Low end saw to mitre porcelain tiles

[goldeneye]

Hi,

This is my first post, so hope I have put it in the right place on the forum!

I have been getting a lot of help with a recent bathroom tiling job (first time I have done DIY tiling) from reading the posts on this site .

I now have another bathroom to tile, and this time I will be using 43 x 31 porcelain tiles, and I need to avoid using tile trim around the window.

I was hoping to mitre the tiles around the window, and have seen a couple of posts relating to this.

Question is, do I need a wet tile saw to do this, and if so which of the lower end saw ( Vitrex PRO 560, Vitrex PRO 750 or Norton Clipper 180 ) would be suitable?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[DHTiling]

I would say the clipper saw as the table tilts if i recall right and that will make mitring easier..

Oh!! Hello and welcome..

 

[aph257]

No need to mitre as Porcelain is a "through bodied tile". You will have to wet cut though and be accurate as well. The tile in the window reveal will butt upto the back of the tile on the wall, i.e. so that you will see the end of the tile that is on the wall. You could though change that around for the cill. BTW, either of the wet saws should do the job.

puts some photos on when your done.

 

[DHTiling]

No need to mitre as Porcelain is a "through bodied tile". You will have to wet cut though and be accurate as well. The tile in the window reveal will butt upto the back of the tile on the wall, i.e. so that you will see the end of the tile that is on the wall. You could though change that around for the cill. BTW, either of the wet saws should do the job.

puts some photos on when your done.

What if it is Glazed porcelain..:smilewinkgrin:

 

[aph257]

Good point Dave, but wouldn't that make the glazed edges sharp as razors?

 

[DHTiling]

Not if you do the mitres right.. as in 1mm shy of the edge..

But personally i would use chrome trim and if full bodied like you say then i would polish the edges... Mitres IMO are a weak edge.. look great but can be a week impact area.

 

[aph257]

So my one attempt at mitring joints was not that accurate then!! 1st aid kit was used!! and agree with you, polish edges or use chrome (straight) trim

 

[DHTiling]

Yep.. fat edge straight trim....

Cut fingers... any pics..:lol:

 

[goldeneye]

Thanks for the very prompt replies.

I can see what you are saying about mitre joints being a weak point, especially as I know the window 'shelf' will be used to store various items.

You mention about polishing the edges of the tiles once cut. What kit do I need to do that, and is it difficult to get a good finish?

 

[DHTiling]

Not difficult at all with the right gear..

I have a polisher and diamond resin pads but you can get a reasonable finish by using various grit papers from 80 grit up to around 600/800 grit and that will give a nice edge.

These can be used on an orbital sander etc.. the higher the grit the higher the polish.. but you need to work up in grit stages.

 

[goldeneye]

Thanks Dave.

Will do some testing on some of the tiles I will be using.

Great forum by the way.

 

[DHTiling]

It sure is..