How to cut rubber mats with a circular saw or utility knife?

Rubber mats and moulded items made from rubber granules, including rubber granule mats, are best cut with a circular saw fitted with either a wood-cutting blade or a rubber saw blade. The most appropriate tool depends on the product, the shape of the cut and the installer’s experience. The circular saw should have sufficient power, while blade speed should not be too high.

Where a utility knife is used, this method is generally more appropriate for experienced installers. The knife needs a sharp blade and a firm handle, and it should be guided along a metal straightedge or rail to maintain a straight cut edge. Several passes with moderate pressure will cut through the rubber mat. When guiding the knife along the straightedge, the hand can slip towards the blade; the guiding hand must therefore remain behind the straightedge and never in front of the blade, where the risk of injury is greatest.

For internal cuts or curved lines, a jigsaw is appropriate, using rubber saw blades made for jigsaws. Metal-cutting saws, blades intended for metal or stone, cutting discs and very high-speed saws are unsuitable because heat generated by friction can melt the rubber granules bound within the moulded item and smear the cut edge. This applies equally to rubber mats, safety surfacing tiles, fitness tiles, patio tiles and edging blocks made from rubber granules.