What and how is the easiest way to cut tiles: expert advice In order to tile a work wall or kitchen floor in a beautiful and high-quality manner, you must not only be able to lay, but know how to cut tiles.
Aligning the edges after cutting the tiles
If you have sharp jagged edges, use wire cutters or pliers to level them. The uneven edge is bite off, and the chips are leveled with a round file. The edges of the tiles are processed with coarse-grained sandpaper.
What and how is the easiest way to cut tiles: expert advice
Ceramic tiles are durable and convenient material in many ways. But the installation process requires some preparation, accuracy and patience. In order to beautifully and efficiently tiling a working wall or a floor in a kitchen, it is necessary not only to be able to lay, but to know how to cut a tile. When decorating a kitchen apron with tiles, whole tiles are not always stacked. To veneer ledges, window frames, electrical outlets, and edge switches, tile cutting or drilling is often necessary.
How to cut a tile with a glass cutter or an angle grinder?
With a glass cutter, you can make a straight cut in the material quite quickly. To do this, perform the following operations:
- Outline with a pencil (felt-tip pen) the line along which they are going to cut the tile;
- Press a square of material to the table with one hand, and with the other, directing the glass cutter towards yourself and holding it at an angle of 90, hold the tool with pressure along the intended mowing line;
- The trimmed plate is placed on a wooden block (or on the edge of the table) and with a blow of the palm, break the tile along the cut’s mowing line.
Scheme for cutting tiles with a stele cutter.
In addition, difficulties arise in its application when performing a curly cut mowing line. Now let’s look at how to cut a tile angle grinder.
To use it in facing work, you need to purchase a diamond disc, which allows you to use this universal tool for cutting tiles both along straight and curly lines. Compared to an electric tile cutter, an angle grinder is more mobile, but loses to it in terms of cut quality. After cutting the tile with this tool, you need to clean the sections with a file or sandpaper. Use an angle grinder like this:
- A cut line is drawn on the plate;
- The tile is fixed in wooden clamps, or it is pressed with the foot and an angle grinder is cut;
- The edges of the cut are cleaned with a file.
How to cut tiles?
Cutting tools: A-tile cutter; B-crown carbide; C-angle grinder; D-manual tile cutter; E-pliers; F-glass cutter; G-hacksaw for metal.
On the market, manufacturers sell a variety of attachments and tools to accomplish this task.
Of all the proposed variety, you can use the following for independent work:
- Manual slab cutter;
- Its electrical counterpart;
- Tile cutters;
- Regular roller glass cutter;
- The so-called angle grinder;
- Metal pencil with a victorious tip.
How to use these tools when cutting tiles will be discussed below.
Electric ceramic cutter
At the heart of the electric tile cutter is a diamond disc that allows you to make even and beautiful cuts.
This device has a diamond disc as a working tool and will cope with tiles of any thickness.
When working, you get smooth cuts with rounded smoothed edges.
Such a machine can be used for any amount of work, it is used when cutting various ceramic and stone slabs, with the exception of those coated with carbide chips, which can damage the diamond disc.
They work on this device like this:
- The cut line is applied to the tile with a pencil;
- The marked tile is placed on the working platform of the machine, and tightly holding the plate with both hands and pressing it to the base of the device, slowly move the material under the blade of the diamond disc;
- When working, special glasses are used to protect the eyes and the level of cooling water in the machine pan is constantly monitored;
- The liquid is periodically changed during operation; it becomes clogged with ceramic chips;
- Do not try to increase the speed at which the tiles are fed under the disc; they may crack.
How to cut ceramic tiles? Tools and technique
When choosing how to cut ceramic tiles, you need to decide on the upcoming volume of work and its type. A tool that can easily tackle wall tiles will not work with floor tiles. Radial cutting requires a different tool than simple cutting.
Manual tile cutter
With a large amount of work, a manual tile cutter is more suitable for cutting ceramic tiles. It consists of a base, guide tubes and a cutting element.
Place the tiles inside the device to work. Advance the cutter wheel away from you while trying to keep the pressure even. When you’re done making the cut, click on the handle to break the tile.
Disadvantages The tool is not universal, you cannot cut strips less than 5 millimeters wide on it. The edge of the fracture is sometimes uneven and must be sanded by hand.
How to cut floor tiles
Ceramic flooring has a high hardness coefficient and places higher demands on the tool. When choosing the best way to cut ceramic floor tiles, stop at one of the options discussed below.
Other ceramic tile trimmers
What is the best way to cut ceramic tiles if you need non-standard edge shapes? There are various devices for this.
- Nippers. Used to bite off small pieces, corners and semicircles. They leave behind an uneven edge, which must be trimmed with an emery wheel.
- Diamond string. It is fixed in an ordinary hacksaw for metal, used for curly cutting. It cuts only wall tiles and requires some skill, since during jerks, chips are formed on the surface.
- Crowns are used to make round holes in ceramic tiles for sockets and switches.
- Ballerina. With the help of such a drill, holes of various diameters are made. The size is adjusted manually by changing the distance to the cutter. Up to 20 cuts can be made with one nozzle.
How to cut ceramic tiles
In any case, special tools will be needed for the work. The simplest of them is a glass cutter, a manual tile cutter has a higher performance, for professionals it is recommended to opt for electric tile cutters. When you acquire a certain skill, the tile can be cut with an angle grinder, and a diamond string is used to make art products.
How To Cut Ceramic Tile Angle Grinder
New wheels are used for dry cutting, diamond dusting or for work on concrete. An angle grinder is best used with adjustable speeds. At a rotation speed above 3.5 thousand rpm, the tiles crack, and the dust content increases significantly.
The angle grinder can be used to cut floor tiles, porcelain stoneware and wall tiles. With a certain skill, you can cut circles 70 mm in diameter and make curly cuts.
The cut is made from the back of the tile, as small chips may remain on the surface. The canvas is placed on a solid and even surface, mark the fishing line with a marker, draw an angle grinder around it and break off the part that is longer. The cut surface can be trimmed with the same angle grinder.