Tiling Services London

Rooms in which tiles are most likely to be used, such as kitchens and bathrooms, are unlikely to be perfectly square with no obstacles to tile around. Being able to cut and shape tiles accurately and smoothly will not only help to create a better finish, but will also save time and money as you will hopefully waste fewer tiles.

Finishing a Row

If you are lucky, when you come to the end of a row of tiles a full tile will fit perfectly in the last gap. More likely, the last tile in a row will need to be cut to fit into the gap. When you reach the end of a row, hold the last tile up against the second to last tile, sliding it up to butt against the wall. Mark a cut line on the tile at the edge of the previous tile, taking into account the 3mm gap you need to leave for the grout.

Use a platform tile cutter to carefully score the tile, and then use the lever to snap the tile along the score line. Hold the tile against the wall to check that your mark was accurate, before buttering the back of the tile (applying adhesive) and pressing it firmly into place. Place the tile with the cut edge against the end wall. You should measure each end tile as you need them, as few walls are perfectly straight.

Cutting a Curve

There are several occasions when you may have to cut a curve into a tile, when tiling around a wash basin for example, and making an accurate mark and cut is the difference between a good finish and a great one.

The first thing you need to do is to cut a piece of thin card to the exact size of the tiles you are using. This will be your first template (you may need to cut several for different parts of the curve). Hold the template in place against the last tile before the curved area starts, and carefully cut the card until it fits the curve perfectly. It is better to cut small pieces at a time until you are sure the fit is good, rather than trying to cut along the curve in one go. You can often crease the card along the curve and then cut along the crease.

You now need to use a chinagraph pencil to transfer the curve of the template onto a tile. Clamp the tile face up onto a workbench (use a small piece of wood under the clamp to stop it marking the tile surface) and use a tile saw to carefully cut along the mark. Take your time and apply as little pressure as possible to avoid chipping the edge of the cut. Use a tile file to finish off the edge of the tile and to make sure it fits perfectly.

Cutting Narrow Strips

Cutting anything less than about 15mm off the edge of a tile is difficult with a platform tile cutter. It is far better to use a pair of tile nibblers to snap off small sections until you have taken the tile back to the size you need.

Before you can use tile nibblers however, you need to score a line in the tile using a hand-held tile scorer and a straight edge. When scoring a line with a tile scorer, you need to apply more pressure than that applied by a platform tile cutter. You need cut right through t...