Where to cut tiles. How to cut tiles at home. Safety precautions when cutting tiles with a grinder

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During the use of ceramic tiles as a facing material, the methodology and technology for working with tiles has constantly improved. They learned how to cut tiles with high quality and with minimal physical effort. The result is a smooth rounded edge that does not require additional grinding. In creating professional tools for cutting tiles, the unique features of the material were taken into account and, based on experience, the most effective ways to influence it were formed.

A high-quality and productive cutting method is possible with an electric tile cutter that uses a diamond cutting wheel and water supply. This technology guarantees a minimum amount of dust, a minimum expenditure of physical strength. How do you cut tiles without a tile cutter? Is it possible to cut ceramic tiles at home with comparable results?

Professional tilers, having thoroughly studied the properties of tiles, have learned how to use different tools to work with ceramic material. Moreover, if for some reason it is not possible to use professional equipment, they are able to make a tool from improvised means. With this tool, cutting tiles is easy.

It is recommended to use the invaluable experience of specialists

To cut the material when carrying out facing work at home, you must have the following tools:

• flat surface;
• a guide ruler with a right angle at one end, the so-called "gon";
• drill with a winning tip;
• glass cutter, clerical knife;
• "pliers with a tile cutter function" - miniature tongs with a wheel for cutting tiles on one side and a transverse convex plate on the other;
• drill with nozzles in the form of "crowns";
• jigsaw with diamond wire;
• "Bulgarian".

It is important to remember that before cutting the tile material should be prepared. If ceramic tiles are soaked for thirty minutes before working on them, the problems of dust, brittleness and increase in their pliability can be solved.

In order to qualitatively cut off a part of the tile, you need to draw a clear groove on the glossy surface and then break it with a quick, confident movement. You can easily do this with the help of different tools: a glass cutter, a drill with a victorious tip, a cardboard knife and a ruler guide. The procedure in all cases will be the same:

• lay the tile on a flat surface with the inside down;
• make the necessary markings and draw a clear line with a pencil using a “gon”;
• we draw a groove along the ruler, pressing with medium force on the glass cutter or drill;
• we put a drill under the notch line, press on the tile from both sides and break it. In another option, you can break the tile if you place it on the edge of the table along the cut line and sharply press it.

With the help of "pliers with a wheel" it is much easier to break the tile, since they are specially designed for this. It is enough to bring the transverse plate from above so that the cut groove runs exactly in the center of the pressing plate, and then squeeze the tongs. In this case, a qualitative fracture is obtained.

At home, it is possible to make sufficiently suitable tools for cutting tiles if it is not possible to use a special tool. For example, a drill bit with a 6 or 8 mm diameter pobedit tip can be ground on a diamond disk like a pencil. The main thing in this: do not grind off the victorious layering and make a point without edges. The rounded shape of the point allows you to make deep cuts when applied to the side of the "square".

All of the above methods are suitable for cutting wall tiles, but in cases of working with thicker floor tiles that have a dense structure, it is necessary to resort to other tools.

For example, it is advisable to use a “grinder” along with improvised tools. At the same time, in order to complete it, the most suitable blades for cutting granite with a smooth crown and diamond blades, which allow you to quickly cut tile material.

The sequence of work may be as follows:

1. First, you need to draw a fairly deep line with a glass cutter or a special drill. To do this, you can spend several times on the outer surface.
2. Then, with the help of a grinder, you need to start carefully cutting along the outer edge of the incision. At the same time, it is desirable to go deeper no more than 3 millimeters. After performing this procedure 2-3 times, you can get a high-quality cut.

Cutting floor tiles can be done in another way:

1. On a glossy surface, we also draw a furrow using the same improvised tools.
2. We turn the tile over and from the inside, exactly according to the outer marks, we make an incision with a “grinder”.
3. After breaking, it is recommended to sand the edges with sandpaper.

