Mick's Speedy Tiling Tips

[MICK the Tiler]

Re: Micks... Speedy Tiler Tips..

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]What You Should Know About Masonry - The Manufacturing Process[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Brick manufacturing today follows fundamental procedures pioneered centuries ago. However, better knowledge of raw materials and their properties, better control of firing and improved kiln designs have resulted in a superior product. The production of bricks centers around the type of clay that is used. Clays occur in three forms (Surface Clays, Fire Clays & Shales). Although they share similar chemical compositions, they will differ in their physical characteristics. All properties of brick are affected by the composition of the raw materials and the manufacturing processes. Essentially brick are produced by: (1) mixing ground clay with water, (2) forming them into desired shapes, (3) then drying and firing them. Establishing a homogeneous blend is necessary before subjecting the mixture to one of three forming processes (Stiff-Mud, Soft-Mud or Dry-Press). Next, the process continues with drying, firing and cooling. Kiln firing temperatures during manufacturing graduate from 400°F to 2400°F.[/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Hardness of Bricks
[/FONT]
​

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]•There are many different types of brick (Building, Facing, Hollow, Paving, Ceramic Glazed and Thin Brick), and different scales of hardness. The strength of a unit is used to determine its durability and cutability. Both compressive strength and absorption are affected by properties of the clay, method of manufacturing and degree of firing. Most bricks have a strengths ranging from 3,000 PSI to over 20,000 PSI; averaging around 10,000 PSI.

•Brick may also include different size, type and volume of aggregates to further strengthen the mix.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]What You Should Know About Stone[/FONT][/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Natural and Pre-cast Stones vary significantly in their geographic origin, mineralogical composition, and physical and mechanical properties. There are numerous types of stone to select; with each one exhibiting specific qualities of compressive strength and abrasive resistance. Additionally, these qualities would dictate appropriate diamond blade selection to effectively handle cutting requirements.[/FONT][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Your Choice of Stone Requires a Specific Type of Diamond Blade[/FONT][/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]•Marble
•Sandstone
•Granite
•Limestone
•Slate/Flagstone
•Precast Stones General[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Characteristics of Stone[/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The complex nature and variables of Natural and Pre-Cast stone make it difficult to generalize their overall physical and mechanical properties. Unless the operator has had experience in cutting a particular stone, there are methods that can help predict the stone's sawability, and so determine the "best" diamond blade. The American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) recognizes several physical property measurements that can identify a stone's hardness:[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]•Uniaxial Compressive Strength (UCS) - Measuring basic rock strength parameters. Commonly measured in Pounds Per Square Inch (PSI)

•Cerchar Abrasivity Index (CAI) - Measuring a rocks abrasivity for determining cutting wear rates. Defined by a graduated numerical scale: lower numbers indicating less abrasive qualities, and therefore greater hardness.

•Mohs Hardness Scale - A scale of hardness applied to minerals that ranges from 1 to 10 indicating one from the other's scratch potential. The higher the number the harder the mineral.

•Shore Scleroscope Hardness Test - A dynamic indentation hardness test using a number to indicate the height of a rebounding hammer off the surface of the material. The higher the number the harder the material.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]It is recommended to review all data relating to a stone's hardness and abrasive qualities to effectively choose the proper diamond blade. No singular Property Measurement Test can define the characteristics a stone would exhibit during the cutting process. As a general reminder for stone diamond blades: tests and industry experience has documented that stone exhibiting a greater degree of hardness and abrasive resistance require softer bond matrixes.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Conclusion[/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The preceding information has illustrated the unique physical properties of common building materials that often require sawing or drilling. Over the years, diamond blades and tools have consistently demonstrated their reliability, economy, performance and safety. The singular most important factor an operator of diamond blades and tools can recognize is matching the proper blade with the material to be cut.[/FONT]

 

[MICK the Tiler]

Re: Micks... Speedy Tiler Tips..

