How and how to cut tiles and drill holes

Recommendation points

• Trimming tile ends
• Shaped tile cutting
• Working with end cutters
• Grinding sections
• Hole making methods

When carrying out repairs, the requirements for the aesthetic appearance of the tiles are very strict. For a high-quality installation of installations and the device of junction nodes, you should be able to correctly cut the tile and drill holes in it, it is these operations that will be discussed in the article.

Trimming tile ends

The simplest operation is to cut the tiles evenly to size. The most convenient way to do this is with a manual tile cutter, which even electric machines cannot be compared in speed and practicality..

For single on-site undercuts, use a hand chisel with a win wheel or a diamond pencil. The technique of working with them is more complicated: the incision must be made under the rail, and the break must be made on a specially made board with glazing bead.

Electric tile cutters are indispensable for large volumes of work. In brigades, where 3-4 people are involved in laying tiles, one is almost always at the machine and cuts parts for all the cladders. The machines also perform flawless tile cuts at any angle and are precisely dimensioned for tiling on corners without foliage (special corners) or for tiling complex shapes..

You can cut tiles at 45 ° without an electric machine, but this requires a certain skill. The first way is to clean the end with a grinder, you can even at a sharper angle, the main thing is to keep the glaze edge even. The second method requires training and is not suitable for some types of tiles. Its essence is as follows: if the relief of the back surface allows it, make an incision on it too, shifting the line by the thickness of the tile. It is necessary to break off the tile by placing it with its front side on the glazing bead: this is how the fracture goes along the oblique and almost always forms a smooth end that does not require modification.

Shaped tile cutting

The topic of cutting irregular and curved shapes is perhaps the most extensive. Of the many ways, only three deserve attention..

The first and most correct one is using a diamond string and a hacksaw body for metal. The method is also attractive for its low cost: a string costs about 250-300 rubles, one is enough for 100-150 cm of cut. The only drawback of cutting with a diamond wire is the small working stroke of the hacksaw. Sometimes it is replaced with a jigsaw, but this trick is not applicable for large tiles. You have to periodically break off the sawn-off fragments or use another method.

The tile can also be cut along a curved line with a grinder, making multiple cuts and breaking off the sawn strips. Finally, the cut can be rounded off with a file or nippers. The method is very laborious and is used only in cases where the uneven cut will be covered with a decorative overlay.

The third method involves drilling multiple holes along the cut contour. Subsequently, the holes can be expanded by drilling at an angle, although more often the cut is simply broken off and the shape is brought along the already open end.

Working with end cutters

Despite the seeming clumsiness of the nippers, with their help it is possible to make fairly even curly cuts, which can even form seams for grouting. The resulting cut after a minute of additional grinding becomes smooth and safe.

Tilers use two types of these tools. The first is not a pair of pliers as such, we are talking about hinged pliers. With their help, large fragments are broken off that have already been trimmed by the glaze. Nippers are used to separate very small fragments and give an even shape to the cut of the part..

In order for the ceramic to crumble as intended, you should bite off an area not exceeding 2/3 of the tile thickness from the edge. In addition, the tool should not deviate too much from the plane of the workpiece. When crumbling tiles for a final cut, stop 1/2 the thickness of the tile from the cutting line, and then refine the end with a file or a bar.

Grinding sections

It is almost always necessary to process the slices when cutting tiles. The primary purpose of grinding is to blunt the sharp edge of the glossy glaze as the most traumatic one and bring its visible edge into a straight line so that after grouting the butt end cannot be distinguished from the factory one..

The fastest way to grind a cut is to grind it with a grinder with a wheel for sanding paper with a grit of 120-160 grit. If there are large chips on the edge, you can pre-process the cut with a disc for polishing granite and natural stone, and then finish with sandpaper.

There are also manual methods of completion: the same block, upholstered with sandpaper, does an excellent job. The disadvantage of this method is the low machining accuracy and the small curvature of the cut, which appears due to the absence of a solid grinding plane. Emery stone does not have this drawback: it has an absolutely flat surface and wears out very slowly.

The described methods are good for grinding straight cuts and outer bends; inner radii have to be processed manually using other tools. First of all, craftsmen use all kinds of files and abrasive round bars. From the materials at hand, you can offer a wooden cylinder, upholstered with sandpaper. When processing curved edges on a glossy surface, a cutting line must be marked, along which the edge is drawn.

Hole making methods

Making holes can be attributed to the most simple and not laborious types of work. There are also several ways and each has its own specifics of use..

Very often you have to drill the tiles on the walls to fix the pieces of furniture. Without special tools, this can be done with a conventional rotary hammer drill set in rotation mode. The method is bad because of its low speed, sometimes it can take several minutes to grind the tile, so it is recommended to use new burs with a sharper edge.

There are special tile drills. They should not be confused with diamond tubes, which are used for drilling glass. Tile drills are spear-shaped with two or four cutting edges. They can be drilled even with a screwdriver, no special effort is required.

To make wider holes, you can use a ballerina in which an adjustable cutter is attached to the center drill. Due to the asymmetrically applied load, the ballerina often experiences runout, which can lead to splitting of the part. When drilling, annular grooves are first cut from both sides, then the resulting washer is knocked out of the hole.

The best tool for making large cuts is the diamond core bit, which leaves a perfectly straight cut and works with almost no vibration. This is a rather expensive tool, therefore, for a one-time production of a large hole, it is better to resort to a trick: first, use a small drill, stretch a string through the tile and cut a large hole with an even edge with it. This method is also great for cutting shaped holes in the center of the tile..

You should not be cunning and try to transfer the hole to the seam of the tiles or their crosshairs. Such a detour will be striking, besides, at the joints, decorative overlays will not fit tightly.