Angle Cuts in Tile, and How You Can Master Them
You're tiling away, doing just fine, when suddenly you come upon a place where a tile breaker just won't "cut" it.
It's time to crack out the wet tile saw, or for you outdoor lovers, the angle grinder with diamond bit blade.
Doing angle cuts of any kind can be one of the most intimidating jobs when tackling a floor tiling job...
but it can also be the most fun.
Let's say you tiled up to a permanent cabinet, now you need to tile around this cabinet.
It's going to take an L shaped tile to get around, no problem.
Take your tile and measure and mark it off, making sure to leave yourself proper grout spacing.
Draw your lines as dark as possible, as the wet tile saw or angle grinder can sometimes wipe or blow them off if not done dark enough.
We'll start with a wet tile saw.
Fill the saw up to appointed line with water; make sure the blade is fastened on tight, plug the tile saw in.
Put on your safety equipment, also making sure your wet tile saw is not going to slide around as you are cutting the tile.
On the floor is a great place to make sure it's as sturdy as it can be.
Unless you have an expensive wet tile saw that comes with a stand! Take the tile that you marked and place it on the bed of the saw.
Start the saw and with both hands on the tile, push the tile gently through the blade keeping the blade on the inside of the line (the part you wish to cut off).
Continue gently pushing it through until you almost reach the end point.
Back the tile out of the blade and repeat the process on the other side of the tile.
When you reach the end point again, the tile will break off by itself.
Now is when you will need your tile nippers or a pair of pliers.
Simply snip or break the little piece in the inside corner of the tile that doesn't belong.
Wipe dry the tile with a cloth and you're ready to continue tiling! If you're the outdoorsman that will be working with an angle grinder, make sure you mirror the marks on the tile onto the back of the tile.
You don't want to cut the top of the tile with the angle grinder.
If you don't know what I mean by mirror, just picture what it would look like if you flipped the tile over, left is right, right is left, that sort of thing.
Once again, you'll need to wear your safety equipment and have power for the angle grinder.
Turn the grinder on, and slowly work across the line you wish to cut through.
Don't try to cut all the way through in one pass, 5 or 6 passes is the best way to go.
Repeat the process for both lines and if all went well, the scrap tile piece should just pop out.
Once again, if needed, you can use the tile nippers or pliers to break off any excess pieces in the corner that didn't come off.
The only difference now, is you will only have to brush the dust off the tile as there is no water used with an angle grinder.
Once again, you're able to continue you're tiling! Just so you know, another reason for using an angle grinder is when you're cutting stone tile, as the wet tile saw doesn't work well for that application.
That's a free one on me.
It's time to crack out the wet tile saw, or for you outdoor lovers, the angle grinder with diamond bit blade.
Doing angle cuts of any kind can be one of the most intimidating jobs when tackling a floor tiling job...
but it can also be the most fun.
Let's say you tiled up to a permanent cabinet, now you need to tile around this cabinet.
It's going to take an L shaped tile to get around, no problem.
Take your tile and measure and mark it off, making sure to leave yourself proper grout spacing.
Draw your lines as dark as possible, as the wet tile saw or angle grinder can sometimes wipe or blow them off if not done dark enough.
We'll start with a wet tile saw.
Fill the saw up to appointed line with water; make sure the blade is fastened on tight, plug the tile saw in.
Put on your safety equipment, also making sure your wet tile saw is not going to slide around as you are cutting the tile.
On the floor is a great place to make sure it's as sturdy as it can be.
Unless you have an expensive wet tile saw that comes with a stand! Take the tile that you marked and place it on the bed of the saw.
Start the saw and with both hands on the tile, push the tile gently through the blade keeping the blade on the inside of the line (the part you wish to cut off).
Continue gently pushing it through until you almost reach the end point.
Back the tile out of the blade and repeat the process on the other side of the tile.
When you reach the end point again, the tile will break off by itself.
Now is when you will need your tile nippers or a pair of pliers.
Simply snip or break the little piece in the inside corner of the tile that doesn't belong.
Wipe dry the tile with a cloth and you're ready to continue tiling! If you're the outdoorsman that will be working with an angle grinder, make sure you mirror the marks on the tile onto the back of the tile.
You don't want to cut the top of the tile with the angle grinder.
If you don't know what I mean by mirror, just picture what it would look like if you flipped the tile over, left is right, right is left, that sort of thing.
Once again, you'll need to wear your safety equipment and have power for the angle grinder.
Turn the grinder on, and slowly work across the line you wish to cut through.
Don't try to cut all the way through in one pass, 5 or 6 passes is the best way to go.
Repeat the process for both lines and if all went well, the scrap tile piece should just pop out.
Once again, if needed, you can use the tile nippers or pliers to break off any excess pieces in the corner that didn't come off.
The only difference now, is you will only have to brush the dust off the tile as there is no water used with an angle grinder.
Once again, you're able to continue you're tiling! Just so you know, another reason for using an angle grinder is when you're cutting stone tile, as the wet tile saw doesn't work well for that application.
That's a free one on me.
Source...