Time to Tile!

Ok I started tiling my bathroom a few weeks ago, first the wall and then the floor with some parts omitted while I wait for some glass pieces to arrive from the tempering shop. I had long since sold my tiling stuff so I had to buy all new- well except for this small collection of trowels and buckets which I stumbled upon on Craigslist.

Since then I thought I’d get this QEP tile cutter; it looked like it could handle big tiles, no mess, no noise, good reviews, so what could be better?

Well it was VERY cool at first, it took one second to score & snap a 24″ tile and the line was quite straight, and there was no danger from spinning blades or debris. The problem was it can’t cut corners. So how was I supposed to tile around outlets and windows?

I needed a tile saw. I wasn’t about to break 100 tiles trying to learn to use tile nibblers for that, although I’m sure I would have gotten good at it eventually. After exhaustive searches on Craigslist, Lowes and Home Depot I found that for the price and ease of use that I personally needed, I’d need a new saw (comes with new blades which I would have had to buy if it was a used saw). Of course if I hated it, I could also just return it to the store. As a side note almost EVERYTHING that I have purchased new at a store in my lifetime was a rip off, so this was quite a leap of faith for me. I went with a Ridgid Tile Saw. The deciding factor was the overhead blade that can tilt 45° for cutting bevel edges on the tile (very useful for the perfectionists out there).

My online review:

“I bought this saw to hopefully cut cleaner lines in 12″ x12” ceramic tile compared to the QEP score-n-snap thing I have now. I also needed to be able to cut 45° bevel angles once in a while to make my corners look good (especially outside corners).

Assembly was easy, and the first cut I made I noticed it was not aligned from the factory (the table and the saw blade.) but easy enough to fix with a 5mm allen wrench (not provided) and a square. The built in laser light is handy too, even though it’s not advertised on the box.
I tried the “bevel” or 45° cut next and I was surprised how much chipping there was on the side of the tile I wanted to keep. The other side (for inside corners) was perfect. I tried cutting my bevels with the finished side down and it came out a little better, although the corner chipped each time. This isn’t really the tile cutter’s fault but just be prepared to deal with it.
The only other thing I wasn’t expecting was how messy it is. Water EVERYWHERE. Do not try to use this inside like I did. There’s spray out the back from the blade, lots of dripping from the tray as you approach the end of a cut (it reaches past the edge of the table) and just general mist in the air. My floor, wall and window are soaked, almost flooded from just a few test cuts.
USE EAR PROTECTION, it is very loud. Your bathroom tile isn’t worth losing your hearing over”

Hurray! Now I’m broke but have the tools to eventually, satisfactorily, finish the job. It’s funny how I remember things being easier a couple years when I last did any tiling, I guess I have selective memory because this is how easy I remember it being:

 If you really want to make a hole in tile you need to spend some SERIOUS money on tile cutting hole saws…. or if you only have like 2 of several different hole sizes to cut, these drill bits will do it for less than $15.  I only needed to use about 4 different sizes once or twice each and they last about 3-4 holes before they go dull and that is good enough for me! Especially since the hammer method shown in my video would never ever work…

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