Straight and curly cutting of tiles can be carried out using a "grinder" with a diamond disc. The productivity of such work is comparable to an electric tile cutter. Although the quality of the cut with the help of a grinder is inferior, but if you need to carry out large-scale mobile work, this tool is indispensable. After the incision, additional grinding measures will be required.

Particular attention when working with the "grinder" should be given to safety

• Work should be carried out in protective goggles and a respirator, since cutting in this way is accompanied by a large amount of dust.
• Do not use the tool without a protective “casing” and with a loose disc. In this case, you can only cut with a diamond blade.
• The incision should be made in the direction "away from you".
• Tiled material must be firmly fixed on a horizontal surface.
• "Bulgarian" is a dangerous tool, so certain skills are required to work with it.

If you want to make holes and semicircular cutting lines at home, use a drill with special nozzles, wire cutters with carbide clamps.

When drilling you need:

• prepare a point on the tile, having previously beaten off the glaze;
• start drilling with a spear drill, and then use nozzles.

The peculiarity of working with tongs is to “bite off” fragments of ceramics along a pre-drawn contour. It should be remembered that only small pieces need to be separated. In any case, after such procedures, it is important to polish.

When laying tiles on the floor, the question often arises of how to cut floor tiles with high quality, with minimal effort, high speed and guarantees of a good result. This can be done with a variety of tools and devices. About this in our article.

Why cut tiles

When finishing with ceramic tiles, there is often a need to obtain pieces of a non-standard shape or smaller (in comparison with the whole). There is also a need to make curly cutouts. For example, a short list of situations:

• the question of how to cut tiles in a straight line arises when laying floors and walls, if necessary, clearly approach the coating to the wall in the visible zone;
• cutting small tiles may be necessary to decorate small areas of the surface to be trimmed;
• the need for curly cuts or a clear provision of angles of inclination - occurs if some surface is laid in a semicircle or in complex geometry;
• the question of how to cut ceramics arises either with the requirements of a very clear edge configuration, or a rather careless one, provided that the location of the laying element is masked or invisible.

There are a lot of situations when it comes to renovations. Since the characteristics of floor tiles differ from each other depending on the thickness, type of coating, size of the element, then you will have to work with different tools in each case.

Tile cutting tools

We list the tools that can be used to cut floor tiles at home, including, if necessary, to guarantee excellent processing speed and accuracy.

1. Tile cutter manual. Designed for making straight cuts.
2. Electric tile cutter. Provides high speed and precision for industrial scale finishing, can create holes with a straight line edge.
3. Bulgarian. A common and quite convenient tool that requires skill and special security measures, is used for straight cuts and creating rectangular holes.
4. Electric jigsaw. It is used in a wide range of jobs, including cutting floor tiles along a complex path. It implies the presence of dexterity and the use of special saws.
5. Drill. When using various nozzles and drills, such a tool can do a huge range of work.
6. Manual glass cutter. Limited use tool for home use. Only a certain number of thicknesses and strengths can be cut for floor tiles.

During the creation of various cuts, hand tools are also used. These include wire cutters, pliers, wooden and rubber mallets, bits or hand sanders.

It doesn't matter how you cut the floor tiles. The characteristics of the material and its behavior in the course of destruction imply the application of certain protective measures. In particular:

• It is recommended to use lightweight cotton gloves. When processing floor tiles, small sharp fragments are inevitably formed, both of the surface gloss and of the internal material;
• respiratory protection is mandatory, especially if it is decided to cut floor tiles with a mechanized tool: a grinder or an electric tile cutter;
• Goggles are a critical safety measure. Even when using a manual tile cutter or glass cutter, the rebound of pieces of the vitreous mass of gloss is very dangerous.

How to cut rubber tiles

The floor rubber tile is conquering the market and finds a positive response from many users. It is quite durable, does not slip, dampens sharp mechanical impacts (falling objects, for example). The feeling of walking on such a surface is the most positive.

