How To Cut Tiles At Home

3 ways to cut tiles at home Ways and tools for cutting and adjusting tiles with your own hands to the required size. How to use a manual tile cutter and an angle grinder to cut tiles.

How to cut tiles without a tile cutter

If you only need to cut a few tiles, it doesn’t have to be spent on a tile cutter. You can use the tools at hand:

• Glass cutter.
• Drill. It should preferably be with a victorious tip, as it will scratch the tile better.
• Nail.
• Construction knife.

Attach a metal ruler to the notch and draw once with a glass cutter or drill. A deep scratch should remain on the enamel. If you use a knife, but you will need to carry out several times.

Place the tile with the cut at the corner and press down on its edges with a sharp motion. The cut will not turn out perfectly flat, unlike the tile cutter, but you will not have to spend additional money.

How to cut porcelain stoneware

It is believed that porcelain stoneware is the hardest material from which floor tiles are made. You can trim it in the same way as a regular tile.

Sometimes simple floor tiles are more difficult to cut than porcelain stoneware. There is a hardened tile, on which, after cutting with a tile cutter, an incision in the glaze is almost invisible. And even a diamond disc does not take it on an angle grinder. The notch turns out to be torn, like after a tractor. In such cases, use an angle grinder and file a 2–3 mm groove from the back to mark the fracture location.

Cutting tiles with a manual tile cutter

How a manual tile cutter works

• The tile is inserted into the tile cutter, and the markings on it are aligned with a special mark.
• The handle is lowered and held away from you. It must be driven at the same speed and even pressure so that the roller cuts the glaze to the same depth. It will be enough to run the roller once. If you drive several times, the breakage can turn out to be of poor quality.
• Next to the roller there are special paws that lower and break the tiles into 2 parts after a sharp push on the lever. Over, all tile cutters have a metal tubercle on their platform, and soft pads along the edges. When you press down on the edges of the tile with your feet, maximum tension will be created at the notch, if correctly aligned with the backing, and it will evenly break off.

It is difficult to explain this in words, so it is easier to look at which shows how to cut tiles correctly with a tile cutter:

High-quality tile cutters allow you to cut even 10 mm thick tiles without any problems. And it doesn’t matter at what angle you cut it: at least 45 degrees, at least 30.

Angle Grinder

This tool cuts any material up to metal and porcelain stoneware. For this, a diamond-coated nozzle with a suitable grain size is used.

The most popular and used fixture

How to cut tile with an angle grinder:

1. Attach a dry cutting blade to the tool, check the connection.
2. Mark the line you saw on the tile.
3. Work only on the front side to avoid chipping.
4. Secure the tile to your work surface so that it doesn’t move, but nothing gets in the way.
5. Start from yourself. Hold the tile with one hand. Drive the disc slightly away from the line mowing line.

Tile cutter

There are two types of tools: manual and electric. The first option is smaller and the majority have it on the farm.

Ideally, the tile is cut with a specially designed tool.

How to use a manual tile cutter:

1. Dampen material with water.
2. Mark the line of the break with a pencil. Apply oil to the area to facilitate movement of the cutter.
3. Lower the tool handle. Press down on the cutter firmly enough to create a deep groove without damaging the tile itself.
4. Pull the handle by activating the roller cutter. The movement should be smooth and confident.
5. Split the tile in two along the mowing line.

How to cut tiles with an electric tile cutter:

1. Mark up the front of the tile.
2. Secure it to the working surface of the tool.
3. If the design of your device provides for the presence of a reservoir with water, pre-fill it and replace the container.
4. Switch on the device.
5. When working with tiles with an electric tile cutter, do not apply significant force when moving the tiles. Press it against the table only to secure it.
6. Slide the tile gently towards the running disc, holding on both sides, if possible.
7. When the cutter is close to the edge, slow down slightly to avoid a rough chipping.

The main nuances of work

How to properly cut tiles with such tools? Let’s highlight a few points:

• Be sure to mark the material;
• Water will soften the tiles and facilitate the cutting process, reduce the amount of dust;
• Work is carried out on the front side;
• The pressure on the material should be moderate, and the movement should be confident, but smooth;
• It is impossible to break the tile by force;
• The notches along the edges are cleaned with sandpaper.

Glass cutter for tiles

The easiest way to cut tiles is with a glass cutter with a diamond or carbide roller.

The work is performed in the following sequence:

• Ceramics is placed on a flat, flat surface (workbench, stool, table, etc.);
• On the front glazed side, markings are applied using a metal ruler and a marker;
• Pressing the ruler tightly along the mowing line of the marking, cut a groove with a confident and clear movement with a glass cutter;
• You need to press on the tool hard enough so that the incision in the enamel is deep and even;
• The line that appears is gently tapped along the entire length on the back of the tile with a glass cutter handle;
• The product is moved to the edge of the working surface so that the cut part hangs in the air;
• Pressing on the hanging edge, break the tile.

Sometimes it is recommended to put a nail or a small-diameter bolt under the cutting line. By simultaneously pressing on both edges, the tile is divided into parts. In this way, you can cut more material, since time is saved for moving the ceramic.

The use of a glass cutter is justified only when working with a small amount of tiles with a flat surface. This tool will be useless for cutting thick and overly hard tiles.

 

It is much easier and more convenient to cut tiles at home using a tile cutter. This instrument has 2 varieties: electric and manual.

The manual tile cutter is allowed to work with ceramic material up to 20 mm thick. The work technology is as follows:

1. Marking line is applied to the front of the tile with a felt-tip pen or marker.
2. The product is placed in the working area of ​​the device and fixed with special clamps. In this case, the beginning of the line mowing line should be under the cutting wheel.
3. Pressing lightly on the handle, the carriage is smoothly moved away from itself along the cut line of the cut.
4. Then the tiles are broken.

An electric tile cutter will help to smoothly and quickly cut a large number of tiles. A diamond wheel is used as a cutting element, water is supplied to the cut zone to remove dust and cool the working disk.

The cutting process includes the following steps:

• The equipment is placed on a flat and stable surface (workbench, table);
• Marking is done on the glazed side;
• Combining the beginning of the marking mowing line with the pointer, the product is placed in a tile cutter;
• Only now the unit turns on;
• The tile is gently and smoothly pushed against the cutting disc.

The electric cutter allows you to cut thick tiles and porcelain stoneware with high hardness. It is suitable for working with tiles with textured and corrugated surfaces.

Security measures

Although cutting tiles is not a life-threatening occupation, it is still necessary to take some safety measures and use protective equipment, because there is a risk of injury. To protect the eyes from dust and possible debris, it is recommended to wear special plastic glasses. Construction gloves will protect your hands from cuts and scrapes.

Handle floor tiles with particular care as they are very hard and produce sharp edges when trimmed. When carrying out a large amount of work with the release of dust particles, it is recommended to use a respirator to protect the respiratory system.

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.

The use of a manual machine at work

Tile cutting scheme with a manual machine.

Such a plate cutter is used to cut plates with a thickness of no more than 5-6 mm. The tool has a quite reasonable price and makes it possible to relatively easily and quickly cut the required number of tiles. It is well suited for doing cladding work with your own hands.

It is applied in the following order:

• Mark the part to be cut with a pencil or felt-tip pen on the tile;
• The material is installed on the base of the device so that the cutting line is under the impeller of the machine;
• Using the tool handle, carefully cut the cut with the impeller along the marked mowing line;
• The tile is fixed on both sides of the intended cut using the so-called wings;
• Lightly hitting the handle of the machine, separate an unnecessary piece from the tile.

If after several such blows the tile remains intact, then try to cut the next plate.

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.