Tile cutters & cutting

[Grumps]

It's gonna be one of those days where I'm going to live up to my name. I'm laying some floor tiles (18") which are too big for my little tile cutter (you know the type, made of plastic with a lever that runs on two parallel rods which scores a nice straight line), so I gave them to our local tile shop so they could cut them. Now, the question is, how accurate should the cut tiles be to my drawn lines? +/-1mm, +/-2mm? Well, the cut tiles are probably about 1.5mm off my drawn lines. This, apparently is the accuracy you get. "It's all done by eye sir". May I suggest a better pair of eyes. So, not wanting to go back for more "if you can do better, then you should take up tiling" type comments, does anyone know where you can get a manual tile cutter suitable for 18" tiles (and less than the £280 that this shop had)? Ta.

[Grumps]

Sounds messy. So why can't my tile shop use their tile cutter with the accuracy I want?! I only have 4 tiles that require cuts which are not straight lines. My tile shop will charge me about £10 for these. Then I have to get the file out and correct for their inaccuracies.

[Me here]

Local Hire Sop Diamond Saw/Tile cutter. Use with water and cuts accurately to your lines tolerance. Gently does it....

Warning! These machines sling water and wet dust all over the place. Use outdoors unless you want an earache from SWMBO later ;-)

[Grumps]

The cut edge goes against the skirting (well, 5mm from the skirting if they could cut it properly). I've never seen skirting over floor tiles. What does that look like? I've always grouted. And I'm not removing the skirting for this job.

[Christian McArdle]

I use an hand held angle grinder (6.99GBP) with a diamond blade (7.99GBP). I also probably get no better than your 1.5mm. Generally some sort of trim or skirting covers any cut areas, so it isn't a problem. You should never plan to use a cut edge in the tile field.

Christian.

[The3rd Earl Of Derby]

A darn sight better than grout against the skirting. ;-)

[Me here]

Yep, but more accurate.

Because they want to SELL tiles not faff around with some grumpy old gits problems.

You never mentioned quantity in the OP. So pay the tenner and get the file out, it's called "Elbow Grease". Be thankful for any assistance because you can't do the job any better than they apparently.

[Christian McArdle]

A lot better. I've always done the skirting after the tiles.

Christian.

[Grumps]

Indeed. So why do they offer a tile cutting service?

Well of course I can't cut a right angle out of a tile.

[Grumps]

Ah well. It's not an option for me. I can't see in my mind what a tile would look like if it's only grouted on three sides. The man in the tile shop said (in another conversation) that you would grout to the cut edge. I guess your way is neater. Different, but neater.

I may get my angle grinder out and have a go too.

[Dave]

Buy one of the plasplugs wet diamond cutters (probably about £30 and cuts like a hot knife through butter) then you can cut each tile to fit as you proceed. I bought one several years ago and am on the third wheel, having done 2 rooms of wall tiles and one floor. Mine is a "compact plus", if I were buying again I would try to find one with a larger wheel.

Dave

[Christian McArdle]

The problem is that a hand held grinder will produce a very different edge to a "proper" manufacturered one on the tile. If it is natural stone, you might get away with it, but I suspect ceramics would look a bit funny if you intend to put the edge on display.

Christian.

[Grumps]

Like this one

benefits does the larger wheel give?

[Grumps]

The tiles I've got don't have a bevel edge, so, apart from the odd chip, you can't really distinguish the cut edge from the manufactured one.

Thanks for all of your (and others') comments. They're really appreciated.

[Dave]

... snipped

My wheel is about 80mm new, as it wears it gets marginal for very thick (11mm) tiles - it looks like they've upgraded the design because the one you linked has a 100mm wheel. Go for it!

Dave

[Grumps]

>>> What benefits does the larger wheel give?

Is it easy to use? Do you get breakages? How fast does it cut, say, an 8-9mm tile?

[F]

My £30 diamond disc tile saw from Focus has done just fine.

Just another 80 boxes to stick on the bathroom, cloakroom, kitchen and utility room walls and floors...

[The3rd Earl Of Derby]

>>>>> What benefits does the larger wheel give?

Your asking the wrong question ie...

How long has it taken him to do the tiling. ;-)

You can have four tiles cut on a manual cutter by the time you've cut one on the machine.

[John Rumm]

They are easy to use and you should not get any breakages. Unlike a score and snap machine you can also take a 5mm rip off the edge of a tile if you need to. Cut speed depends on the tile, but something round about 1cm/sec for ordinary wall tiles.

[Grumps]

Tiling is for pleasure. The longer it takes, the more pleasure you get.

For straight cuts, I'd agree.