You can literally cut it with anything. But the main condition is that the tool must ensure the full passage of the thickness of the material. Therefore, tile cutters of various kinds are inconvenient, grinders are ineffective - a lot of torn off pieces fly, overheating occurs. Hand tools show excellent results. The list of rational means looks like this:

• electric jigsaw at low speeds;
• knives of various kinds, including for fine work;
• scissor cutters;
• dremel with special nozzles.

You can create complex cuts on rubber tiles with an electric or manual jigsaw, as well as a blade tool.

Knives for figured work allow not only to create extremely accurate cut paths, but also to bring the lines formed by another tool to the requirements of connection accuracy. You can make interesting design compositions, for example, by inserting a curly element of one color into a rubber tile of another, making a cutout corresponding to the shape there.

How does a manual tile cutter and a glass cutter work?

The technique of how to cut ceramics with a manual tile cutter looks like this:

• the element is inserted into the clamping zone;
• the tile is located in accordance with the desired cutting path;
• with a special handle, the sponges of the tool are compressed and fix the ceramic part;
• the working body with the cutting block is pressed and forced along the cut line.

As a result of such a simple technique, a recess is formed on the ceramic tile. Tile cutters allow you to adjust the degree of immersion. In practice, it is chosen so as not to require excessive effort from the performer and not to cut very deep, as chips and even cracks may appear.

When working with a manual tile cutter, the rational depth of cut is determined as follows: it is necessary to go through a layer of gloss and about a quarter, and for weakly annealed tiles - a third of the base ceramics. For matt tiles, it is recommended to go through at least a third of the minimum thickness (in the area of ​​​​the recesses on the back side).

After creating a recess, the tile is removed from the tile cutter and split along the line by impact or bending. In the first case, it is better to do this with a rubber mallet. Some models of tile cutters are equipped with an auxiliary device for breaking ceramics along the cut line. If part of the tile goes to waste, you can simply beat it off on the edge of the desktop, but you need to act carefully.

A similar technology of work is when using a manual glass cutter. A cut is marked on the tile, a support (for example, a wooden plank) is laid, the tool is pressed tightly and drawn along the line along the guide, with effort.

With a certain skill, you can cut floor tiles with a glass cutter and along a curly path. However, it is worth noting that good results are achieved on glossy tiles, which are quite thin. Therefore, the use of a glass cutter is somewhat limited.

How to work with an electric tile cutter

The electric tile cutter is equipped with a diamond saw blade. Working with it looks like this:

• the tile is placed with the help of auxiliary corner fixtures on the infeed table;
• ceramic moves in the direction of the saw blade in a straight line;
• the diamond cutting tool makes a full depth cut with the blade coming out.

An electric tile cutter allows you to immediately get two intact pieces of tiles with clean cut edges. Processing takes place with the addition of water, since at high speeds the cutting disc heats up, many small fragments fly from it at high speed.

To make rectangular cutouts with an electric tile cutter, you will need some skill. To do this, the tile is first lowered onto the disk at the beginning of the straight line until it lies on the infeed table. After that, the ceramics are moved to the desired distance. For each side or face of the cut, the operation is repeated.

How to work with a grinder

To cut floor tiles with a grinder, you need to take maximum precautions. This includes not only eye and respiratory protection, but also the obligatory use of a frame-box to protect against emissions, as well as disc accidents.

Ceramics are cut with a diamond steel disc; it is not recommended to use various fiberglass on stone. The technology of work is simple. Mark the cut line and pass it with a grinder.

You can do partial work, as in the case of a tile cutter, remove only the gloss of the coating and cut through the base material a little. After that, the tile is broken into two parts.

Using a jigsaw, drill

A jigsaw and a drill are tools familiar to everyone, so there is no need to explain the technology for their use. For example, the formation of cuts with a drill occurs according to an understandable pattern: small holes are made at a small distance along the marking line, the material is broken off with wire cutters. Let us mention some features of using a jigsaw and a drill in relation to ceramic tiles.

