How to Cut Tiles with a Grinder?

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Whether you’re renovating a bathroom or installing a new backsplash in the kitchen, you’ll likely have to cut pieces of tile. But you don’t necessarily need a tile cutter. For any type of marble wall tile (like ceramic, glass, or porcelain), an angle grinder is best for round cuts whereas a glass cutter can make smaller cuts. And if you have a lot of rustic tile to trim, a wet saw is one of the easiest, quickest options.

Draw the cut line on the front of the tile with a tile marker. The “front” of the marble tile is the side that’s smooth or glazed. If you have a circle template or rounded edge you can trace, your line will be more accurate. If you don’t have a wall tiles design marker, a lead pencil or crayon will work, too. For a dark piece of tile, lay a strip of masking tape on top of the wall tile where you want to cut and draw your line on top of the tape instead of the tile. This way you can see the line and it won’t blend into the samll tile.

 

Secure the spots tile to a flat workbench using a C-clamp. The edge of the tile that you’ll be cutting can hang off the side of the bench just enough so that the cut mark is not on the bench. This prevents you from cutting into the bench itself. Loosen the clamp by twisting the top screw counterclockwise. Place the clamp vertically against the workbench so that the wood tile and bench are sandwiched between the ends of the clamp. Turn the screw clockwise until the clamp is tightly holding the polished tile in place.

It’s best to do this outside because the process creates so much dust. You can use another type of clamp if you don’t have a C-clamp. You’ll find a variety of types at a hardware store. Get your grinder ready by putting in a continuous rim blade. Using this kind of blade instead of one that’s segmented makes for a much smoother cut. Locate the nut in the center of the blade disc and use a wrench to loosen it. Once you remove the nut, pop the old blade out and set the new one in position. Screw the nut tightly back on over the new blade. Keep the wheel guard down at all times for safety.

Cut through the wood marble tile with the grinder, making several passes. Slowly pull the angle grinder along your cut line. The first time you cut, you shouldn’t try to go all the way through the tile. Simply score it, then use that indent to guide your blade on your second pass for a deeper cut.

Do as many rounds of cutting as necessary. Rushing the process will end up with jagged edges or an inaccurate cut. The harder the material of the only tile, the more cuts you’ll have to make. Wear protective glasses and a dust mask when using an angle grinder as there can be a lot of debris in the air.

How to Cut Tiles with a Glass Cutter?

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Draw a straight line for your cut using a square. You can use a specific marble tile marker or a crayon. Set the square about 1⁄4 inch (0.64 cm) below the line, allowing room for your pencil or marker to line up perfectly with your measurement. You can buy a square at a hardware store or from an online retailer. If you don’t have a square, you can use anything that has a straight edge.

Score the tile along the cut line with the glass cutter. Firmly press down on the glass cutter as you drag it along your marked line. The idea is to just cut partially through the glazed rustic tile. You don’t want to push hard enough that you cut all the way to the bottom of your ceramic tile. Scoring should sound like a scratching or crackling noise.

You can buy a glass cutter at a craft store or hardware store for around $10. It’s a small hand tool with a sharp blade that cuts through glass and other hard materials when you press down and drag. Set a square along the cut line during this step to help guide the glass cutter.

Place a wire clothes hanger underneath the scored cut on a flat surface. A sturdy surface like a workbench or thick piece of plywood is best. Line up the long wire part of the hanger with the scored line. If you don’t have a wire hanger, you can use a thick piece of regular wire. It just needs to be thin enough to run along the scored line.

Break the tile along the score line by pressing down on each side. Use your palms to push gently to avoid splintering the wall tile, but use enough pressure to cleanly break the polished tile. The wire hanger elevates the tile slightly off the table so the sides of the tile size have room to snap off.

Wearing safety glasses when you break the tile will protect you from any pieces that might fly off. The spots tile should snap very easily. If it doesn’t, you may need to score it again. If you have a rough cut edge, you can sand it on a slab of concrete or a brick to smooth it out.

How to Cleaning Solid Stone Tiles?

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Dry mop solid stone tiles every day or two. Dry mop your tiles every day or as soon as you notice dirt or debris. The dry dust mop will prevent sand and grit from rubbing against the tiles which can cause scratches. You should dry mop if your rome stone tiles are made of: Granite, Slate, Limestone, Marble, Sandstone


Wash the new sand stone tiles with soap and water. Fill a 5 US gal (19 L) bucket with water and a few squirts of mild dish soap or stone soap. Dip a mop into the soapy water and wring it out. Mop the tiles in small, overlapping circles to remove the dirt and prevent streaking. Choose a soapstone with a pH level of 7 or try to find a soapless cleanser since it won’t leave streaks. If you’re using dish soap, choose one that’s phosphate-free and biodegradable.


