Cutting a Sheet of Mosaic Hex Tile

This week I finally got started laying the unglazed 1" hex tiles for my bathroom renovation. Having done the prepwork beforehand to have a solid flat surface to tile over, I was ready to go.

Before I mixed up the thinset I noticed that I would have around 5 sheets of tile (each around 12" x 12") that would need to be cut as they bordered the tub. I thought I would share how I made these cuts:

1. Measure and use a straight edge to mark the tiles where you want to make the cut. (Not that the sheets of tile must be positioned a certain way to connect correctly.)

2. Next, I put a big piece of blue painter's tape across the sheet so that the edge was on my pencil line. This will help to hold the little tiles in place as I cut them and be my cutting guide when the pencil mark washed off from the spray of the wet saw.

3. I supported the tile sheet with a piece of scrap Hardibacker I had laying around. You could use plywood or anything stiff to support the sheet as you cut.

4. I slid the sheet past the blade on my 7" wet saw. It helps to have a scrap piece of tile or wood to press on the tiles as you slide it through because they will want to move out of line when they get to the blade.

5. After cutting, take the tape off and see how it looks. Once in a while a tile will break where you don't want it to. These tiles can be individually replaced with other small scraps.

I used this method for all my cuts and it worked fairly well. If you have to make cuts on individual tiles, use the ol' tile nippers for that.

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com