Back splash large format tiles

[Packard]

I know I have mentioned it before, but I will repeat it here:  I dislike any design feature that requires extra work from me after it is installed. 

It is the reason I chose 12” x 24” floor tiles for my bathroom remodel and 24” x 24” tiles for the tub surround.  I am adverse to grout lines.  The fewer and the smaller the grout lines, the happier I am. 

I am planning on marble-look glossy porcelain tiles for the back splash.  It measures 17” x 9 feet.

Those tiles are available in:

24” x 24” 
18” x 36”
24” x 48”

Cutting 24” x 24” is not a problem.
Cutting the 18” x 36” down to 17” is.
Cutting the 24” x 48 down to 17” is also.

I have a tile saw that is like a baby table saw.  There is no way that I could maneuver the large tile over the tiny table satisfactorily.

I have a 4-1/2” angle grinder.  Can I make a scoring cut with the angle grinder and snap the tile?  I don’t think I can make a straight enough cut to look satisfactory.

I will have to get an exact measurement.  It is about 9’.  If it is over 9’, the 36” tile may not make sense. 

Thoughts?

Right now it has builder-basic beige tile with a few tiles with pictures of vegetables.  Terrible.  It is not a mural— it is mainly the beige tiles with 4 or 5 picture tiles interspersed.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

 

[Dan C]

This is one of the best tile cutters I could find. I have been able to snap 1/2-3/4 inch slivers off of long tiles. They make many sizes to accommodate different tiles.
https://www.montolit.com/en/product/masterpiuma-tile-cutter/

 

[Cheese]

Packard, it depends upon the PEI rating of the porcelain tile. PEI’s over 4 usually rule out the use of a manual tile cutter, for those, think diamond wheel on a saw or RA grinder.

 

[Packard]

This is one of the best tile cutters I could find. I have been able to snap 1/2-3/4 inch slivers off of long tiles. They make many sizes to accommodate different tiles.
https://www.montolit.com/en/product/masterpiuma-tile-cutter/

I have an ISHII 25-1/2” cutter.  It is the only tile cutter I have ever used, so I don’t know how it compares with others.  Not cheap.  The current price is $280.00.  It made clean cuts.  A couple of quick passes with a carborundum stone and the edges look like factory edges.  The only issue I have with it is that it is limited to 25” cuts.

They make 41” ($450.00) or 48” ($550.00), which I am not going to buy to cut three or 4 tiles.  And the rental cutters look like complete trash—really beat up.   

WwwTiletools.com also sells Montolit cutters.  I don’t know why I chose the ISHII cutter over the Montolit.  The Montolit is about $50.00 more than the ISHII.  I must have read a review on line at that time.  My guess is that they are both pretty good. 
https://www.tiletools.com/products/ishii-big-clinker-tile-cutters?variant=38052352622772

 

[live4ever]

I have the Makita 18v wet saw (xcc01z).  Really nice complement to my Dewalt stationary tile saw. With an optional guide rail adapter works a charm with Festool/Makita guide rails (only for 90 degree cuts, haven’t figured out how to do rail guided bevel cuts just yet).  More than enough power to cut through stone and porcelain.  Not cheap at over $230 for the bare tool but if you have Makita batts already it’s not so bad. 

 

[woodbutcherbower]

Packard, it depends upon the PEI rating of the porcelain tile. PEI’s over 4 usually rule out the use of a manual tile cutter, for those, think diamond wheel on a saw or RA grinder.

This ^^^^^^

I do a lot of bathroom remodels. Anything over PEI 4 has to be cut using a table-mounted wet diamond saw. It has to be wet because the heat generated through friction is colossal, as anyone will tell you who's burned out a glowing-red carbide tile bit attempting to drill a hole in one of these things without cooling the bit in water every 20-30 seconds. My honest advice would be to search around and see if you can find same/similar tiles in regular soft ceramic. You can score & snap those with a regular carbide scorer costing around 5 bucks.

 

[Packard]

The tiles I described were at Home Depot.  I don’t think Home Depot sells any high speciation tiles.

They only describe them as suitable for resident applications or suitable for commercial applications or suitable for heavy foot traffic in commercial applications. I don’t recall seeing any grading.  Even for flooring I recall seeing suitable for wet applications.

They do distinguish between ceramic and porcelain.

I went with a very natural looking “slate” porcelain tile near the tub just for the wet slip resistance.

My other bath has the original porcelain mosaic, and when I remodel that bathroom, that mosaic will remain.  It is in good shape and I like the design.

(Also, the other bathrooms had that same tile and I don’t think a single tile chipped up intact. They all broke when hit with the hammer drill and there were nasty sparks too.  I had to grind the floor afterwards to remove the last shards of tile.

On TV the tiles practically fall off walls and jump off floors.  Not my tiles.

 

[Cheese]

Just to add to what woodbutcherbower said, before I purchased a wet tile saw I had the local tile shop cut the tiles for only $1 per tile.

 

[Mike Goetzke]

This is one of the best tile cutters I could find. I have been able to snap 1/2-3/4 inch slivers off of long tiles. They make many sizes to accommodate different tiles.

