Facing walls and floors with ceramic tiles implies an accurate fit of its dimensions to the geometry of the room. However, few people know how to cut tiles with a tile cutter. Professionals do this in a mechanized way. an electric tile cutter. For domestic purposes, the manual equivalent is suitable.
For household repairs, it is most convenient to use a manual tile cutter.
Manual Tile Cutter
The manual version consists of parts such as:
- Base.
- Tube guides for precise movement of the cutting element.
- Cutting element.
- Metal wheel with sharpened edges.
- A lever handle that allows you to move the carriage with the wheel along the intended notch line.
Scheme of using a manual tile cutter.
Manual cutting tools have several advantages such as:
- simplicity of execution and operation;
- minimum effort for cutting tiles;
- Compared with other manual cutting tool, glass cutter, more accurate result.
However, using a manual tile cutter it is not possible to cut off the edge of a tile of less than 5 mm. In the main case, tile cutting occurs as follows:
- Cutting line is outlined.
- Ceramic or tile is fixed to the base of the tile cutter.
- An incision is made along the intended line using a cutting wheel.
- Lower the lever, which breaks the tile into 2 halves.
Read more about electric welding here.
How to cut tiles: preparatory phase of work
Before making an incision, it is necessary to prepare the tool. To do this, inspect it and check for damage on its surface. Tubular guides are subject to inspection.
When cutting tiles, safety precautions must be observed.
After that, it is worth checking the smooth movement of the cutting tool. The surface of the wheel must be cleaned of possible contaminants. Before starting work, a little machine oil is applied to the tubular guides and the cutting tool. It is necessary to check how the wheel is fixed. If it dangles from side to side, the incision will be uneven. The wheel should be checked for wear and replaced if necessary.
To work with a cutting tool, you need to think about your safety. Gloves must be worn. Care must be taken that fingers do not fall under the cutting wheel. The eyes also need to be protected with construction glasses from small particles of tile and dust.
Video: How to Cut Tiles Correctly Video Tile Cutter
The hand tool is prepared, you can start working with tiles. First of all, a cut line is applied to its surface. This can be done with a felt-tip pen or a construction pencil. After that, wall or floor tiles are installed on the basis of the tile cutter. Some constructions of the hand tool provide for special hooks, which ensure its rigid fixation.
How to cut ceramic tiles: the nuances
After the ceramic tile is rigidly fixed to the base of the cutting tool, it is necessary to raise the lever so that the wheel is mounted on the cutting line. The handle needs to be moved smoothly. It is necessary to monitor the force of pressing the lever. If you push the handle slightly, then the cut will be shallow. It will be difficult to break such a ceramic tile. When the lever is pressed harder, cracks and chips may appear on the front surface.
When used correctly, the tile breaks easily and evenly.
If you are cutting products for the first time, you should first practice on small pieces so that the cut is smooth. It is also necessary to remember that a cut with a cutting wheel must be made with one movement of the lever. If you don’t do this right away, you can not re-enter the cut line.
The tile in its composition is not very different from that made of ceramic. The only difference between them is the color of the base. The tile has a lighter color. Tile must be cut in the same way as ceramic.
After an incision is made, the ceramic tile is laid on a flat surface. It is necessary to sharply press the line of the incision and break it.
If the edge is not quite even, it must be leveled with sandpaper or a grinding stone.
How to cut floor tiles: tips
It is more convenient to cut porcelain tiles with an electric tile cutter.
If the floor will be decorated with ceramic granite, then there are some features. This flooring is more durable than conventional tile for floors or walls. In order to cut ceramic granite, hand tools will not work.
In order to cut ceramic granite flooring, it is necessary to use an electric tile cutter. Using this tool, you can make a quality and even cut. The electric unit consists of a platform with a fixed cutting element, an engine and a container with liquid.
The cutting tool is very often a diamond-coated disk.
During operation, the incision site on the tile is wetted with water or the disk is partially immersed in water. This reduces the formation of building dust. In addition, the use of water prevents cracking of ceramics.
An electric tile cutter allows you to cut off an edge with a width of less than 5 mm. The design of this tool provides for the possibility of making an incision at an angle of 45 °, as well as making a hole or recess. The trimmed edge is flat and does not require additional processing.
The floor structure can also be cut with an angle grinder. This can be done even by an unprepared person. It is best to choose an angle grinder with adjustable speed.
However, the cut edges are uneven and require additional sanding.
Ceramic tile is the most common material for wall and floor cladding. You can cut tiles with different tools. You should know some features of this process. So, tile and ceramic almost do not differ from each other, so the cutting process of this material is the same. You can cut the tile as a conventional glass cutter, or a manual or electric tile cutter, an angle grinder. Ceramic granite flooring is most often cut with mechanical tools.
As you know, there is nothing complicated here. The main thing is patience and minimal skills of such work. Good luck