How to cut tiles

After reading this guide, you'll be cutting, nipping and sawing tiles in no time. Read on to find out more ...

Level of difficulty

Level 2: Intermediate

What you need

• Goggles
• Pencil
• Handheld tile cutter
• Steel ruler
• Tile nippers
• Power drill
• Hacksaw
• Rod saw

The steps to follow

Cut a straight edge on a tile
1. Use a pencil to draw a straight line on the back side of the tile.
2. For a straight cut, you can use a handheld tile cutter.
3. Position a steel ruler on the line that you’ve just drawn. It will help to guide the cutter.
4. Score the tile with the tile cutter using one strong pull across the face of the tile.
5. To break the tile along the scored line, hold the tile on both ends and place the scored line face-up on an edge (such as a kitchen counter edge or table edge).
6. Apply pressure downwards to break along the line.

Note:
Be careful not to cut yourself as the edges are sharp.

Cut a curve out of a corner
1. Determine on the tile where you plan to cut out a curved shape.
2. Use a pencil to mark a curved shape on the tile. Add an extra 3 mm (1/8 in) gap to the actual curve. This will give you enough space for any fault-proof cuts.
3. Draw a straight edge on the circumference of the curve (a straight edge from one end of the curve to the next.)
4. With a handheld tile cutter, cut away the circumference of the curve.
5. Place the tile glaze side up and score the straight edge with a handheld tile cutter.
6. Place the scored line face-up on an edge and snap it downwards to break off the waste piece.
7. Now that most of the waste part is gone, score the curved shape pencil mark with the handheld tile cutter. Please take extra care when tracing the curved shape on the tile.
8. Next, use the tile nippers to nip away small pieces of tile until you’ve shaped a curve.

Cut irregular edges
1. Draw the irregular edges on the front of the tile.
2. Use a handheld tile cutter to cut away most of the unwanted part of the tile.
3. Cut away the remaining part with the tile nippers until the irregular edges are created.

Cut holes in tiles for pipes
1. First measure the diameter of the pipe.
2. Position the tile on top of the space where the pipe is.
3. With a pencil, measure and mark the position where you plan to create the pipe hole on the tile.
4. Now that you’ve transferred the location of the pipe on the tile, find the centre point of the circle.
5. From this centre point, mark the radius of the circle and include an additional spacing of about 6 mm (1/4 in) for the grouting, and draw the circle using a compass.
6. Drill a hole at the centre point with a power drill. The hole should be big enough to allow the rod saw in.
7. Take the rod saw off the hacksaw frame and thread it through the hole and saw along the line to create the pipe hole.

Note:
It’s not a bad idea to invest on a tile cutter if you plan to cut a lot of tiles. To master a tile cutter, you’ll just need to practice with some scrap tiles.