How to Cut Tile Using Common Tools

If you’re doing a DIY tile installation, you’ll likely need to cut a few tiles to fit into corners, along fixtures, and into other irregular spaces. There are many ways to cut tile, some of which work better than others in certain situations. This guide breaks down the six most commonly used tile cutting tools to help you choose the best equipment and techniques for your specific project.

Can You Cut Tile Yourself?

Yes, you can cut tile yourself but only do it if you have the right tools and similar experience (cutting drywall, wood, etc). Cutting tile requires extra attention to precision—uneven or poorly aligned tile can be a tripping hazard, can chip or crack, and look unpolished or sloppy after installation. Cutting tile is also risky without the right safety equipment (gloves and safety glasses) as freshly cut glass, porcelain, or ceramic can be sharp to handle.

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If you do decide to cut tile yourself, purchase about 10 percent extra in your tile material to account for mistakes or miscalculations.

Choosing the Right Tool for DIY Tile Cutting

It is possible to cut tile yourself, provided you have the right tool for the job. Most tiling tools use the same process of measuring and marking the tile, snapping or cutting, then smoothing out the edges, making the process relatively simple for DIYers. Some projects may require multiple tools. To choose the right tile cutters for your tile installation project, know what type of tile you’re working with, how many tiles you’ll be cutting, and exactly what type of cuts you’ll need to make.

With all that in mind, consult the table below to see which tools best suit your needs.

If you’ll be cutting a large number of tiles for a big project, you may want a power tool over a hand tool to speed up the process and make it easier. Just be aware that cutting tile with a power tool creates lots of fine dust that’s hard to clean up and dangerous to breathe. You may not want to use a power tool unless you have an outdoor space for cutting, and if you do, you’ll still need to use proper protection.

Wear hearing protection and a respirator whenever you’re cutting tile with a power tool, and work outdoors if possible. If you must work indoors, cover exposed surfaces and openings with plastic sheets to contain dust. This includes windows, doors, vents, and drains in tile floors. Have a vacuum handy for dust collection.

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How to Cut Tile

While the general process is the same for each type of tile cutting tool, the techniques used for different tools are unique. Specific methods for using each are laid out below to help you choose the right tools for your project and use them properly.

1. Using a Glass Cutter

A glass cutter is a hand tool with a rotating wheel that’s ideal for small cutting tasks that involve simple lines. You can use a glass cutting wheel to cut glass or ceramic tile cleanly without chipping, but you shouldn’t use it to cut corners or curves. You’ll also need a ruler, a pencil, a wire hanger, and an aluminum oxide rubbing stone or sanding sponge for clean, accurate cuts.

• Measure the tile with your ruler to determine where you need to cut.

• Mark a guideline for the cut on the glazed side of the tile with your ruler and pencil.

• Position the tile on a flat surface with the ruler parallel to your guideline.

• Press the glass cutter firmly into the line, scoring but not cutting through.

• Follow along your ruler for a straight cut.

• Position the scored line over the wire hanger on a flat surface.

• Snap the tile clean by gently pressing down on both sides, or by cutting it with tile nippers.

• Smooth out sharp edges with your rubbing stone or sanding sponge.

2. Use a Manual Tile Cutter or Snap Cutter

Manual tile cutters and snap cutters are safe, low-budget alternatives to power tools that can cut ceramic or porcelain tiles without electricity or water. They’re ideal for small projects with relatively few cuts and, unlike glass cutting wheels, they can make diagonal or angled cuts. As such, they’re a great option for cutting edge or border tiles for bathrooms—like bullnose tiles—for tub surrounds and backsplashes. Since they get the job done quickly with simple cuts, they’re also ideal for tiling floors. However, they won’t cut curves or bevels and tend not to work for tiles over three-eighths of an inch thick.

You’ll also need a pencil and aluminum oxide rubbing stone to use this tool properly.

• Measure your tile and mark a pencil guideline where you want to make a cut.

• Position the cutter on a flat surface, perpendicular to you with the lever towards you.

• Place the tile beneath the blade rails and snug against the end stop, glazed side up.

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  Position the guideline of your tile over the cutter’s central guideline.

• Press the lever over the guideline until it reaches the end stop to score the tile surface.

• Flip the breaker bar down over the cutting wheel.

• Snap the tile by applying firm, gentle pressure to the lever.

• Smooth rough edges with your rubbing stone.

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3. Use an Angle Grinder

An angle grinder is a handheld power tool ideal for curved, square, L-shaped, and circular cuts around doorways, vents, drains, and pipes. It requires less skill and setup than a wet saw. It can handle large quantities of tile, but it’s not ideal, as the cutting process is time-consuming. Use a diamond-tipped blade for cutting ceramic or glass tiles, a notched blade for porcelain, and a serrated blade for marble or stone.

Hold the blade vertically for straight cuts or horizontally for rounded cuts. You’ll also need a pencil, clamp, masking tape, and aluminum oxide rubbing stone or sandpaper.

• Measure the tile and mark your desired cut shape with a pencil.

• Clamp the tile to your work surface and place tape around the edge to prevent chipping.

• Score the tile by carefully pulling the angle grinder along your marked guideline.