Identify if you should use a bleach solution. To remove algae or moss, clean the tiles with a bleach solution. If your solid stone tiles are near a pool, patio, or hot tub, wash them off with clean water. Pour 2 gallons (7.6 L) of water into a bucket and stir in 4 tablespoons (59 ml) of bleach. Use a sponge or mop to wash the area with the mild bleach solution.


Rinse and dry the tiles. If you’re cleaning a large space, take a garden hose and rinse the tiles design with clean water to remove any soap residue. If you’re cleaning a small area, you can dip the mop in clean water and wring it out. Mop over the wood tiles so they’re rinsed with the clean water. Wipe the tiles with a soft cloth until they’re dry and let them air dry completely.


You’ll need to change the water several times and keep rinsing until the soap residue is completely removed. Stone tiles tend to fade in color over time due to sun exposure, so use a stone enhancer and sealer to protect them. Make sure you find one that is safe for outdoor use. Avoid cleaning with abrasive materials. Never clean your solid stone tiles with anything that’s abrasive. These can scratch and damage the tiles. When making or buying cleansers, avoid: Hard bristle brushes, Vinegar or lemon juice, Products with acid cleansers.

How to Cleaning Wood and Composite Tiles?

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Sweep the wood or composite tiles every few days. Try to sweep your tiles every day or as soon as you notice dirt, leaves, or grime. Use a soft, natural bristle broom to remove the debris that’s on the spots tiles. Regular sweeping will prevent your marble tiles from becoming caked with dirt or stained.

Wash the tiles with soap and water at least once a month. Fill a 5 US gal (19 L) bucket with water and a few squirts of mild dish soap. The water should be soapy and bubbly. Dip a mop into the soapy water and wring it out. Mop the wood tiles until you’ve removed the dirt. You can use a string mop or sponge head mop. Just avoid using a scratchy or abrasive mop on the tiles.

Rinse the polished tiles. If you’re cleaning a large space, take a garden hose and rinse the polished tiles with clean water to remove any soap residue. If you’re cleaning a small area, you can dip the mop in clean water and wring it out. Mop over the cement tiles so they’re rinsed with the clean water.

Remove any grease stains. As soon as you notice an oily stain, wipe up whatever caused it. Dip a sponge or soft cloth into soapy water and wash the stain. This might remove the stain on its own. If not, use a deck stain remover that’s specifically made for wood or composite tiles. You’ll need to follow the manufacturer’s instructions. The longer the stain sits on the polished porcelain tile, the harder it will be to remove. That’s why it’s important to clean up the stain quickly.

 

Deep clean your wood marble tiles twice a year. In addition to keeping your wood and composite tiles swept and clean, you should try to deep clean the marble tiles in the spring and fall. Buy a wall tile cleaner developed for wood or composite. It should contain sodium hypochlorite. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Sodium hypochlorite will prevent mold and mildew from growing on your tiles.

 

Avoid cleaning with abrasive materials. Your wood or composite tiles may become slightly scuffed over time. These scuffs may disappear on their own, so avoid trying to remove them with abrasive cleansers (like sandpaper or pressure washers).If you place salt or ice on your glazed rustic tiles in the winter, clean it off as soon as the hazardous weather passes. Ice and salt can damage the tiles if they sit on them for very long.

How to Clean Porcelain Tiles?

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Outdoor tiles are a great way to beautify a space, but you do need to clean them regularly. Identify what your floor tiles are made of (porcelain, wood, composite, or solid stone). Dust or dry mop the dirt and debris before you wash the tiles with a mild soap or vinegar solution. You’ll need to deep clean the tiles once or twice a year to prevent mold and mildew from growing. To keep the tiles design looking great, always avoid using abrasive cleansers and products.

Sweep the tiles daily. Try to sweep your porcelain tiles every day or so. Use a soft, natural bristle broom or take a vacuum attachment and suck up the dirt. Regular sweeping will prevent your tiles from becoming caked with dirt and stained. If your porcelain tiles lead up to an entryway for your house, you’ll want to sweep them more often. This will prevent people from tracking dirt into your house.

Wash the tiles with clean water once per week. Every few days (or whenever you notice a little dirt or grime building up) you should clean your outdoor porcelain tires with warm water. Fill a bucket with clean, warm water and mop the wood marble tiles. This will remove most of the dirt and keep the tiles looking their best. Try to wring most of the water out of the mop. You don’t want excess moisture just sitting on the tiles.

