Porcelain Tile Cutting Advice

[AndyR]

Hi all,

This is my first post so please be gentle! - Having searched the forum, there is a wealth of knowledge that I would like to tap into if possible!.

I am in the process of refitting my bathroom, and have decided on a ceramic tile. (Atlas Concorde Milestone Desert). The tiles are 300mm x 600mm and are 9mm thick. I have decided on Bal flexible adhesives/grouts, but need some advice on cutting the porcelain tiles as I have only ever tiled with ceramic before. I must say I am not a tiler by trade, just an enthusiastic diy'er!.

Some reports I have read state that a wet cutter must be used, some others state they get away with a dry wheel cutter?. I have a cheap plasplugs wet cutter, and was thinking about hiring a Tile saw bench from hss http://www.hss.com/g/7421/Tile-Saw-Bench-Inc-Blade-110v.html

Questions are :

Will this hss bench do the job well? - anyone used one?

Approx how many 300mm tile cuts can I expect the blade to last?

Am I better off putting the £136 hire cost into a dry tile cutter that will cut the porcelain easily (and less messily!) and use my cheap wet cutter for the couple of awkward cuts?

Will the wet cutter give a neater cut?

Apologies for all of the questions but I wawnt to make sure that I make the right decision before I take the plunge and order the tiles at £1400!

P.S. I have had a few porcelain tile samples and they seem to differ in quality - some seem lighter and tinny when you tap them compared to the Atlas Concored one I selected which seems more dense - Is this usual for porcelain tiles?

 

[pjtiler]

well really you,ll need both a dry cutter (rubi 600 ) and a wetcutter the plasplus is not really up to the job although you could use it at a push for the L cuts
see how you go before hiring
have a look on ebay for the rubi you could aways sell it back after the job

 

[AndyR]

I have managed to locate a used rubi TR600 cutter - would this be upto the job?. Also what wheel would I need to cut 9mm porcelain?

Thanks Again
Andy

 

[pjtiler]

yes thats the one
i like an 18mm wheel my self for porcelain
mark the tile both ends of the cut and line the wheel on the line both ends

thay can run off a tad

have fun

 

[MICK the Tiler]

Hi andy,

Welcome to the forums. The tiles you mention are of a high quality being dense and heavy and would be the ones I'd opt for. there are alot of inferior porcelains in the market these days and can give those new to tiling a real headache when trying to cut. It does take quite alot of practice to become good at cutting and fixing full bodied porcelain. I use a dry cutter myself and an angle grinder with a continuous rim diamond wheel for the trickier cuts. I think your best bet would be to hire a wet saw Just to be on the safe side and hire one with plenty of grunt. Smaller less powerful saws will tend to ride up over the tile instead of cutting through it.

I use a good quality flexable bag adhesive for fixing porcelain to walls and floors as the low porosity of these tiles rules out using pre-mix adhesives.

The blades will be more than capable of lasting for the one bathroom so should not be an issue.

Since this is the first lot of porcelain you have tried lay tiles with a 3mm grout joint and make sure the tiles stay flat with no lipping. The slightly wider joint will give you that little bit more room for error than if you use a 1.5mm joint without losing quality in the overall look of the finished project

Good luck Mick.

 

[BuyBrandTools]

yes thats the one
i like an 18mm wheel my self for porcelain
mark the tile both ends of the cut and line the wheel on the line both ends

thay can run off a tad

have fun

http://www.buybrandtools.com/acatalog/Rubi-Scoring-Wheels.html
RT-01952 - Gold Scoring Wheel 18mm

 

[kazzy]

i bought the rubi basic wet saw for £100 to cut 10ml porcelain large format and found it brilliant! Allthough i did have to buy a porcelain blade.

 

[Deleted member 1779]

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