• For rectangular cuts, score the tile again on the back.

• Cut the tile with deeper and deeper passes until you go cleanly through the tile.

• Smooth out edges with your rubbing stone, sandpaper, or the flat side of the blade.

4. Use a Wet Saw

A wet saw is a power tool that uses a water-cooled diamond blade to cut large quantities of ceramic, porcelain, glass, or marble tile quickly and precisely. You feed tile into the blade on a sliding table while a pump sprays water over the blade to keep it cool and to control dust. Only make cuts if your blade is sharp and water is flowing properly over the blade.

A wet saw can be messy, so set it up somewhere where water won’t be an issue. Wear safety goggles and gloves, avoid loose clothing or jewelry, and keep your hands as far away from the blade as possible. Be sure to read all instructions for the wet saw before you start, then follow these steps to make your cuts. You’ll also need a pencil and aluminum oxide rubbing stone.

• Set up the saw on a solid, level surface and fill the water reservoir or tray.

• Measure and mark a guideline on your tile where you want to make a cut.

• Tape tile edges to prevent chipping and place the tile in water.

• Set the rip fence. The widest part of the tile should stay between the blade and fence.

• Align the tile guideline with the blade in a position that supports the tile on the table.

• Start the saw and give it 20 seconds to get up to speed and for water to start flowing.

• Guide the tile slowly along the fence into the blade with both hands, glazed side up.

• Push the tile between the blade and the fence until it completely clears the blade.

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  Turn off the saw and let it power down completely before removing the tile.

• Smooth rough edges if needed using a rubbing stone or sandpaper.

5. Use Tile Nippers

Also called a nibbling tool, tile nippers make small snips that larger tools can’t. This is ideal for irregular cuts such as curves, arcs, circles, notches, and other tiny cutouts. You can also use nippers to cut around toilet flanges, faucet valves, and door cases in ceramic tiles and some thinner porcelain or stone materials. They aren’t ideal for large, straight cuts, however.

Follow these steps to use tile nippers. You’ll need a pencil, measuring tools, and sandpaper.

• Measure and mark your tile with a pencil where you want to make a cut.

• Cut your tile down with a snap cutter or wet saw if needed to get close to the cut area.

• Snap the tile in small chips by carefully, but forcefully squeezing the nippers.

• Smooth the edges of the tile with your sandpaper or a rubbing stone.

6. Use a Dremel

You can use a dremel to create a hole in the center of a tile for pipes or valve fixtures, which makes it a unique tile cutting tool. You can drill a hole into loose tile that hasn’t been installed or into fixed tile that’s already attached to a wall or floor. Dremels are ideal for ceramic tile, though with a diamond bit they can cut through porcelain or marble.

• Measure and mark the tile where you want to make a cut.

• Clamp the tile to a solid surface to keep it in place while cutting.

• Tilt the dremel to a 45-degree angle and push into the tile until it’s at a 90-degree angle.

• Pull the dremel out gently once you reach the end of your cut line.

Tips for Cutting Tile Without Chipping

Cutting tile is relatively straightforward, but since ceramic is prone to chipping, you might destroy some tiles in the process if you’re not careful. Luckily, you can use a few different methods to cut ceramic tile without chipping the edges.

Tape the Sides of the Cut

One of the simplest ways to avoid chipping is to tape on either side of the cut. Lay down a piece of masking tape along your guideline mark to make the line easier to follow with your tool and protect the edges of either side.

Go Slowly

Rushing the process can increase the likelihood of chipping, especially when you’re using power tools. Instead, make slow, shallow cuts, and go over them with your power tool multiple times to complete the cut. It’s best to go no more than 1/16” deep per pass.

Score Your Tile

If you have a wet saw or other power cutting tool, insert notches in the tile before cutting all the way through. This is called scoring. You can notch your tile using a dremel, an angle grinder, or even a glass cutter.

With a notch system in place, you can gently apply pressure while cutting with any tool to reduce the likelihood of chipping. Apply even pressure through the entire cut until you’ve gone all the way through the tile end-to-end.

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DIY Tile Cutting vs. Hiring a Professional

Cutting and installing tile yourself is a labor-intensive project that may require you to invest in some tools you don’t already have. If you have a big project that requires a lot of cutting and you don’t already have a tile-cutting saw, it might be more cost-effective to hire a professional to do the work.

Not only can tile-cutting tools be expensive, but inexperienced DIYers are bound to make more mistakes, the cost of which can add up quickly, depending on the tile you’re cutting. Ultimately, it might end up being more affordable to hire a professional from the beginning to avoid errors, especially if you’re working with high-quality, expensive tile.

Additionally, if your tiling project includes a lot of angles or ornate cuts, we suggest hiring a tile installer near you. Again, attempting challenging tile cutting work yourself is likely to lead to some mistakes, which can get expensive if you’re working on an intricate or large project.

With all that said, DIY tiling will save you between $600 and $800 on average compared to the cost of tile installation by a professional. Those savings may be worthwhile to handy homeowners on a tight budget, especially if you just need a few tiles cut or the cuts you need are simple.

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Categories: Kitchens