Profile hi-jack - Quarry tile cutting advice

[dalivar]

Hello!

I've hi-jacked my wife's profile in the hope someone might be able to help me. We've been to the reclamation yard and picked up some quarry(ruabon) tiles to lay in the newly opened fireplace, I'm going to be setting them on a 3.5NHL base but will need to make some cuts to some of the tiles before I get going. I've had a quick look on here for some cutting advice but it all seems to be aimed at the thinner quarry tiles.

Any advice or tips for cutting 1 1/2-2" thick tiles would be appreciated.

Mark

 

[Feltwell]

Hi Mark

A powered, wet diamond blade saw will go through them very cleanly, if slowly. Do the cutting outside - it's messy - and make sure you wear goggles as bits do sometimes fly off.

I've had one of these for years now, has done no end of jobs for me & my neighbours!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EINHELL-B...Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM&hash=item2a21f86349

 

[dalivar]

Thanks Feltwell,

I will hunt one of those out in the morning, I'm having to get these things done inbetween the downpours!

 

[worms]

Don't know about quality, but Aldi were doing a tile saw for under £30...

 

[Flyfisher]

I use a diamond cutting disc on an angle-grinder for such things, but you need a steady hand.

If you have a lot of tile cutting to do then feltwell's suggestion would be good. For just a few, it would still be good, but might be an expensive tool that would never be used again whereas an angle-grinder is more generally useful.

 

[Moo]

We hired one from HSS.

 

[Penners]

Don't know about quality, but Aldi were doing a tile saw for under £30...

From personal experience, I can recommend you not to buy on price alone. Check the wattage and the cutting wheel size, too. The larger the wheel, the faster the tip speed (assuming the same rpm). And for effective cutting you need to maintain a high revolution speed on the wheel.

I bought a 300W Plasplugs machine which was fine for thin bathroom wall tiles, but no good for quarry tiles. The Einhell one that Feltwell showed you looks much more up to the job.

 

[middi]

Heavy duty tile cutter or powerful angle grinder ( as already suggested in OP) . Anything else and it will become a strugle.

Middi

 

[Feltwell]

From personal experience, I can recommend you not to buy on price alone. Check the wattage and the cutting wheel size, too. The larger the wheel, the faster the tip speed (assuming the same rpm). And for effective cutting you need to maintain a high revolution speed on the wheel.

I bought a 300W Plasplugs machine which was fine for thin bathroom wall tiles, but no good for quarry tiles. The Einhell one that Feltwell showed you looks much more up to the job.

I had a table saw (for wood, that is) that was a similar story - simply not powerful enough to cut anything except thin softwood. It was pretty useless to be honest, and was soon replaced.

I posted that Einhell saw as it looks to be identical to mine. Mine is unbranded (it was a Chinese manufacturer's sample, sent to a DIY chain's head office) but I'm sure it's the same. It should go through quarries OK, but definitely use the waterbath and cut wet and not dry. Hiring is an option but by the time you've paid to hire it may not work out much cheaper than buying a budget one like the Einhell.

A 4 1/2" angle grinder with diamond disc would definitely cut them with ease, as others have said above, but would be extremely dusty. If you're not going to show the cut edge then this would be good enough I reckon - if you've got a steady hand.

 

[dalivar]

(Elbow's him out the way...)
Would you believe we found a wet tile cutter thing in the shed! Turns out my parents gave us one when they were having a clear out just after we moved. I have no idea what other treasures are in there but you're right, it was perfect for the job and we now have lovely quarry tiles right into the fireplace, lime work seems ok too.
Any ideas how best to cram the mortar into the joints to finish the job? The gaps are so narrow I can't see how to do it.

 

[Lime]

(Elbow's him out the way...)
Would you believe we found a wet tile cutter thing in the shed! Turns out my parents gave us one when they were having a clear out just after we moved. I have no idea what other treasures are in there but you're right, it was perfect for the job and we now have lovely quarry tiles right into the fireplace, lime work seems ok too.
Any ideas how best to cram the mortar into the joints to finish the job? The gaps are so narrow I can't see how to do it.

It depends on how narrow is narrow, if you know what I mean.
For knife-like cracks/joins I used a wallpaper scraper to tamp down the mortar placed over the gap/crack and then wipe with a clean sponge.

 

[dalivar]

Thanks Lime - very narrow...
I will do as you suggest!

 

[plasticpigeon]

Just a suggestion, and I will be quarry tiling my kitchen soon, and trying for the thinnest joints possible, so have thought a bit about this, but what about brushing hydraulic lime/fine sand between the joints and watering. I'm pretty sure some Victorian tiled floors were grouted with cement slurry so my suggestion might not be a sacrilegous as it it first appears.

 

[Penners]

what about brushing hydraulic lime/fine sand between the joints and watering.

That's quite a widely practiced technique. Just be careful to pack the dry mix as tightly into the cracks as you can. If you just brush it in loosely you can find that it will compact and disappear when you water it.

 

[AMc]

Also ensure you have an unbroken bed underneath and you compact to the surface. Otherwise you can push the dry mortar into the gaps and compress it quite well (it appears) then as it sets and the tiles move subtly due to heat and cold the mortar drops down into the trowel marks and leaves a gap. Then the tile is free to move a bit more and the other side cracks...annoying

 

[Penners]

ensure you have an unbroken bed underneath

Such wise advice in so many circumstances...