How do I cut very small pieces of tile?

Question

I am placing a 4 by 12 inch listello border that is made up of smaller pieces attached to a mesh backing. Part of the design is four 1 inch square tiles placed in a diamond shape. What is the best way to cut these when I reach the end/corner of the shower. As stated, the pieces are 1 inch square AND placed on a diagonal. Thanks for any help.

Answer 1

You need to either purchase or rent a wet saw that is for cutting tile.  Make sure the one you get has a 45 degree miter guide so you can move the tile through the blade at a 45.  Please trust me on this.  Nippers or a grinder will not give you the quality of the cut you need and your project will not turn out like you want it to.  I bought a cheap one at Lowe's for about $50 and it works great for small DIY projects.

As far as the actual technique, you need to do a dry layout accounting for the grout lines you want and lie the square tiles on top to get the length you need to cut off of your main field tiles.  Save the first one you cut to use as a template to mark all your other tiles.  Then just cut them off and smooth the cut edge a bit with a special sanding block used for tile.

Also, to reduce the amount of cutting, you may be able to find 1 inch square tiles to use.  Check online or at the place where you bought your tile, and consider having it special ordered.

Good luck on your project!

Edit: Again, a nipper will trim tile, but it is nearly impossible to get a clean edge.  It will be jagged and look like c**p.  A nipper is great for trimming tile where the edge will be hidden such as around a socket, light switch, shower head, etc.  

Also, a manual tile cutter probably won't work either because you need to put even pressure on both the tile and the waste portion, and cutting small pieces doesn't give you enough on the waste side to do it.

Answer 2

There is a cutter for cutting smal pieces of tile...It's called a nipperl