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Thread: Cutting hardibacker

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Glendale, AZ
    Posts
    278

    Cutting hardibacker

    The guy at Home Depot told me i could cut Hardibacker concrete board with a utility knife. It's not going well.

    Is there a jigsaw blade that would work well for this?

    Thanks,

    Jim

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Pensacola Florida
    Posts
    2,157
    James, I bought a cheap masonry blade for my circular saw and it cut like butter
    Dave

    IN GOD WE TRUST
    USN Retired

  3. #3
    I have always used a scoring tool available in the tile tool area of the big box stores. It is the same tool you use for concrete backer board. It has a small carbide tip like the tip on a circular saw blade. For straight cuts you can score lines on both sides using the scoring tool and a strait edge and then snap it along the line. For curves I used a Remington abrasive grit jigsaw blade. You can also get abrasive grit hole saws. I don't think a utility knife would cut it . Good luck.

    Greg

  4. #4
    I've always used a utility knife to score, and then break concrete board.
    after scoring break with pressure on opposite side from score.

    Ray
    Just trying to learn

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    McKinney, TX
    Posts
    2,063
    When I put the hardiboard on my house i had a lot of curves to cut and i got a carborundum blade for my jigsaw. It doesn't have "teeth" just carborundum powder/chips adhered to the blade. It works great. I'm not sure if you can get them at the depot or not. I bought mine where I buy my sawblades and have sharpening done. For straight cuts I gave up on the circular saw blades designed for cement board and bought a dry cut diamond blade for my circular saw. the others though cheaper got dull pretty fast and the diamond one was only about 40 bucks and is still going strong after the hardiboard, landscape blocks, and flagstone.
    Steve Jenkins, McKinney, TX. 469 742-9694
    Always use the word "impossible" with extreme caution

  6. #6
    One of my guys has a tool that is very handy for cutting hardiboard or hardibacker....Porter Cable shears....they look like a drill until the very end, then a pair of what seem to be very dull scissors. You can cut curves and straight lines all day with it.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Whidbey Island , Wa.
    Posts
    914
    Grinder with a abrasive wheel. Dusty , work up wind or wear a dust mask , or both.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Lexington, South Carolina
    Posts
    111
    Use a steel square and a utility knife and score both sides 3 or 4 times using moderate pressure. It'll snap fairly cleanly. I did my storage shed last summer and although it was tedious, it was alot cleaner than trying to cut the stuff with a saw. That stuff will put up a small cloud of dust when you saw it.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Lewiston, Idaho
    Posts
    28,504
    I have always used a scoring tool that has a carbide tip on it. Score each side a time or two and snap.
    Ken

    So much to learn, so little time.....

  10. #10
    I use a grinder with a diamond blde on it. The shears talked about earlier are the best thing but they are rather expensive for just 1 or 2 tile jobs.
    Vytek 4' x 8', 35 watt. Epilog Legend 100 watt, Graphtec plotter. Corel x-4, Autocad 2008, Flexi sign, Adobe Illustrator, Photo Impact X-3 and half a dozen more.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Minnesota
    Posts
    2,285
    Hitachi makes a set of jigsaw blades for cutting cement board. I've used them and they're pretty good. Got them on Amazon, I think.

    Jason



    Quote Originally Posted by James Hart View Post
    The guy at Home Depot told me i could cut Hardibacker concrete board with a utility knife. It's not going well.

    Is there a jigsaw blade that would work well for this?

    Thanks,

    Jim

  12. #12
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    walnut creek, california
    Posts
    2,347
    i've heard a home depot employee tell a customer, "to make a cutout, you just score a circle with the scoring tool, make an 'x' and then just tap it." obviously he's NEVER done it himself lol. the special jigsaw blade will work especially well when you have to make narrow cuts and won't have enough material to make an easy manual snap. consider using schluter ditra in the future. one roll will cover as much surface area as several sheets of hardibacker and it's much easier to carry and lay down as well - no screws needed! of course i realized this only after tiling our bathrooms and kitchen...

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Fort Collins, Colorado
    Posts
    447
    Do you guys put in blocking around the edges of the hardi board? I thought I read it cannot have unsupported edges. They might be talking about something different too for that matter.

    Scott

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Lewiston, Idaho
    Posts
    28,504
    Quote Originally Posted by frank shic View Post
    i've heard a home depot employee tell a customer, "to make a cutout, you just score a circle with the scoring tool, make an 'x' and then just tap it." obviously he's NEVER done it himself lol. the special jigsaw blade will work especially well when you have to make narrow cuts and won't have enough material to make an easy manual snap. consider using schluter ditra in the future. one roll will cover as much surface area as several sheets of hardibacker and it's much easier to carry and lay down as well - no screws needed! of course i realized this only after tiling our bathrooms and kitchen...
    Frank,

    That is exactly how I put a hole in mine for the shower control valve assembly. I did score in on both sides.
    Ken

    So much to learn, so little time.....

  15. siding

    I completely sided my house with 5' LAP siding. The hardie is great product. I used a circular saw with a cheap carbide blade $7 ea. did not use any edging and it is holding great.

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