1. A drill makes round holes easily. To do this, crowns with a coating of diamond chips along the edge (of various diameters), as well as ballerinas (a milling cutter with an adjustable position of the cutting body) are used.
2. When working with glossy tiles, it is recommended to use glass drills first, passing through the top layer, then you can use concrete drills.
3. Using an electric jigsaw, you need to make sure that the pickup of the saw passes from the side of the coating, which in the cut area should have a minimum of chips. Specifically for glossy ceramics and a standard bottom pick saw: you need to cut the tile with its front part down.

You can list nozzles for a long time, grinding and cutting, mention special saws, diamond-coated strings and other equipment for cutting ceramics. However, the tools already listed are enough for a home master or an efficient performer to cut tiles efficiently, quickly, accurately, with a guaranteed result.

When choosing how to cut ceramic tiles, you need to decide on the upcoming amount of work and its type. A tool that can easily cut wall tiles will not work on floor tiles. Radial sawing requires different tools than simple cutting.

Ceramic tiles, which are usually used for wall decoration, are relatively soft. Therefore, its cutting, in comparison with other types of this finishing material (floor or facing tiles), is not particularly difficult.

Glass cutter: conventional and oil

If you want to make a quick cut of ceramic tiles in a small amount, then it is most convenient to use a roller glass cutter. Working with this tool is easy. We lay the tile on a hard and even surface, make markings with a marker. We roll the glass cutter along the intended line, pressing evenly, towards ourselves. A visible stripe should remain on the surface. After that, we break the tile along the incised line. To do this, we put a small object under it - a match or carnation, and gently press on both sides.

If you use an oil glass cutter, cutting ceramic tiles will become even more convenient.

The handle of this tool has a reservoir into which a mixture of kerosene and engine oil is poured. Flowing through a special channel, this mixture falls on the roller and greatly facilitates the cutting process.

The advantages of the tool include speed, low price and ease of use. At the same time, it is difficult to process a large number of tiles at one time with a glass cutter.

With a large amount of work, a more suitable tool for cutting ceramic tiles is a manual tile cutter. It consists of a base, guide tubes and a cutting element.

To work, place the tile inside the device. Move the cutting roller away from you, while trying to keep the pressure even. When finished making the cut, click on the handle to break the tile.

Pluses of a tile cutter: it is convenient to work, use of the lever reduces efforts, cutting of a ceramic tile turns out more exact.

Cons - the tool is not universal, it cannot cut strips less than 5 millimeters wide. The edge of the fault sometimes turns out to be uneven, and it has to be sanded by hand.

How to cut floor tiles

The floor ceramic coating has a high hardness factor 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.

If you are looking for a way to cut ceramic tiles quickly and efficiently, then use an electric tile cutter.

An electric ceramic tile cutting machine consists of an engine, a platform on which a cutting element is fixed (most often a diamond-coated disc) and a container of water. In some models, the disc is partially submerged in water, in others, only the cutting area on the tile is wetted. This principle of operation reduces the amount of dust, protects tiles from cracking and extends the life of the cutting disc.

The electric tile cutter is a versatile tool. It is suitable for cutting ceramic tiles of any hardness; makes straight cuts, with smooth edges that do not need additional processing; cuts pieces of tiles less than 5 mm wide. In addition, it can be used to make a cut at an angle of 45 degrees, as well as a hole or recess.

When deciding how to cut ceramic tiles, keep in mind that a good electric tile cutter is a rather expensive tool.

Such an acquisition makes sense only if you plan to use it regularly.

Bulgarian

The main advantage of this method is that cutting ceramic tiles with a grinder does not require special skills and is available to a non-professional. The principle of operation is very simple: we connect to the network, press the start button and, after the disk picks up the desired speed, we cut “away from ourselves” according to the pre-applied markings.