Deep clean the marble tiles once a month. At least once a month, fill a large bucket with 2 gallons (7.6 L) of clean water. Add 1⁄4 cup (59 ml) of white vinegar and stir the mixture well. Submerge a mop into the cleanser and wring it out. Mop the floor with the cleaner to loosen any dirt. If you prefer, you can buy a commercial cleaner designed for porcelain tiles instead of using the vinegar mixture.

Rinse and dry the deep-cleaned tiles. Once you’ve scrubbed the floors with the vinegar mixture, submerge the mop into clean water and wring it out. Mop the floor with the water to rinse off the rest of the cleanser. Take a large clean towel or microfiber cloth and dry the tiles. If your porcelain tiles are really dirty, you may need to deep clean and rinse them a second time. If your porcelain tiles cover a large space, consider mopping, rinsing, and drying small sections of the floor at a time.

Remove stains as soon as you notice them. Try to remove any stains as soon as you notice them. Fill a 5 US gal (19 L) bucket with water. Buy a commercial floor cleaner that’s safe to use on porcelain and add 3 to 4 capfuls of the product to the water. Use a small brush or mop to scrub the mixture over the stain until it’s removed. Avoid using an oil-based cleanser for stain removal on your porcelain tiles. These can leave an oily residue on the tiles which can make them slippery.

Avoid cleaning with abrasive materials. While you might think that you need to scrub built on dirt with a rough brush, you should avoid anything that’s abrasive to the porcelain. Avoid using abrasive cleaners like: Hard bristle brushes or steel wool.Cleaning products with ammonia or bleach Oil-based detergents or wax cleansers.

How to Protect Marble Tile?

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Apply a poultice. For stubborn or old stains, you may need a poultice, which is a thick, paste-like cleanser, to get them off your marble tile. You can buy commercially-made poultice powder that you simply combine with water. Follow the instructions to mix the paste, and apply it generously to the stain. Allow it to sit for 1 to 2 days under plastic wrap before removing the plastic and letting it dry. You can then rinse the poultice away with distilled water and buff it dry with a clean, soft cloth.

You can find poultice powder at your local hardware, home improvement, or stone supply store. When applying the poultice to the stain, the layer should be approximately ¼ to ½ inch thick. Secure the plastic wrap over the poultice with painter’s tape to ensure that it’s airtight.

Wipe up spills quickly. Anytime that a liquid sits on the surface of your tile design, it has the potential to stain or discolor the marble. Acidic liquids, such as citrus juices, wine, coffee, and vinegar, are a particular danger to marble, but even a puddle of water that isn’t cleaned up quickly can stain the tile. To avoid discolorations, wipe up any spills on the marble as soon as you see them.

You can wipe up water with paper towel or a clean cloth, but if an acidic liquid spills on the subway tile, wipe it up and then clean the air with a cloth dampened with water and dish soap. Make sure to dry the surface thoroughly when you’re done. If you have marble in your bathroom, remember to dry the wood tile after every shower and bath.

Use protective coverings. The best way to protect your marble tile from stains, discoloration, and other damage is to cover it. Use coasters and trivets on tiled countertops to keep any liquids or food that drip over the edge of a glass or pan from falling on the marble. On tile floors, place mats or throw rugs near doorways so you can wipe dirt and debris off your feet before walking across the marble. If you want to protect a marble tile floor from scratches, try placing rubber mats under metal furniture and accessories. It’s also a good idea to place them under plants and flower pots.

Seal the wood marble tile monthly. To protect your marble surface from stains and discoloration, it’s important to apply a sealant approximately once a month. It forms a protective film over the marble so you have more time to wipe up spills and clean stains. You can purchase marble sealer at your local hardware, home improvement, or stone supply store. Follow the directions on the bottle, but you usually mist it on, allow it to soak in, and then wipe down the surface. Make sure to start with clean marble tile before applying the sealer. If you want extra protection, you can apply a second coat of sealer after the first one is completely dry.

How to Clean Marble Tile?

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With its attractive colors and veining, it’s no wonder that marble tile is such a popular choice for floors, countertops, and shower stalls. It sometimes gets a bad rap, though, because it’s softer than granite or porcelain, so keeping it clean seems like a major challenge. However, once you know the proper products and techniques to use on marble tile, cleaning it can be a breeze.

