3 ways to cut tile at home
Methods and tools for cutting and fitting tiles with your own hands to the required dimensions. How to use a manual tile cutter and an angle grinder to cut tiles.
Electric tile cutter
If you have a large volume of work, then the fastest and highest quality cut comes from an electric tile cutter. They use a diamond wheel and supply water to the cutting area to cool and remove dust. The cheapest types of the amateur class can be found on sale for 3-4 thousand rubles.
Cutting tiles angle grinder
Sometimes there are cases when you need to cut a narrow strip of tiles 0.5–2 cm, and an ordinary tile cutter does not take it, because his legs are too wide.
In such cases, you need to draw a notch line with a pencil and make a gash with an angle grinder with a diamond disc. But if you try to cut it off in one go, the narrow strip will break off in parts. Therefore, you need to smoothly and without pressure walk the angle grinder along the markings to get an incision about 2 mm deep. You need to walk along the mowing line with a disc, and not directly along it, then the width of the already narrow strip will not decrease.
Using the same method, running several times along the same seam will cut a narrow strip. The second and next time you can drive the angle grinder faster, but try to press it to the opposite side, then there will be no chips.
It is better to do this work by weight, so the vibration will go into the hands. When you already see that the strip will soon fall, it is advisable to put something soft so that it does not break.
Tile cutting with an angle grinder with a special diamond-coated disc on tiles
Be sure to wear glasses when working with an angle grinder.
Tile cutter tongs
Tile-cutting tongs are the cheapest (200-400 rubles), and they are suitable only for small volumes of work with thin ceramic tiles at home.
After notching, press down on the tile with a cracking pliers
- Mark all gaps and seams (–5 mm).
- Attach a metal ruler to the mowing line and slide the cutter along the line once. The pressure should be moderate to form a visible streak. Lead him from the far end towards you.
- Place the tongs with their feet along the mowing line of the crowbar near the edge. The sponges should be on top of the glaze and the straight part on the bottom. The line of the break should be right in the middle between the edges of the upper lip.
- Press gently on the handles to break off the tiles. At the same time, do not lift it high, otherwise it will break after falling.
How to cut tiles with a glass cutter
This is perhaps one of the easiest ways to cut tiles. But you need to remember one important rule. Before starting work, the tiles must be soaked in water for at least one hour. Then, on the surface of the tile, apply a fishing line along which the cut will pass.
The tile should be on a flat surface so that the cut is as even as possible. The incision itself is made smoothly, without sudden movements, and also without strong pressure on the glass cutter. The tile is laid along the table along the cut line of the cut, the cut is made, and then a slight pressure is applied on the cut line, and the second part should break off. This method is great for working with wall tiles.
How to cut floor tiles. Stone cutting machine
Before starting work, the tiles must be well fixed. Then the cutting line is applied, and then trimming is performed on a machine that has a disc consisting of high-strength steel with a special diamond abrasive. To obtain a better result, the lower part of the disc is dipped into a bath filled with water so that there is not too much dust (wet cutting of tiles).
The main types of ceramic tiles
Tile, a fairly durable material, consists mainly of natural components, and therefore is rightfully considered an environmentally friendly material. It also has several other good qualities, one of which is resistance to high temperatures, and, if it is a facade tile, then to weather changes.
Today the industry offers a fairly large selection of ceramic tiles.
Types of ceramic tiles:
- Bicottura, it is made using double firing and under the influence of the pressing process;
- Monocottura, the production technology of this tile is similar to the previous one, the only difference is that this type undergoes a single firing;
- Porcelain stoneware. This is one of the most famous types of tiles, it also goes through the stages of firing and pressing, but after that it undergoes additional mechanical processing.
How to cut ceramic tiles with a tile cutter?
After the tile has been accurately aligned with the mowing line of the markings, lift the handle of the tile cutter so that the roller surface touches the face of the tile. Now you can move the handle towards you in a smooth motion. In this case, it is very important to control the pressure on the tile surface. If there is insufficient pressure, the notch will be small to successfully break the tile depth.
If you press the handle too hard, ugly cracks may appear on the decorative layer of the tile. If you are cutting the tile for the first time, it is best to take a piece that you can experiment on, as it is likely that a straight cut may not work.
Important: the cut must be made in one longitudinal movement of the carriage with the cutting roller, otherwise the repeated risks will not coincide with the first, so the cut will turn out to be inaccurate or excessively rough.
Cutting tiles with a tile cutter: a general beginning
After preparing the tile cutter for use, you can start cutting the tiles. This will require accurate surface marking. So, for this you can use a regular construction pencil or, for example, a marker. We apply with its help the marking line. Before as cut floor tiles with a tile cutter or wall tiles, it must be clearly fixed in relation to the cutting roller. For this, in some designs of tile cutters, special clamps are used, which allow the tile to be completely stationary. If there is no such grip, then the tile must be held with one hand, and the handle with the cutter wheel carriage with the other.
Immediately before making a cut, it is necessary to apply a drop of machine oil to the surface of the cutting roller, which will significantly reduce the friction of the surfaces of the roller and the tile, which, in turn, will increase the quality of the cut obtained.
Preparatory work
Manual tile cutter – an elementary, but at the same time, cutting tool that requires certain preparation and sequence of actions to obtain an accurate result. Let’s talk about them in more detail.
Before how to cut tiles with a manual tile cutter, it is necessary to carry out preliminary preparation:
- Inspect the cutter structure for visible damage and irregularities in the guides.
- Check the smooth movement of the carriage with the cutting roller along the tubular guides. It is important that they are free of any contamination that could interfere. If you’ve just cleaned them, you can apply a small amount of machine oil to the surface to lubricate.
- Check the condition of the cutter wheel. It should rotate freely without unnecessary sounds such as creaking or jamming. If the surface of the cutter wheel is damaged (such as burrs or gouges), it should be replaced. Otherwise, irregularities or cracks will appear on the cut.
Before cutting the tiles with a tile cutter, you should also take care of your own safety. To prevent scratches, cuts and other troubles, it is worth using construction gloves. In the process of cutting the tiles, under no circumstances should your fingers get caught in the cutting roller. Also, the field of receiving an incision, the tile must be broken along it, while small particles are formed that can get into the eyes – wear safety glasses.
How to cut tiles at home?
The production of works on covering the walls and floors of different rooms with ceramic tiles is not complete without cutting the tiles, since usually it is not always possible to use only whole plates and some of them have to be cut. How to cut tiles with your own hands? What tools should be used for this? How can you cut the tile so that the tiles have smooth edges and the plate does not split?
When laying tiles, there is a need for cutting. Use special tools to keep the edges of the tiles even.
In order to cut high quality ceramic tiles, it is necessary to use special tools and devices. If the work performed is of a small volume, then hand tools are usually used. When covering large areas with tiles, professional equipment is used. Let’s take a look at various techniques and tools for cutting ceramic tiles.
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 oneself 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.
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 tile is fed under the disc – it may crack.