It is advisable to cut ceramic tiles with a tool that has the ability to adjust the speed. It is recommended to work at a speed not exceeding 3.5 thousand rpm. At higher speeds, ceramics begin to crack, and hot chips and dust fly in all directions at great speed.

You should also not use discs designed for cutting metal. Choose from concrete discs or diamond discs (unsegmented).

The grinder is an inexpensive and easy-to-use tool. But it has several significant drawbacks. Firstly, when cutting, a huge amount of dust and fragments are formed. Secondly, the edges of the tiles are not very neat. They have to be processed additionally: remove jagged edges with wire cutters, process the cut with a file and sandpaper.

Also, despite its simplicity, this tool requires careful handling. In order not to harm yourself during work, you need to know how to cut ceramic tiles correctly. Always hold the tool firmly in your hands so that the space in front of the cutting disc is clear. Be sure to use safety goggles, gloves and a respirator.

Figured cutting of tiles

During repairs, it may be necessary to make holes in the tile for pipes, hoods or sockets. It may also be necessary to cut tiles to fit around a toilet, sink with a foot or door trims. Below we will consider how to cut ceramic tiles in these cases.

Deciding how to cut ceramic tiles to get a hole of a certain diameter? Choose a circular ballerina drill for this job. The distance to the cutter is manually adjustable, and you can set any diameter that you need.

To make the hole neat, use a special drill stand while working. With the help of one ballerina, you can make up to 20 holes in the tile.

In the context of a small repair, curly cutting of ceramic tiles can be done using wire cutters. This simple tool allows you to get cutouts of various shapes. You should bite off from the edge. If the tile is glazed, then the size of the pieces should be minimal.

A common disadvantage of these methods is that no matter what the ceramic tile was cut with, the edges are uneven.

Curly cutting requires good tool skills and experience with ceramics.

In addition, some tasks that arise during repairs are difficult to solve without the help of a professional tool. In this case, you have to look for where you can cut ceramic tiles so that the work is done efficiently, at a professional level.

If you need professional cutting of ceramic tiles, the price for all types of work is usually indicated on the website of the company providing such services. After reviewing the price list of several companies, you can choose the option that suits your budget.

From ceramics - of course, a durable, reliable and convenient building material for wall decoration in an apartment or house. The laying procedure requires not only patience, time, care, but also an understanding of how to cut ceramic tiles at home correctly.

When facing, for example, an apron in the kitchen, it will never be possible to lay a whole tile of a plate of material without cutting, especially on ledges. This raises the question of how simpler and how can it be cut?

Before cutting, remove from packaging and sort by size. In any batch of goods there are certain errors:

• Irregularities in the face
• By width or length
• At the corners of the tiles
• By color (hue)

An experienced craftsman always buys material with a margin, 10% will be enough. To understand and see the errors, you need to decompose them on the floor, so it's faster and better to determine them.

To make cutting tiles easier, soak them in water for 1 hour, for cutting with a glass cutter - for 3 hours.

What tools are required

Cutting tiles at home during repairs involves a small amount of work.

Therefore, you do not need to purchase a professional tool.

You can use a cheaper cutting method, for example, using:

• Bulgarian
• wire cutter
• glass cutter
• Mechanical tile cutter

For tiling a bathroom or kitchen with ceramics, one of the listed tools will be quite enough. In addition to them, you need to prepare for the convenience of the process:

• For markings: marker, pencil or felt-tip pen
• measuring tape
• Square, preferably metal
• Glasses and a respirator, for cutting with a grinder - headphones

On the floor with tiles (squatting) is very uncomfortable. Therefore, prepare a table with a straight and smooth plane. How to cut ceramic tiles with your own hands at home? Let's consider several methods in more detail.