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]What You Should Know About Concrete[/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Four essentials must be known about the concrete to determine proper diamond blade selection.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]1. Compressive Strength[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The hardness of concrete is referenced by its compressive strength measured in Pounds per Square Inch (PSI). Cured concrete slabs vary widely in compressive strength; with moisture, temperature, design of mixture additives, cementitious materials and curing processes often determining their measured level of strength. The higher the compressive strength, the harder the material.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Concrete Hardness[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]PSI[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Typical Application[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Very Hard[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]8,000 or more[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Nuclear plants[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Hard[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]6,000 - 8,000[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Bridges, Piers[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Medium[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]4,000 - 6,000[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Roads[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Soft[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]3,000 or less[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Sidewalks, Parking Lots[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]2. Age of the Concrete[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The "age", or length of curing time greatly affects how the diamond blade interacts with the concrete. Although methods exist to accelerate the curing process, the "state" of concrete from initial pouring to a period of 72 hours and over can be defined in 3 distinct increments, and is influenced by temperature, weather, moisture, aggregate, time of year, admixtures and composition.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]State 1[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The concrete is considered in its "green" state 0 to 8 hours after the pour, meaning it has set but has not hardened completely. With green concrete, the sand in the mixture has not bonded to the mortar blend firmly and will cause extreme abrasive action once the physics of sawing begins. Further, the slurry generated by green concrete is equally as abrasive and will require special undercutting protection for the steel core of the diamond blade. Typically, sawing control joints of highways, industrial flooring, driveways, runways and like-projects is performed during this state.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]State 2[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The concrete is considered as cured 8 to 24 hours after the pour. The sand is held firmly adhered to the overall mixture. Generally, control joints established in State 1 are widened during this time.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]State 3[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The concrete is considered as cured 24 to 72 hours after the pour. The sand is held firmly in the mortar mixture and the overall abrasive actions and properties of the concrete is greatly diminished. Now, consideration of the aggregates, compression strength and steel content of the concrete becomes important factors in determining proper diamond blade selection.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]3. Aggregates and Sand[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Aggregates are the granular fillers in cement that can occupy as much as 60% to 75% of the total volume. They influence the way both green and cured concrete perform. Aggregates can be naturally occurring minerals, sand and gravel, crushed stone or manufactured sand. The most desirable aggregates used in concrete are triangular or square in shape; with hard, dense, well graded and durable properties. The average size and composition of aggregates greatly influence the cutting characteristics and selection of the diamond blade. Large aggregates tend to cause blades to cut slower, and smaller aggregates allow the blades to cut faster.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Difficulty[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Average Aggregate Size[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Harder to Cut
(blade wears slower)[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]1½"[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]or more
1½" - ¾"
¾" - 3/8"[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Easier to Cut
(Blade wears faster)[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Pea gravel (less than 3/8")[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Aggregate hardness is referenced by the Mohs Scale. This scale assigns arbitrary quantitative units, ranging from 1 through 10, by which the scratch hardness of a mineral is determined; each unit of hardness is represented by a mineral that can scratch any other mineral having a "lower-ranking" number. The minerals are ranked from talc or 1 (the softest), upward through diamond or 10 (the hardest). Hard aggregates shorten blade life and reduce cutting speed.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Sand composition is another factor in determining the hardness characteristics of the cement and the abrasive properties of the mortar. Three types of sand are generally used in the mixture:

•River Sand (round non-abrasive)
•River Bank Sand (sharp abrasive)
•Manufactured Sand (sharp abrasive)
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]River Bank Sand and Manufactured Sand are more abrasive than River Sand. The more abrasive the sand is, the harder the bond matrix requirements. Also, sharper; more geometrically defined sands require harder bonds.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]4. Steel Reinforcement[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Further strengthening and structural integrity of concrete is accomplished by introducing concrete Reinforcing Steel Bars (Rebar), Steel Wire Strand of Wire Meshing into the concrete. It costs more to cut concrete that contains reinforcing steel because cutting rates are slower and blade life is reduced. If the cross-sectional area of concrete is 1% steel, the blade life will be about 25% shorter than if no steel were present. Concrete with 3% steel can reduce blade life as much as 75%.[/FONT]

 

[jagtiling]

Re: Micks... Speedy Tiler Tips..