Dilute dish soap with warm water. Cleansers that are too acidic can actually damage marble tile, which means you shouldn’t use products with lemon, vinegar, or bleach on it. That’s why a gentle, non-abrasive dish soap, which has a neutral pH, is the best option for cleaning marble. For the best results, mix approximately 8 ounces of warm water with one tablespoon of the soap in a spray bottle or other container. Shake the mixture well, so the two ingredients are mixed. Don’t use an all-purpose cleanser on your tile unless it’s specifically marked as safe for marble.

Apply solution to the marble. If you’re using the dish soap and water solution to clean marble tile on countertops, you can apply it directly from the spray bottle. For floors, use a soft mop to apply to the wood tile. Make sure not to apply too much of the solution to the marble, though — the tile surface should be damp, but there shouldn’t any pools of liquid. If there is any standing water on your marble tile, wipe it up as quickly as possible.

Wipe off tile and thoroughly dry. After you’ve applied the soap and water solution to your marble tile, you need to wipe down the surface to remove any dirt and debris. Use a hot, wet cloth to wipe down any super white tile on your countertops or a mop dampened with hot water for your floors. Next, take a soft, dry towel or mop to thoroughly dry and buff the tile design. Make sure the cloth or mop that you’re using to wipe off the soap isn’t too wet. Wring the material out carefully to prevent too much water from sitting on the marble surface.

 

Use a dust mop. If you have marble tile on your floor, you may sometimes need to remove dust, dirt, and other debris, such as crumbs or loose subway tile. However, while a vacuum may be the easiest way to clean up this type of mess, you’re better off using a dust mop to clean the floor tile. Vacuum cleaners with worn wheels and metal attachments can easily scratch the tile surface. If you want to use a vacuum on marble tile, check the wheels to make sure that they’re not scuffed or rough in any spots. Don’t use metal attachments either.

How to Identifying Already-Installed Tiles?

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Note the location in which the tiles have been installed. Ceramic and porcelain tiles are each better suited to distinct locations in a home. Porcelain is often installed in laundry rooms, bathroom floors, bathroom walls, shower stalls, and around bathtubs. Porcelain tile is more durable than ceramic because of its hardness, and porcelain is also more resistant to moisture. Ceramic tile, on the other hand, is most often installed as flooring in high-traffic areas such as an entry way or a heavily-used hallway.

See if the tiles are stained or discolored. If so, they’re almost certainly ceramic. Porcelain tiles are very dense and have been designed to be impervious to stains. So, most staining substances (e.g., red wine) can be wiped off of them easily. Ceramic, on the other hand, is light, porous, and can absorb staining materials relatively easily. Stains on ceramic tiles could also come from foot traffic (dirt, mud, snow, etc.) if the tiles are located in an entryway.

Inspect the faces of the tiles for uniform size and shape. The “face” of the tile is the top portion which faces upward or outward on installed tiles. Porcelain tiles have sharply-formed faces which are all exactly uniform in size. Due to their durability, porcelain tiles can be “rectified,” or cut to highly specific dimensions for complete uniformity. This also allows the porcelain tiles to be grouted together with only small gaps between tiles. If there is any discrepancy between the size of the tiles design , you’re dealing with ceramic tile.

Use a liquid cleanser. If the stain on your marble tile is oil-based, such as grease or cosmetics, you can usually remove it with a soft liquid cleanser. Use a gentle household detergent on fresh stains and ammonia or mineral spirits on older, more stubborn stains. Dilute your chosen cleanser with warm water, and use a soft cloth to apply it to the stained area. Use a clean, damp cloth to wipe the cleanser off and a clean, dry towel to dry the marble. You can use the cloth dampened with your cleansing solution to gently scrub at the stain, but don’t be too rough to avoid scratches.

Try hydrogen peroxide. If your marble tile is stained by an organic material, such as food, coffee, or tea, hydrogen peroxide is usually the most effective cleanser. Mix 12 percent hydrogen peroxide with several drops of ammonia, and apply it to the stained tile with a cloth. Use a clean, damp cloth to wipe the hydrogen peroxide off, and thoroughly dry the surface with a soft, clean towel. You should only use hydrogen peroxide to clean your marble tile if it is a light color. Hydrogen peroxide may bleach dark marble tile.

The Difference Between Porcelain and Ceramic Tiles

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Before you buy tile for a tiling project, you should be able to identify porcelain and ceramic tiles. Both are made from a mixture of clays and other materials, then kiln-fired. Both porcelain and ceramic tile are in the category of “ceramic tile.” Ceramic tiles are divided into two groups: non-porcelain tiles (or ceramic) and porcelain tiles. In general terms, porcelain tiles are a higher quality and more resistant to damage, since they’re fired in a kiln at higher temperatures and made of less porous materials.