If you need to cut a lot of tiles or lay out applications, mosaics, and so on, then you simply cannot do without this tool. Tile cutters are manual and electric. Mechanical tile cutters are more cost effective. Working on it is quite simple, even for a beginner. The cut is perfectly even and does not require additional processing:

• Mark the cutting line with a marker
• Tiles are laid on the worktop of the machine
• We clamp the tile holder
• On the marked line (along) we install the carriage with the cutter
• On the same line, in one motion, we draw an incision from the distant end towards ourselves
• If there are holders with automatic lifting on the tool, then the tile breaks itself in the process
• If they are not there, we take them out and break them ourselves.

The only drawback with this tool is that it only cuts straight lines. Curly or oval cut on it will not work.

How to cut tiles at home if there is no tile cutter

• Ceramic tiles for wall cladding, as well as glass, can be simply and easily cut with a conventional household glass cutter.
• The floor one differs in thickness and strength from the wall one, so there will be little glass cutter here. The grinder can cut any tiled products. The only downside to this process is dust and noise. Therefore, it is used when there is no other way to do this.

We cut the tile with a grinder

It is clear that the most convenient and reliable tool for cutting tiles is a tile cutter. But if it is not at hand, and you want to lay the tiles on your own, then you do not need to run to the store to buy it. An ordinary household grinder can help with this. How to cut ceramic tiles on your own at home?

The subtleties of working with a grinder

It is very important, when using this device, to follow the basic rules of personal safety:

• Safety goggles and case. Eyes must be covered with glasses so that the fragments do not injure them. The cover takes on the lion's share of the debris and chips. In addition, the case will protect you if, suddenly, the tool disk breaks during the work.
• Cutting disc. To cut the plates with a grinder, you need a diamond cutting wheel, take care of it. Install and make sure that it is fixed securely and correctly by cutting along the mark on the tile left earlier or on the fragment already damaged.

When tiles will require not only even cuts, but also curly or oval. The grinder is very convenient to cut material of any configuration.

How to cut a tile with a grinder: instructions

• We make markings on the surface of the plate
• We put on glasses, headphones, gloves and a respirator
• Turn on the device, set to medium speed
• We leave a short one in working condition so that the diamond blade has time to pick up the desired speed
• We cut the tile along the path marked earlier
• Carefully cut the material along the marked line
• The cutting disc is directed "away from itself"
• There are two ways to cut: up to half, and then we break it on our own or completely (this method is for those who are fluent in this tool), then we cut it in the air: with our left hand we hold the tile itself, with our right hand we direct the grinder

It is advisable to choose a tool with adjustable speeds; at high speeds, the tile may crack. More details can be seen on the video:

How to cut tiles with a glass cutter

The most affordable, albeit difficult, way with small amounts of work on cutting tiles. Moreover, almost every owner has this device and there is no need to run to buy it.

If it is still not at hand, and the choice fell on this cutting method, then buy an oil one. The fact is that in these models, kerosene or machine oil is supplied from the handle to the cutting roller, and this will simplify cutting.

How to cut ceramic tiles with a glass cutter with your own hands?
The process is quite simple, but it still requires certain skills:

• Lay on a smooth surface
• Making markings with a marker or felt-tip pen
• We attach a ruler to the markup (preferably metal)
• With effort, we draw a glass cutter along the mark from edge to edge several times in a row
• We put a match under the plate from below, you can use a carnation or align the cut line with the edge of the table
• Pressing "break" the tile
• If you did everything right, it will easily break along the cut.

The cut edge will turn out to be rough, so gently grind it with a special file or emery stone.

Please note that this cutting method can only be used if the thickness of the tile is not more than 5 mm. This is usually wall glass or ceramic. It is impossible to cut the floor in this way, it is thicker and stronger, so the tool will need more powerful.

Cutting tiles with pliers

Special nippers (nippers) for tiles cannot be called a tool that can perform large amounts of work.

They can only cut and break tiles in those places where the pipeline passes or around outlets.

You need to cut it, capturing small pieces (5 mm) you need to start from any edge, and not in the middle.