Couple years back I remodeled our master bath. My wife also wanted all the walls tiled about half way up. I had a small 7" wet saw and bought a used 10" Ridgid wet saw called the BEAST! I ended up also buying a Montolit too with the intention of selling it at the end of the job. Ha - I fell in love with this tile cutter and still have it. I could cut all my tiles right next to where they were being used - much better than walking up/down the stairs and messing with a dirty wet saw.

 

[Dan C]

This is one of the best tile cutters I could find. I have been able to snap 1/2-3/4 inch slivers off of long tiles. They make many sizes to accommodate different tiles.

Couple years back I remodeled our master bath. My wife also wanted all the walls tiled about half way up. I had a small 7" wet saw and bought a used 10" Ridgid wet saw called the BEAST! I ended up also buying a Montolit too with the intention of selling it at the end of the job. Ha - I fell in love with this tile cutter and still have it. I could cut all my tiles right next to where they were being used - much better than walking up/down the stairs and messing with a dirty wet saw.

I bought a 10” MK Diamond that is amazing years ago. But also a pain some times to setup for small projects.  The Montolit was a nice addition that made it a no brainer to have as well.

 

[Sparktrician]

I made the mistake of buying a 7" SkilSaw wet saw.  What a POS!!!  Wish I'd known about the Montolit model.  [crying]

 

[Packard]

My wet saw pretty much cries out to be used outdoors.  Messy and slow.

By contrast the ISHII cutter, which if you believe the write ups (and me) is a very good cutter is faster, quieter, cleaner and with no real clean up afterwards.

The one downside is that the cut edge on the tiles are sharp enough to slice through your fingers.

I did get a 12” long carborundum stone to dress the cut edges, and that makes them a little less lethal. 

As long as you are using a grout line of 1/8” or more, the cut edge looks like a factory edge.  But only the top layer of the cut is really perfectly straight.  If you are doing “groutless” installations, a saw is required. 

 

[Packard]

I made the mistake of buying a 7" SkilSaw wet saw.  What a POS!!!  Wish I'd known about the Montolit model.  [crying]

I have that saw and I can cut all the way to the last quarter of inch with good results.  But at some point just before completing the cut the tile fractures so the very corner of the tile is marred. 

I think the saws that look like radial arm saws or with sliding tables are much better.

 

[Cheese]

FWIW...here's some 10 mm thick porcelain I cut with a TSC on a Festool rail and an ATS diamond blade. In each case, I did not use a scoring cut but cut to full depth immediately.

The first photo is cutting the porcelain naked while the second photo is applying blue painters tape to the tile first before cutting. For the next round, I'm going to again apply the tape but start with a scoring cut of 2 mm and then go to full depth to complete the job.

[attachimg=1]

[attachimg=2]

[attachimg=3]

 

[Michael Kellough]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member]  the piece on the right looked great in both photos. Which piece was under the splinter guard?
Does the extra chipping on the left hand pieces indicate too much toe for cutting ceramic?

 

[Cheese]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member]  the piece on the right looked great in both photos. Which piece was under the splinter guard?
Does the extra chipping on the left hand pieces indicate too much toe for cutting ceramic?

I can't remember Michael, this was a project that was started 2 years ago and then put on hold. I'm finally getting ready to re-tackle it. Porcelain is difficult to deal with because it's so hard & brittle. Pre-taping the cut does yield a cleaner cut line.
I may have to finally break out the wet saw for this project...it's a dirty, wet proposition and a summer only deal.

 

[Packard]

In my experience, this YouTuber is doing the edge dressing all wrong.


He is trying to smooth out the body of the tile by holding the stone at 90 degrees to the edge.  That is way too much material to remove for this purpose.

Instead he should be holding the stone at a slight angle so that only the glazed surface is being dressed.  That will only take a few quick passes to do. 

The slightly rough edge of the body of the tile will be hidden in the grout line.  Only the porcelain line will be observable. 

I suspect that the carborundum stone application will be faster and easier than taping the the tile before making a cut.

Lowes sells these for $15.00.  The required skill set is acquired after one cut.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Marshalltown-1-x-2-x-8-Rubbing-Stone-Black-60-Grit/5001671005

 

[Packard]

For large tile installation, I mastered the art of the template.  I used 2” wide strips of 1/4” plywood and a hot glue gun. 

It is the fool proof way to locate holes for plumbing and for locating holes for electrical outlets.

Any cut that requires more than one measurement to make, got a template.  I spoiled not a single tile. 

I’m sure that professional tile installers have better (faster) systems, but for an amateur, I recommend templating. 

 

[Packard]

The edge on the left side of the photo (vertical) is the factory edge.

The edge on the bottom of the photo (horizontal) is the edge after snapping the tile to size.

The edge on the top of the photo (horizontal) is the snapped edge after several strokes with the carborundum stone.  It was probably 8 or 10 strokes—I did not count.  It goes very quickly. 

Note:  I held the stone on an angle so that I was only dressing the glazed edge.  It was probably about a 20 - 30 degree angle.  You can dress the body of the tile if you want, but only the glazed edge will be visible and the rest will be hidden in the grout line.
[image]

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[afish]

If you hate grout lines have you considered seamless glass backsplash like THIS zero grout and easy to clean. more modern look so it wont work for all.  My local glass shop made mine, I made the templates and painted the back side I think it was about 20 bucks a SF for the tempered glass.  So its a little more than typical tile but not extreme since the back splash is typically not a lot of SF.