the vinyl plank and it has a series of notches for a knife blade.
This will make it more flexible and easy to work with reducing the risk of breakage during installation.
Before nailing your siding to the exterior of your home use a heat gun with a spreader attachment to evenly warm the siding.
If you need to cut vinyl strips lengthwise making much longer cuts use a utility knife for the best control.
Circular saw fit a circular saw with a fine toothed plywood cutting blade.
It s ideal to use a utility knife to cut your vinyl siding if you need to cut vinyl strips lengthwise.
Using a utility knife.
While you are wearing safety glasses use a circular saw to cut the vinyl strips to size.
Use your free hand to hold the vinyl siding down so it doesn t shift while you re cutting it.
Vinyl siding has further problems in the cold.
Because vinyl is a type of plastic it can become brittle in the extreme cold.
Watch the blade carefully as you re cutting to make sure it s staying on the line.
If this happens the material is now more likely to crack or break particularly if it experiences a hard knock such as a falling tree limb during a storm.
Grasp the plank with both hands and bend backward and it will break cleanly along the score line.
If possible keep the siding in a heated space or at least out of the cold and only remove a box at a time during the installation.
This is a trick on how to cut vinyl siding the quickest and easiest way without breaking or chipping it.
Cut slowly and install your fine tooth blade backwards.
This is what we believe is the best way to cut vinyl siding when it s very cold outside or anytime in general.
This allows for a smoother cut and helps to avoid cracking or breaking which is a bigger risk in cold weather.
Cut along the line you drew using the circular saw.
