If you are planning on doing some flooring work yourself, you need to cut some tiles to fit the perimeter and corners of the room, just to name a couple of situations. You can purchase a specific cutter at the building supplies store if you plan to do small jobs and use ceramic tiles. But if you want to use natural stone, thick tiles or have to pave large areas, then you should hire a water saw. In addition, this tool allows you to obtain clean and straight cuts, much better than those of the manual cutter. Remember that you will also need to get special pliers and a water saw for the special notches and cuts.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: With a Manual Cutter
Step 1. Purchase a manual cutter that is wider than the maximum tile size
If you have to do a diagonal laying or you have to proceed with diagonal cuts, measure the tiles from corner to corner and buy a cutter that is larger than this value. It should also have a graduated rotating guide (like a protractor) that allows you to make cuts at precise angles.
Step 2. Practice using a cutter with scraps or inexpensive tiles
Step 3. Use a pencil to draw thick marks on both sides of the shiny face of the tile, they will be the starting and ending point of the incision
Step 4. Slide the cutter lever so the blade is close to you
Step 5. Insert the tile into the cutter with the shiny side facing up
Make sure the thick marks you drew are under the guide and that the tile is stuck. If you need to cut multiple tiles in exactly the same way, adjust the protractor so it is against the edge of the tile and lock it.
Step 6. Move the lever so that the carbide or tungsten rotating blade is on one of the pencil marks you drew on the edge of the tile
Push down and move the lever along the length of the tile with constant pressure. The movement should be smooth and you don't have to go through the incision several times.
Step 7. Push the lever down to apply pressure to both sides of the incision
This is now the weakest point of the tile and it will crack sharply.
Step 8. To smooth the edge of the cut, scrub it with a whetstone
If the edge will be hidden by a molding or skirting board, you can skip this step.
Method 2 of 2: With a Water Saw
Step 1. Fill the tank with water
Step 2. Adjust the cutting guide according to the measurements or marks you made on the shiny face of the tile
Step 3. Place the tile with the shiny side facing up
Make sure it fits snugly on the guide.
Step 4. Turn on the saw and let the blade do its job
The cut should be very clean and precise, and you don't have to force the tile to go under the blade.
Advice
You can use the manual cutter to carve the lines of an "L" notch but you will need to use pliers or wire cutters to break the tile along the incisions, in the hope that it will not break and that the cut will be done precisely. Tile cutters look like ordinary carbide-edged pliers. You waste less tiles if you use a water saw
Warnings
- A manual cutter cannot shape strips of tile thinner than 1.2 cm.
- Porcelain and thick ceramic cannot be cut cleanly with a hand cutter. Know that you will have a lot of waste, alternatively use a water saw. Natural stones can only be cut with a water saw.
