Ceramic Floor Tiling 6 - Cutting and Trimming

Intro - Checklist - Surface Prep - Layout - Installing - Cut & Trim - Grout

Cutting Tile - Straight Cuts

1. As you tile into the corners you'll need to be cutting tile as you go.

2. Measure accurately with a tape measure.

3. Most tile dealers can lend you a simple tile cutter. You can also rent a wet saw from your local equipment rental center.

4. When cutting with a non-power tile cutter, score the tile only once. Multiple scores will only dull the blade and create jagged edges on the tile. Place the breaking wings, located at the bottom of the handle, about 1/2" from either edge of the tile and slowly but firmly press down on the handle until the wings break the tile. If needed, smooth any rough edges with a tile sander.

Cutting Shapes

1. Whenever you are cutting any tiles, be sure to allow for the 1/8" grout line when getting your measurements.

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Note: Cut tiles to fit around pipes and faucets after all the field tiles are laid.

2. Here are a few different ways to make more complicated cuts:

A) With tile nippers, cut tiles to irregular shapes. Scoring cutoff line with a micro cutter helps. You might
need to cut a tile in two so that a tile
wraps around the plumbing.

B) With a wet tile saw (rented from your local equipment rental center) you can cut the tile with a series of cuts and then go over it with the blade to smooth it out.

If you are making a lot of complicated cuts, it may be worth it to rent a diamond cut-off wheel like this at an equipment rental center or your tile dealer.

3. You can also use a saber saw with a carbide blade or, for small holes for plumbing pipes, you can use a tile cutting attachment for your drill.

Installing the Trim Tiles:

All the baseboard of the floor or backsplash for the countertop need to be finished off with trim tile. To do this, simply butter the adhesive on the back of the tile and stick onto the wall in the correct position.

Note: Make sure to clean out any debris that might have fallen into the joints before the adhesive dries and wipe off any excess adhesive. We don't want anything to interfere with the grouting. Now, we'll let the tiles sit like this for 24 hours.