In the same way, you can make a curly cut. The process is long, but as a good option.

• We grab the edge of the tile with wire cutters and “bite” in the direction of the intended line. If you grab more than it should, you risk that the material will simply crack and be damaged.
• After completion of the work, we process the cut with an emery stone or a special file.

How to make a hole in a tile

A cut in the form of a hole on the tile will have to be made in any case, for example, at the outlet of pipes and other communications. It is not difficult to make it yourself, but you still need to show attention and accuracy:

• Removing glaze from tiles with a hammer and chisel
• Drill through the hole
• Next, we need a "ballerina": set the desired diameter and make a hole

Any tool can be chosen, each has its own characteristics and difficulties. A professional electric tile cutter is much easier, more convenient and better. But for a one-time job, buying it is impractical. Unless, of course, you are going to seriously engage in this business as a business.

And for home at the time there will be one of the above. All the recommendations and tips described in the article are for glazed ceramic tiles for porcelain, stone, marble, they simply will not work.

If you are taking on this business for the first time, then buy a few pieces in reserve and practice on it.

So you save material and your money in the masonry process.

After you feel that you have gained the right skill during practice, start working in earnest.

So, as you can see, cutting tiles on your own at home is far from an easy and painstaking job. It can be dealt with by those who apply patience and effort. Moreover, by doing the work yourself, you will save your money on calling the masters.

When carrying out finishing work using tiles, there is always a need to cut the tiles into pieces, cut something out. A special tool is used for this, but how to cut tiles without a tile cutter? Many people think that this is impossible, but there are interchangeable tools, and the tile cutter is no exception. The tile is cut with improvised means, you just need to be patient and time.

Tiles are cut by different methods

Alternative tools, features

There are plenty of opportunities to cut tiles without equipment using the following tools:

An angle grinder is a grinding unit that, when using special nozzles with diamond coatings, cuts tiles and other materials (even floor tiles, porcelain stoneware).

A glass cutter is a tool that is the size of a ballpoint pen and does an excellent job of cutting tiles, but the work requires confidence and clarity.

Drill - suitable for rounding, holes, while using different nozzles (drill, ballerina, crown).

Pliers - the edge of the tool cuts the top layer of the tile, making a break line. Often used for curly cuts.

In addition to these tools, they use a spray saw, a jigsaw, even a nail. .

Attention ! When working with tiles, diamond-coated nozzles are used - others do not cope, spoil the material.

Work technology

Cutting tiles with a glass cutter

An affordable simple method for cutting tiles is considered to be the use of a manual glass cutter, which functions on the same principle as a mechanical glass cutter, only the operations are performed manually. The most suitable for the job is a tool with diamond tips and a roller made of durable alloys.

When performing work, follow a certain sequence:

• The first step is to mark the incision with a marker or pencil on the front side.
• Place it on a hard, flat surface.
• A ruler is applied to the markup.
• A manual glass cutter is applied to the far point away from you.
• Pressing on the ruler (so that it does not move) and on the glass cutter, draw a line from the far edge towards you with a confident movement with uniform pressure. In this case, the cutter should not be pressed hard. When drawing a line, a crunch is heard, at the end the glass cutter should jump off the tile.

Attention! The incision line is made so that a visible mark remains on the enamel. Do this only once, because when you cut it again, the tile will break unevenly.

• The fracture line that appears is tapped with a glass cutter's wooden handle.
• The tile should be set so that part of it is overhanging.
• On the exposed edge of the tile, which is placed on a table or other flat surface, they press, break along the line that was drawn. If the line is deep enough, then the fault is obtained without chips, neat, even.

You can break the product along the fracture line if you put a carnation, a match under the tile, press from 2 sides. This method of breaking is popular with a large amount of cutting - time is saved on transferring the tile to a flat surface for breaks.

