I'm planning to line the internal walls of my laundry with villaboard and I'm following the James Hardie installation manual. I need to cut the board to fit around a window. What is the best way to attack this and what tools should I use? I plan to lay the boards vertically,

G'day.

You might like to read this thread first.... it will give you a sense of history of the subject here at least.

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OK Cowboy, here we go.

Why are you fitting them vertically? It can be done provided the joints are supported but that is usually extra work.

Cutting can be done with a fibro cutter, fibro scoring knife or a grinder (use a mask). You can also buy a specialist blade to go in your saw.

Use fibro cutters to cut the vertical cuts and score and snap knife to cut the horizontal cut.
I use nibblers myself saves a lot of time and effort.

They are expesive to buy and I'm not sure if anyone hires them out. But it would be worth a try.

Grinders are far too messy in my opinion.

Also as Boban says lay the sheets down. The only time I would fix sheets vertical would be if the wall is less than 1350 wide. Where by standing them vertical will eliminate a join.

Cheers

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I see the advantage of laying them vertically.

Rod, are the nibblers specifically for fibro sheeting?

Do I need to use the "Hardie" basecoat, topcoat and perforated paper when joining? They claim it's water-resistant!!

The nibblers are specifically for cement sheet products they will cut 9mm villaboard with ease.

For a laundry you will only need standard plasterboard compounds. Make sure you use paper tape. Fibreglass tape cracks on villaboard 50% of the time.

Cheers

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