Inspect the tiles’ finish to see how smooth it is. You can do this either by visually inspecting the tiles’ top surfaces or by running your fingers over the top of the tiles. Porcelain tiles have a fine-grained finish that is smoother than the finish on ceramic tiles. So, if the finish is slightly bumpy or coarse when you touch it, you’re dealing with non-porcelain (ceramic) tile. If the tiles are already glazed, flip them over and look at the unglazed underside.

Look for chips in the glaze to identify ceramic tile. Look closely at the glaze: if it’s chipped, you will be able to see the tile’s white or tan base. This is a sure sign that the tile is ceramic. Porcelain tiles are sometimes, but not always, glazed. Most high-quality porcelain tiles will have a consistent color that goes through the top, body, and bottom of the tile. Ceramic tiles, on the other hand, are nearly always glazed. Glazed porcelain tiles are much harder and are more resistant to wear and damage than non-porcelain ceramic tiles.

Examine the sides of the tile for a white, tan, or red color. While porcelain tiles can be colored, ceramic tiles will always have a white, tan, or red color, with a colored glaze on top. So, if you see that the sides (and base) of the tile are any other color other than white, tan, or red, you can be sure that you’re dealing with a porcelain tile. Some cheap, low-quality porcelain tiles may not have the color mixed through the body of the tile. Avoid purchasing these tiles.

Compare the costs of the two tile types. In nearly every scenario, porcelain tiles are more expensive than ceramic tiles: they take more time to produce, are more versatile, and tend to last longer. If you’re looking at two types of tiles in a hardware or home-supply store, non-porcelain (ceramic) tiles will be a little cheaper. As a broad rule of thumb, porcelain tile usually costs approximately 60% more than ceramic tile.

Tile’s Knowledge

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A tile is a thin object usually square or rectangular in shape. Tile is a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass, generally used for covering roofs, floors, walls, or other objects such as tabletops. Alternatively, floor tile can sometimes refer to similar units made from lightweight materials such as perlite, wood, and mineral wool, typically used for wall and ceiling applications. In another sense, a tile is a construction tile or similar object, such as rectangular counters used in playing games (see tile-based game). The word is derived from the French word tuile, which is, in turn, from the Latin word tegula, meaning a roof tile composed of fired clay.

Tiles design are often used to form wall and floor coverings, and can range from simple square tiles to complex or mosaics. Tiles are most often made of ceramic, typically glazed for internal uses and unglazed for roofing, but other materials are also commonly used, such as glass, cork, concrete and other composite materials, and stone. Tiling stone is typically marble, onyx, granite or slate. Thinner tiles can be used on walls than on floors, which require more durable surfaces that will resist impacts.

The earliest evidence of glazed brick is the discovery of glazed bricks in the Elamite Temple at Chogha Zanbil, dated to the 13th century BC. Glazed and colored bricks were used to make low reliefs in Ancient Mesopotamia, most famously the Ishtar Gate of Babylon (ca. 575 BC), now partly reconstructed in Berlin, with sections elsewhere. Mesopotamian craftsmen were imported for the palaces of the Persian Empire such as Persepolis.

The use of sun-dried bricks or adobe was the main method of building in Mesopotamia where river mud was found in abundance along the Tigris and Euphrates. Here the scarcity of stone may have been an incentive to develop the technology of making kiln-fired bricks to use as an alternative. To strengthen walls made from sun-dried bricks, fired bricks began to be used as an outer protective skin for more important buildings like temples, palaces, city walls and gates. Making fired bricks is an advanced pottery technique. Fired bricks are solid masses of clay heated in kilns to temperatures of between 950° and 1,150°C, and a well-made fired brick is an extremely durable object. Like sun-dried bricks they were made in wooden molds but for bricks with relief decorations special molds had to be made.

Medieval encaustic tiles were made of multiple colours of clay, shaped and baked together to form a patternt that, rather than sitting on the surface, ran right through the thickness of the marble tile, and thus would not wear away.

Medieval Europe made considerable use of painted tiles, sometimes producing very elaborate schemes, of which few have survived. Religious and secular stories were depicted. The imaginary cement tiles with Old testament scenes shown on the floor in Jan van Eyck’s 1434 Annunciation in Washington are an example. The 14th century “Tring tiles” in the British Museum show childhood scenes from the Life of Christ, possibly for a wall rather than a floor,[5] while their 13th century “Chertsey Tiles“, though from an abbey, show scenes of Richard the Lionheart battling with Saladin in very high-quality work.[6] Medieval letter wall tiles were used to create Christian inscriptions on church floors.