Using a professional tile cutter to cut your own tiles, whether they be ceramic or porcelain tiles, can save you a considerable amount of money if you do it yourself. There are many good tile cutters on the market available to the average homeowner, but you need to make sure you buy a quality tile cutter because you really do get what you pay for. If you're building a new home and laying tile in several rooms or in a few large rooms, you may want to consider renting a tile wet saw which will make the job of cutting & laying tile go much quicker. But for those that are going to be tiling a shower stall or maybe a room or two, a regular tile cutter would be just what you're looking for.
In learning how to use a tile cutter, you want to remember that you will make mistakes if this is your first time using a tile cutter. You will need to account for tile waste when purchasing your tile. Once you get the hang of using the tile cutter, your wasted tile pile will start getting much smaller with each additional tile job you do.
To score a tile for cutting, you first need to make your measurements. How long or short does the piece of tile need to be to fit properly? Once you have your measurements and you have marked your piece of tile for cutting, you can then place the tile on the tile cutter and make your score line across the piece of tile with the tile cutting wheel. You basically, with moderate pressure, run the cutting wheel across your line of measurement. If done properly, the tile is now ready to be snapped in two. A quick snap is what will give you the best results with the cleanest cuts. The snap comes by tapping the handle of the tile cutter. This causes the scored line to break evenly in two. You will now have your piece of tile that is ready to fit and a waste piece of tile. If the waste piece of tile is of considerable size, you may be able to use it later for cutting and fitting in another place.
If your tiles start breaking unevenly on your tile cutter or you have a lot of jagged edges with each cut, you may need to replace the cutting wheel. One other tool you really need to have when using a tile cutter is a pair of hand-held tile snips. You will need these to snip off any edges that aren't perfectly straight up to your measurement line. Now that you know how to use a tile cutter, you can cut & lay your own tiles with ease.
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