In this way, cuts into strips of more than 5 cm are well obtained, but it is difficult to break off smaller strips of high quality. To do this, at home they use a bar, a clamp: the narrow part is clamped, and the wide part is broken off with a sharp downward movement.

A manual glass cutter is used when several tiles need to be cut. In the case of a large number of cuts, it is advisable to use a special tile cutter tool, which has a large wheel that makes a deep cut.

Cutting tiles with a grinder

Initially, the grinder was used for cutting marble, porcelain stoneware. Cutting with a grinder is noisy work, but this method is widespread. With this tool, even difficult corners are cut out of tiles. To work, you should prepare a tool:

• Bulgarian.
• Roulette.
• Marker (pencil).

Regardless of the type of tile (ceramic or porcelain stoneware), the first step is marking. To do this, use a ruler, building corner, tape measure, marker or pencil.

When working with a tool such as a grinder, one should not forget about safety precautions: the machine must be with a protective cover, which, in which case, will take on the main impact force. Be sure to wear safety goggles. After following the safety rules, they are taken to work.

Before starting work, check the reliability of fastening the diamond wheel on the spindle. Other types of discs will not cope with this task. After turning on the machine, wait until it picks up speed. Only after that they start cutting along the intended line.

We cut the material on the front side towards us, i.e. along the path of the disk. The car is held “upside down” so that the disc spins “away from you”. To obtain a straight cut, angle grinders are held evenly. To get a cut at 45 degrees, the tool is fixed on its side. Due to the high speed of the disc, the cut is smooth, clean.

Attention! The tile should be well fixed so that nothing interferes with the cutting element, the tile does not move and is on the surface of the support. Be sure to fix the sides with clamps.

The cut can be carried out in several approaches, gradually plunging the saw deeper without losing momentum, so you should not press. For a better cut, before each approach, the cut line is abundantly moistened with water.

Advice! The quality of the cut will improve, regardless of the chosen cutting method, if the tiles, for example: for the floor, are left in water for an hour before work.

Alternative fixtures for glass cutters

When there is no glass cutter, angle grinder in the house, you can use a strong sharp object to mark the furrow. Suitable:

• cutter;
• file sharpened with emery;

• victorious drill;
• construction knife;
• alloy steel, others.

The main thing is to hold such an object in your hands when making a furrow. To draw a cutting line with a construction knife, you will have to draw a line several times.

In emergency cases, a circular saw is used, although it has low speed. An appropriate disc (coated) is selected, the shaft is accelerated to the maximum speed. Then slowly, without pressure, a cut is made along the intended line. The cut is made submersible, longitudinal, necessarily wetting the cutting point with water.

Figured cutting of tiles

Sometimes curly holes should be made in the tile for laying near the pipe, plumbing. This can be done in the following ways:

• drill;

• grinder;
• pliers;
• jigsaw;
• glass cutter.

How to cut a tile with a grinder, a glass cutter is clear - but how to work with pliers? Draw a cut line on the tile. Then break off small pieces with pliers. With this task, wire cutters with a clamp do a good job. The top carbide clamp cuts the glazed surface, while the bottom holds the workpiece from below.

When using a drill, ordinary drills are used to outline the contour, and then break off the extra pieces with wire cutters. All sorts of nozzles will help to effectively make figured cutting of the material: a feather, a crown, and others.

Attention! You should not bite off large pieces - the edge of the cutout will be of poor quality, ugly. Additionally, after working with wire cutters, they use a special sandpaper, a file for cutting irregularities.

Holes in tiles are made with a hole saw that has a carbide tip for making round holes. It is used when creating curly cuts of tiles. The tool is suitable for hard and soft tiles. Saws slowly, collecting a lot of dust around him. Therefore, the product should be dipped in water.

Each method of cutting tiles without a special tool is good in its own way. You can cut the product with the help of improvised devices. Of course, the performance will be low, but with small volumes, this is an economical way out.

Cutting tiles with a hand tool:

Cutting tiles with a grinder: