Preping for ceramic tile install
 

Hello all! I purchased some pretty nice looking tiles from HD, getting ready to update my 2 upstairs bathrooms. Since purchasing them, I have discovered the OTHER costs involved in tiling a room. Grout, mortar, cement board, sealant, spacers, spreaders, etc. The one tool I actually PLANNED on was a Roto-zip for cutting the tile. I have never done tile work before, but used to work at Sears in the hardware dept. and went to a tool convention, where Roto-zip had a HUGE demonstration/display area. They demonstrated with drywall, wood, metal, and, of course, tile. I got to try it, and cut a DIME SIZE HOLE in the MIDDLE of a tile!!! I couldn't believe it myself, having no tile experience at all! Well, I planned on using that to cut my floor tile, unaware of the "wall tile only" restriction on the bit! :censored: Well, I found out one of the kits you can buy also has a floor tile cutting wheel attachment. Have any of you used it? I REALLY like the versitility of the Roto-zip, buying not only a single purpose tool, but something I can use all around the house, for many projects!:thumbup: Well, I guess I'm asking if I should go ahead and get the Roto-zip kit with the tile cutting wheel, or go ahead and get a tile saw. Please let me know what you think! Thanks in advance.
Matt

I haven't used either on tile jobs, so keep searching. However, my dad did his entire shower with a cheap ($100) tile saw and HD. I have tiled my bathroom, kitchen, and dining room (600 sq ft) with the same saw and have had no problems. I guess just another option to think about. But if you can cut a straight line with a roto zip then it does have the advantage of being able to be used in other ways.

Well, for me personally being made to use a rotozip to cut tile with would be pretty much on par with having my finger nails pulled out one at a time.:bangin:

"Tile saw" notice the "tile" in the description of the tool?:laughing: A tile saw is a specific tool designed with optimal abilities to cut tile, a rotozip... well it's a jack of all trades, master of none.

Seriously though, if you have all the time in the world and don't have a lot of cuts that will show, the rotozip will be fine. If being able to cut 20 tiles in the time it will take you to cut one tile with the rotozip doesn't matter to you... if it does then just rent a nice MK wet saw from Home Depot. For us time is money and aggrivation is worth avoiding, but that's us. The rotozip will eventually do the job for you, kind of like using a nail file to dig out of prison.:wheelchair:

Matt,
Nothing against you, but your above sentence made me laugh.

It reminds me of that commercial about the hotel.

:laughing: :laughing:

I would rent a tile saw for your job, if money is a big issue.

With tile you want the cuts to be perfect.

in your case I would just buy a 100.00 special this will give you the freedom to set your own start and finished days.

I understand what you're saying... It came out wrong. I should have just said that I went to the tool convention. It does sound pretty funny, though.:laughing: I DID in fact stay at a Holiday inn express last night, too! (I travel monday through friday and try to ALWAYS stay at the Holiday Inn hotels. GREAT point redemption!) Nice catch, Cole!

and

Are you talking about the hand saw, or the power saw?

HD and Can Tire both sell small table top tile saws in fact I have one. There great for do it yourselfers that do not do tile work everyday. I own one an use it myself and have even used it at work on wall and floot tile.

I second that. I bought the small table wet saw too. LIke $85 or so. Actually did a great job for straight cuts. Easy to use, much faster than a hand cutter.

You can set all the tiles you can without cutting,
and then rent a MK wet saw from Home Depot to do all your cuts the next day.

You could also use a grinder with a diamond blade and dry cut the tiles.
But dust will go everywhere,
you won't get as clean a cut,
you may have to change out a couple blades

but it's better than a score and cut method

good luck with your project

Better study up on how to prepare a proper subfloor if you want the job done right:)

I have. It looks fairly simple. I hope everything goes well, and will let you guys know how it goes.
Thanks for all the responses!
Matt

I have use both manual cutter (when I didn't have the wet saw) and wet tile saw... I use wet tile saw for marble... manual on regular tiles... I wonder in my next instance of tiling on regular... should I try it with wet saw.... would it over kill or it is much better than score and break.... just out of curiosity...

I've had good luck with score-and-break cutters. I actually have found them faster and more pleasant than a wet-saw. You can only cut straight lines all the way across a tile though. Good to have a rotozip or something like that for pickier cuts, and best to have a wet-saw if you're making compound cuts like around a door jamb.

The scoop on all this is there is no proper or improper method. Professionals are dealing with time issues so like Tim the Tool man, more power is always a good thing. DIYers have all the time in the world so usually methods revolve around money or simplicity because they are a little nervous about certain skills and tools.

There are plenty of professional tile setters that use both methods everyday. They use a much sturdier and much more expensive "score and break" tool called a breaker board. The benefits are they are fast, fast, fast. Uses are limited to full cuts across a tile you arent' going to be doing any inside corners with one.:) A lot of times a pro will use a breaker board for all the outside tiles on a floor that are going to be covered with base board.

Wet saws offer precision, clean cuts, intricate cuts, cutting out the centers of tiles... ect...

You can do anything with a wet saw that a breaker board will do, but you can't do everything with a breaker board that a wet saw will do.

Thanks for all the advise, guys! I think we've decided to go ahead and rent a wet saw. I really wish I could get out of this with a new tool, but to do the job correctly, I think the wet saw is the best option. I also want to make sure it's a good quality wet saw, that will give good cuts every time. Once again, thanks for your inputs!
Matt