How cutting a tile with the tile nippers?

/in /by


Smooth the cuts with a tile file and wipe the tiles down. Once you’ve finished cutting a tile with the tile nippers, use the tile file to sand down any rough edges along the cut. Follow this up with a damp cloth to wipe away any dust. After this, dry-fit the tile to make sure it rests snugly along the toilet base. If it doesn’t, keep nipping, or get a new tile and start again if necessary.


When all the tiles have been cut, filed, cleaned, and dry-fitted, you can move on to setting them in place permanently. Trace the outline of the flange onto the sheet(s) of paper. First, run your finger along the outline of the flange to create a crease in the paper. Then, lift up each sheet and use a pencil to trace an outline that’s slightly—about 0.25 in (0.64 cm)— larger than the creased outline.


The tracing doesn’t need to be perfect, because the toilet will rest on top of the flange and the cut tile(s) and hide any minor errors. If you have a removable flange and want it to rest on top of the tiles instead of on the subfloor, make the pencil tracing about 0.5 in (1.3 cm) smaller than your crease outline instead. That way, the outer rim of the flange will rest on the surrounding tiles.


Cut out the flange circle and trace it onto the tile(s). Use scissors to cut the sheet(s) of paper to the correct shape, then tape the sheets onto the tiles. Transfer the cut lines onto the tiles with a pencil, then remove the paper. Don’t discard the paper yet—you’ll need it again if you break a tile while cutting it!


Don’t try to cut more than about 0.125 in (0.32 cm) deep with any single pass, or the tile will probably break in a random spot and you’ll have to start over. Be as precise as possible but remember that the circle you cut doesn’t need to be perfect. The actual cut line will be covered by the toilet base.

How Scoring and Snapping Thin Glass?

/in /by

Use a glass scoring tool to make straight lines. If you plan to make longer, straight cuts on tile 1⁄8 inch (3.2 mm) thick or less, use a glass scoring tool. Scoring refers to cutting small cuts in the surface of the glass that will allow you to break the piece off with a clean edge.. Choose a scoring tool with a carbide or diamond cutting wheel to score the glass.


Scoring and snapping allows you to cut larger squares of tile into smaller squares and isn’t ideal for cutting irregular shapes or patterns. The cuts need to be at least an 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide in order for you to snap it off, so scoring is not a good method to cut thin slivers of glass tile. You can find glass scoring tools at hardware stores or online for about $15.


Lay the glass tile face up on a flat surface. When you score and snap, you want to make your cuts on the front facing side of the tile so the visible part of the tile has the straightest line. Place the glass tile on a workstation or table with the side that will be facing out when you install the tile facing up.


Be sure to lay the glass tile down gently to avoid chipping or cracking it. Tip: Consider laying a towel or cardboard down beneath the glass tile to keep it from knocking against the surface.

Use a straightedge and washable marker to draw guidelines. Scoring and snapping is ideal for breaking glass tiles across their entire surface, rather than cutting sections out of a larger piece of glass tile. To give yourself a guideline, place a straightedge on the tile, and use it to guide your washable marker as you make a straight line across the tile. Washable marker will wipe off easily after you snap off your glass tile.

How Nipping the Glass Tiles?

/in /by

Use mosaic nippers to cut small pieces from thin glass tiles. Mosaic nippers are a great tool to use if you want your mosaic to consist of small, irregularly shaped pieces of glass tile. They look like pliers with a sharp clamp tip. For glass tiles, use nippers that have carbide wheels attached to the ends– these allow you to apply enough pressure to cut the glass without cracking or damaging it.


Use nippers on glass tiles 1⁄8 inch (3.2 mm) thick. Anything thicker may be too difficult to cut through. Nippers can be purchased from home improvement stores or online for around $15. Draw guidelines using a straightedge and a washable marker.


Even though nippers aren’t as precise as other glass cutting methods, you still want to give yourself some guidelines that you can follow as you nip pieces off of the larger tile. Use a straightedge to guide your washable marker to form an even and straight line on the glass tile. Use washable marker so you can wipe the markings away easily when you’re done cutting.


Put on safety goggles and clear your workspace of pets and people. Nipping glass tile can send sharp pieces of glass flying through the air, so before you work, you’ll need to put on well-fitting safety goggles. It’s also important to clear the area of other people so they aren’t at risk for getting hit with a glass shard. That includes pets, too! You don’t want a furry friend to get hit with a piece of glass either.


Hold the nippers like you would hold a pair of pliers. You will need to apply a fair amount of force to get the nippers to cut through the glass tile, so you’ll want to have a strong grip on the handles of the nippers. Use your dominant hand to grip the handles just like you would grip the handles of a pair of pliers, with the top handle in the middle of your palm and the bottom handle cradled by your fingers. Tip: You can wear a pair of thick gloves to make your grip more comfortable.

How to Avoid Common Glass Tile Installation Mistakes?

/in /by


Homeowners and interior design professional who want a fashion-forward, fresh look select glass tile accents more frequently than ever. Glass tile harmonizes with either traditional, transitional or contemporary architecture, adding a splash of style. For years, glass tile was only used for accent and trim pieces, with ceramic tile filling the field.


there was not much thought given to the installation materials, which were generally the same as those used for the ceramic tile. Modern design trends continue to push the envelope with glass tile, moving beyond the traditional accent pieces – glass tile is now being used as field tile with sizes 12″ x 12″ or larger, and with these new tiles come new challenges.


Ensure color consistency behind glass tile. Since glass can be the sole material in an installation, it is essential to choose a bonding mortar that meets its unique demands. In most cases, the color of the thin-set mortar was not an issue when installing opaque ceramic tile.


But with clear and translucent glass, the mortar appears through the tile: if the color varies in the mortar, it will in the glass tile too.To eliminate variations across a glass tile installation, choose a glass tile mortar with a bright white shade that is controlled to a consistent standard color.


The color consistency will ensure a uniform appearance on the face of the glass tile, even in large installations that require multiple batches of mortar. As an added bonus, the bright white shade of the mortar can enhance the color of the clear or translucent glass tile.

How Create a strong bond?

/in /by


Since the surface of glass is very smooth, it’s important that the setting materials have a strong bond. Materials with a high polymer content have a high bond strength, ensuring that the glass maintains its spot in the installation.


Another installation concern is the glass-making method: small, boutique glass tile makers may not manufacture their products to meet industry standards due to surface treatments or tile backings. Metallic and painted backings will not bond well to cement-based mortars and may come loose. Similarly, mesh backing can trap water beneath the tile, weakening the bond or creating mold.


Make sure to create a mock-up to test the tile installation materials before proceeding with the full-scale project. Protect glass tile installations from temperature variance. Glass tile installations occasionally fail as a result of exposure to sunlight or other forms of heat.


Glass tile and cement setting materials expand and absorb heat at different rates, which can lead to cracks in the finished surface. Once again, the polymers in the mortar will help to absorb some movement, but silicone caulk should also be used to create movement joints that can handle the flexing tiles.

Tile nippers look and work like giant fingernail clippers, and are an essential tool for any tile job. Standard nippers will cut ceramic and porcelain tiles, but you may want to use specialty nippers for glass tiles or fragile stone tiles (like slate). Wear safety glasses so shards of tile don’t get into your eyes, and sturdy work gloves to protect your hands from sharp tile edges.

How Eliminate mortar voids?

/in /by

A typical ceramic tile installation involves spreading a thin-set mortar on the surface with a notched trowel, then pressing the ceramic tile into the mortar to collapse the ridges and improve contact between the tile and mortar. Unfortunately, this practice can leave many voids in the mortar behind the tile.


While this would not be a concern with opaque ceramic tile, the randomly distributed air pockets or voids may be visible through clear or translucent glass. The mortar should still be spread with a notched trowel onto the substrate, but it should also be spread (back-buttered) in an even, thin film onto the back of the glass tile.


Now, when the two mortared surfaces are pressed together, the back of the tile is already covered, so any remaining voids from the mortar ridges are hidden and do not show through the glass tile. Keep in mind that standard thin-set mortars can shrink and pull away from the tile, causing voids and air bubbles during the curing process, so make sure that the mortar resists shrinkage too.


Tape the sheets to the tiles, then trace and scribe the cut lines. When all the paper templates are just right, tape each one to a tile and use a pencil to transfer the cut pattern. After that, remove the paper and use a tile scribe to score 0.125 in (0.32 cm) deep lines into the tiles, tracing right over top of the pencil lines.


Tile scribes can look like thick pencils or come in other shapes. Look for them at hardware stores or online. Remove the unneeded tile with tile nippers. Slowly and carefully squeeze the handles to snip away small “bites” of tile from the sections that need to be removed. Turn your small “bites” into tiny “nibbles” as you get to the score lines. If you try to snip off too much, you risk breaking the tile and having to start over.

How Cutting a Single Tile before Toilet Installation?

/in /by

Use an angle grinder to score the circular shape into the tile. Attach a 4 in (10 cm) diamond wheel blade to the grinder, and position it so the circular blade is at roughly a 45-degree angle to the tile. Slowly work your way around the circle traced into the tile, using very light pressure. You only need to score the tile about 0.125 in (0.32 cm) deep on this initial pass


Use caution at all times. Tie back long hair and remove any dangling jewelry, and wear long sleeves and safety glasses. The grinder will kick up a lot of dust, so wear a dust mask and consider buying a vacuum attachment that you can connect to your grinder. Angle grinders are an affordable and useful small power tool you can find at any hardware store.


Diamond blades are more expensive than other blades you can get for the grinder, but they cut through tile much better. Cut sacrificial break notches if the circle is near the tile’s edge. If there is less than about 1.5 in (3.8 cm) of space between your traced circle and an edge of the tile, there’s a good chance the tile will break while cutting it.


