Using a Ceramic Tile Cutter
Using a ceramic tile cutter is one way of ensuring a lovely finish to your ceramic tiles when remodeling your bathroom. However, not many homeowners know how to use a ceramic tile cutter and often find themselves with their backs against the wall and are eventually forced to hire a contractor instead to get their tiling job done.
Sadly, what most of them do not know is that using a ceramic tile cutter does not require great technical expertise and with a little practice, any do-it-yourselfer can install a professional looking ceramic tile floor in record time using ceramic tile cutting tools.
This fact is of particular interest to those that want to maintain a tight lid on their bathroom renovation costs and connect with their own project during the bath remodeling process. It’s pretty straight forward; you use a ceramic tile cutter to cut tiles. We will now examine the different types of ceramic tile cutters on the market and how each is used.
“Summary: Ceramic tile cutters help you cut and shape ceramic tiles to your specifications. While using a ceramic tile cutter is not hard some such as the strikers does require some practice. The thickness and hardness of your tile will in some degree determine the type of ceramic tile cutter you will need to get the job done.”
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The first thing to understand about ceramic tile cutters is that each type is specifically geared towards the material that has been used to make the tiles. Tiles that are hard to cut are usually made from porcelain or have an ultra-thin glazed surface.
The thicker the tile the more difficult it will be to cut and this is part of the reason why it is necessary to know two important things: what does my bathroom renovation project entail and what types of tiles will I be working with?
When these two basic questions are answered then it will be possible to know the ceramic tile cutter that you will need. Getting the wrong type of ceramic tile cutter for cutting floor and wall tile can result in an unnecessary waste of material and unsatisfactory results.
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Your bathroom renovation tiling project can be fun and fulfilling when the renovation process goes smoothly, so to get a feel for the tiling material it’s always a good idea to do some testing using a ceramic tile cutter on some extra ceramic tiles you have purchased just for this purpose. However, launching your bathroom renovation project without using some extra tiles for practice can lead to frustration and extra costs incurred along the way.
Renovations that include angled and tight areas will need a type of ceramic tile cutter known as Tile snips. These are one of the many manual ceramic tile cutters on the market and are excellent to use when both flooring and wall tile need to fit around areas that are curved and need extra precision to get a perfect fit.
Some common areas that you may use this type of ceramic tile cutter are: around pipes, decorated walls, fixtures, cabinets, and fill in areas. A pre-drawn shape would have to be placed on the tile with a marker and then this type of ceramic tile cutter will be used to make small cuts around the shape. It is best to make small cuts at a time so as to avoid mistakes and wrecking the tile. When using this ceramic tile cutter, rough edges that appear can easily be perfected by using a sharpening stone to make them smoother.
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Another popular type of ceramic tile cutter is the wet diamond tile saw. This is more expensive than the tile snips mentioned above, but they are widely known for their precision and high results. Homeowners that will need to cut large quantities of ceramic tiles will find this option a worthwhile investment.
The diamond ceramic tile cutter is useful for thicker tiles such as: marble, granite, and porcelain. This ceramic tile cutter comes with a diamond blade that cuts through the tile while water accompanies the cutting direction. Due to the thickness of most tiles that are used with this ceramic tile cutter, the tension that is produced after scoring the ceramic tile is not enough to create a weak area to break the tile.
The saw is placed in a fixed position and the tile that needs to be cut is placed under the rotating saw and pushed towards it to get the required finish. This type of ceramic tile cutter is very flexible and is able to cut different shapes into a number of ceramic tiles.
Another type of ceramic tile cutter is the striker which is cheaper than the diamond tile saw and requires some degree of practice to get the desired results. This ceramic tile cutter is perfect for thin tiles and operates by scoring the ceramic tile with its metal blade.
When this is done a weak area is created and the tile is easy to snap in half. If you do not have a large renovation project, then this ceramic tile cutter is a great option. When cutting tile, it’s always a good idea to have a creative tile pattern in mind before you begin in order to keep your bathroom looking professional and unique.
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