Thanks for the speedy tiler tips, keep them coming. As one of those newbie tilers all tips and hints are gratefully accepted. That angle marking tool is not bad either, thanks sir ramic

 

[macten]

Re: Micks... Speedy Tiler Tips..

C'mon Mick - a man with your skills can't possibly have run out of tips!!

 

[White Room]

Re: Micks... Speedy Tiler Tips..

Should be Mick the Tilers advise centre

 

[diamondtiles]

Re: Micks... Speedy Tiler Tips..

thanks mick. thats great. look forward to your next set of tips.

wanted to ask how its possible to generate more business...any ideas...

 

[diamondtiles]

Re: Micks... Speedy Tiler Tips..

Mick. Thanks for all your tips so far. keep them coming...

I wanted to ask what if its worth plying a tongue and groove chipboard floor before laying ceramic tiles over it??

Any thoughts??

Michael

 

[Alberta Stone]

Chip board (OSB) should never be tiled over.

As for angle cuts I use a large square to find my marks.
It works, but that Rubi tool looks nice.

 

[cornish_crofter]

Re: Micks... Speedy Tiler Tips..

I don't like angle grinders in general and tend to use them when absolutely necessary.

Hence, for tiling I use a Belle Mini Tile

 

[doug boardley]

Re: Micks... Speedy Tiler Tips..

Hi Neil,

I too really like the jig tool posted by Sir ramic very handy to have in the tool kit.

Although I don't use one. I use a piece of 20mmx20mm pine moulding with one end cut at a 45 deg angle and place this against the wall acting as the tile edge, then mark with a pencil the other end allowing for a tile spacer, flip it over and mark the other side (Only if angle is greater or in some way differs from 45deg) then place the stick onto tile lining the pencil mark up with the edge of the tile and mark the 45deg cut end the place on cutter and score and snap, should fit sweet.

There are plenty of other ways to scribe tile angles but i find this method quick and inexpensive although I might just get me on of those jigs

I'll try and post a pic of what i'm waffling about as it will be alot easier to visualize.

Glad you are enjoying the posts.

Cheers Mick

I do something similar mick, I place a piece of batten along top edge of full tile, slide it through to wall and mark with pencil,allowing for perimeter and grout joints, swing it through 90 degrees and do same up adjacent length, a lot easier to do than describe tho'!! lol
bonny tiler

 

[MICK the Tiler]

Ok so I haven't given any speedy tiler tips for a while due to being to busy of late,but I was only thinking the other day whilst using my wet saw about a simple modification you might want to do to your bridge saw that will cost you nothing, but with the added bonus of improving the saws cutting ability.

I've done the modification on all my bridge saws for over 20 years so I know it works and I won't go back to the other way again.

A word of warning though this modification is only for overhead wet saws and is not to be done on any other type of saw only tile saws where the saw passes over the tile will be safe enough to modify.

So here goes. Most wet saws will spin in a clockwise direction making the cutting action down into the tile, but what we want to do is reverse the polarity of the motor so that the blade will spin in a counter clockwise rotation or spinning up and away from the tile.

"Why the hell would we want to do that" I hear you all saying. Well I don't know the technical response for the modification, but it works, and your saw will run smoother cut cleaner and the wheel will last longer and so too will the motor. If you have your doubts TRY IT!!! You can always switch it back if you don't like it. This is the beauty of this TIP.


Here's a pick for you to look at of what I mean.

 

[macten]

I'm no ghost buster Mick - How do I reverse the polarity?

 

[MICK the Tiler]

Bear with me................. i'm looking for a pictoral solution as we speak. It's kind of hard to put into words.

 

[beanz]

Talking of slight modifications, i was thinking of welding a bump on my bucket trowels arm (not sure of the technical term lol!) to stop it slipping into the bucket. I know a lot of people lately have mentioned this problem, so thought i'd put it out there.

 

[DHTiling]

MICK!!...Sorry mate but we can not condone that anybody messes with electrical machinery who is not competent to do this.....A machine is designed and built to run a certain way and we don't want people to void their warranties or kill themselves messing with electrics.....

Tilers forums cannot be held responsible if anybody does as mick suggests...

thanks...dave..