If this is the case, use a grinder to cut two or more deep lines from the circumference to the nearest edge of the tile (about half of the tile). Our goal is to have tiles stick to these selected, controlled points, not random ones. Once you put the tiles in place, the straight, short, controllable cracks on the tiles will be almost invisible, especially because the toilet will be placed on them.


Continue grinding around the circle with gentle pressure. Once you’ve finished scoring the tile surface and creating any sacrificial break notches, keep making slow, steady passes with the grinder at a 45-degree angle. If the tile breaks at the sacrificial points, remove that section and keep cutting. Eventually, you’ll grind your way through the tile and have the circular cutout that you need.

How Cutting Multiple Tiles before Toilet Installation?

/in /by

Score the cut lines with a tile scribe. A tile scribe is a small, sharp hand tool that etches a cut line into the tile. This etching helps make sure the tile snaps where you want it to instead of breaking or cracking elsewhere. The scoring only needs to be 0.125 in (0.32 cm) or so deep.


You can get a tile scribe at any hardware store or online. Use tile nippers to clip away the excess tile. Think of tile nippers as industrial-strength fingernail clippers. Start at the corner of the tile that’s being cut away, and squeeze the handles together to make the top and bottom blades take small “bites” out of the tile. Start “nibbling” more carefully as you approach the scored line.


Standard tile nippers will work with practically every kind of tile, although some natural stone tiles (like slate) may be too fragile. Consult your tile supplier if needed. You can also use specialty tile nippers for glass tiles or other particular types. Be careful not to nip one of your fingers while you work. Wear work gloves to protect your hands from cut tile edges and safety glasses to protect your eyes from snipped shards of tile.


Make sure your cuts are correct by dry-fitting the tiles. Because the toilet base will cover the cut tile edge, your cuts don’t need to be perfect. However, take the time to dry-fit the tiles in place to make sure your cuts are generally accurate—ideally, no more than 0.5 in (1.3 cm) larger than the flange.


Use plastic spacers to account for your grout lines when dry-fitting the tiles. If you’re going to rest a removable toilet flange on top of the installed tiles, remember to remove it before dry-fitting (and later, when laying the tile!). If your dry-fit lines up properly, you’re ready to set these tiles in place in the same way you did the rest of the floor.

How Tracing Tile Cut Lines before Toilet Installation?

/in /by

Tile the areas away from the toilet flange first. When tiling a bathroom, mark out your desired grid pattern on the floor, and lay tile over the unobstructed areas first. Don’t tile around the toilet flange—the circular piece that connects to the drain pipe and upon which the toilet itself will rest—until the end.


Draw out a grid pattern for the tile layout on paper, and then on the subfloor itself, that reduces the number of tile cuts you need to make. If you’re using larger tiles—e.g., 12 by 12 in (30 by 30 cm) or larger—you may be able to cut a circle out of a single tile to go around the flange.

Cut one or more sheets of paper that match the size of your tiles. If you need to cut 1 tile to go around the flange, cut 1 sheet of paper; if you need 4 tiles, cut 4 sheets of paper. Be as precise as possible in sizing the sheets of paper properly. For instance, if your tiles are 8 by 8 in (20 by 20 cm), cut your sheets of paper to those dimensions.


Lay the sheet(s) of paper in place, overlapping the flange. Place the sheet(s) of paper exactly where the tile(s) will go, making sure to account for the spacing of your grout lines. That is, if your other tiles are spaced 0.125 in (0.32 cm) apart due to the grout lines, leave this same gap between the set tiles and your paper.


You can employ the same plastic spacers you use when laying the tile to make sure your grout line spacing is consistent with your paper templates. If you only need to cut a single tile, just lay a single sheet of paper right over the flange.

How to Cut Tile Around a Toilet?

/in /by

If DIY tasks like replacing a toilet and installing a tile floor are within your skill set, then you can also handle tiling around a toilet. Cutting tiles to fit neatly around the base of an installed toilet requires careful template-making and tile-nipping, however, so patience and precision are critical.


In most cases, you’ll have more room for error if you remove the toilet, trace and cut one or multiple tiles to fit around the toilet flange, and then reinstall or replace the old toilet. For instance, imagine that you have a toilet with an angular base that will necessitate cutting a triangular section away from one of the corners of one of your tiles.


You’d cut the parallel slits into that same area of the corresponding sheet of paper, with a little extra “wiggle room” added to your cuts. Lay each sheet into place and crease the slits along the toilet base. One at a time, lay the sheets of paper down where their corresponding tiles will go, remembering to account for spacing between tiles due to grout lines. The slits will fan up and over the installed toilet’s base.


Use your finger to press a crease into each slit—one at a time—where the subfloor meets the toilet base. When you’re done, you’ll have created an accurate template for that tile. Then you can move onto the next sheet of paper. To account for future grout lines, utilize the same plastic spacers that you use when permanently setting the tiles in place.


Cut the slits along the traced lines and dry-fit the sheets. Once you’ve creased all the sheets of paper, take your scissors and cut carefully along the crease lines. Then, lay all these cut sheets of paper down around the toilet (again, accounting for grout lines) and make sure they fit snugly against the toilet base.