When planning facade cladding or laying flooring in the house or on the street, many people opt for porcelain stoneware. This material is an order of magnitude superior to conventional ceramics in terms of strength, while maintaining decorative qualities. At the same time, such tiles are close in durability to natural stone, but much more practical in installation. However, it is not always possible to form an even coating without additional processing of the material, which raises a fair question about how to cut porcelain tiles at home without the use of machines and other specialized equipment.
Porcelain stoneware cutting features
The complexity of processing porcelain tiles is due to its characteristics. This is a fairly solid material, which in structure resembles a stone. Accordingly, the tool for cutting it should be selected with great care. Porcelain stoneware is a cross between granite and ceramics. But in the case of the stone without helpprofessionals are indispensable if you need to get perfectly even sides. With ceramic tiles, things are not so deplorable, and it is quite possible to limit yourself to standard cutting kits. When deciding how to cut porcelain tiles at home, you can immediately consider tools such as a grinder, tile cutter, jigsaw, etc. The processing process is quite painstaking and time-consuming, but this is the only way to get the best result without outside help and financial costs.
Preparing the tool for work
Regardless of which tool will be used in the work, it is necessary to check its technical serviceability. Even knowing at a professional level how to cut porcelain tiles at home will not help if the equipment is in poor condition. This is especially important if you plan to operate a device that has been in storage for a long time. So, first of all, the integrity of the cutting organs is checked. These can be diamond rollers, saws, crowns and other abrasives. At the same time, the quality of their sharpening and the fixation system are checked, on which safety will directly depend. Further, the reliability of the body fastenings, the position of nuts and screws are evaluated. If a power tool is being used, check all contacts and in some cases lubrication.
Cutting with a grinder
If the choice fell on thistool, you should immediately prepare for the fact that the workflow will be accompanied by a large amount of dust and dirt. In addition, safety measures must be observed - the presence of gloves and goggles is a prerequisite for preparing for the operation. Angle grinder must have a special cover that protects against material splinters.
Depending on the planned result, you can determine how to cut porcelain tiles at home with a grinder - for example, it can be figured or straight-line processing. In the course of work, it is not necessary to try to cover the entire thickness of the element, since the tile can easily break along the created incision. However, this line should be deeper than in the case of cutting ordinary ceramic tiles. Among the disadvantages of using a grinder, one can single out the need to provide special working conditions and a relatively low cut quality. The first minus is due to the fact that a lot of dust and fragments appear, and the second is associated with rough processing with diamond abrasives.
Using a tile cutter
The popularity of this method is due to the fact that the tile cutter is designed specifically for working with materials such as ceramics and porcelain stoneware. The quality of the resulting cut in this case is higher than when working with a grinder, but subject to the rules for operating the equipment. Despite the prevalence of electric models, it will not be superfluous to know how to cut porcelain tiles with a manual tile cutter, since this method is moreneat. But it is important to note that it is desirable to make an incision once, since repeated attempts to get it and make the desired break can spoil the appearance of the element.
Tile cutter technique
When the initial cut is ready, you should continue fixing the tile, raise the handle of the tool and place the paws in the central part of the line so that its stop is directed into the tile. Next, you need to press the handle and increase the effort, achieving a break. The parameters and quality of the resulting cut are determined not only by the user's manipulations, but also by the structure of the porcelain stoneware itself, its composition and rigidity. If there are extra pieces of chips left on the edges of the tile, they can be easily removed with pliers.
Processing porcelain stoneware with a glass cutter
The force of the glass cutter is not so high compared to the tools described, so this method is advisable to use only in the case of a small amount of work. Now we can move on to the question of how to cut porcelain tiles with a glass cutter to get a result no less decent in quality.
The roller glass cutter must have a diamond element to process tile material. The tile itself is immersed in water for about 30 minutes before work to facilitate the cutting process. Next, the element is laid on a smooth surface. The incision should also be made only once with strong pressure. The cutting part must be rolled along a pre-drawn line from the far point to yourself. As a result of this operation, a groove should form on the porcelain stoneware coating - it will protrudethe basis for further rupture. To facilitate scrapping, it is necessary to put a thin wire, nail or match on the formed line. By double-sided pressing, the tile is divided into two parts.
Jig saw cutting
This method will also require considerable effort and is more suitable for modest volumes of tiles intended for cutting. Unlike alternative methods, this option involves sawing ceramic granite. By the way, knowing how to cut porcelain tiles with a jigsaw will allow you to perform similar operations with a hacksaw. In addition to patience, you should stock up on interchangeable cutting blades, which will probably require working with dense material.
First of all, you need to fix the file. A jigsaw should be drawn along the intended line on the tile so that the most even cut is formed. To eliminate the possibility of overheating of the tool, it is also necessary to moisten the material. This is how the electric model works, but there are also manual jigsaws, which, with appropriate skill and effort, allow you to create accurate and even curly cuts. Again, the main thing is to use files or diamond wires suitable for specific purposes. Of course, the cutting procedure will take a lot of time, but this is one of the best examples that demonstrates how to cut porcelain tiles at home with maximum precision. This method is especially useful if you need to create curvilinear cuts in wall tiles for the further introduction of electricalappliances.
Creating holes in porcelain stoneware
Often cutting operations are complemented by drilling. To do this, you can use special drills, hole saws, and if you need to create holes of large diameters, you will need a powerful low-speed drill. Knowing some of the principles of how to cut porcelain tiles at home will help in this procedure, but there are some nuances. For example, drilling can only be carried out from the outside of porcelain stoneware tiles, since the exit of the working element from the back side will cause chips. In some cases, it is also possible to use a ballerina to create holes. This tool is good because it allows you to set the cutters manually, so you can fine-tune the parameters of the hole.
General cutting advice
The processing of any material that is intended for decorative design aims to obtain a quality result without affecting the aesthetic properties. In the case of tiles, this is especially important, since it will not be easy to disguise defects. Obtaining even sides and precise lines is largely ensured by initially correctly marked contours. For example, given the principles of the technology of how to cut porcelain tiles with a grinder, we can conclude about the meaning of the cut lines. The performer takes the contours as the main direction in the process of work. In addition, security issues are also important - protectionfrom fragments, dust, as well as protection against failure of the equipment itself are paramount measures in preparation for work. Of course, you can’t do without small tricks, including the use of water to wet porcelain stoneware, the use of suitable cutting elements and even distribution of loads during the formation of the cut.
