Tiling problem....?
Question:we are tiling a bathroom floor and need to tile around a pedistal and a toilet, we dont want to lift them to tile under them as the wall around the sink basin and toilet has been tiled. we have the usual tools for this job but is there a tool that will give a perfect cut around the edge of the basins?
Answers:
a simple way is to use the carpet taken out as a template.
yes not sure what its called but it looks a bit like a comb with loads of teeth that move in and out around the shape and you draw this out on the tile, ask at the diy store they will help
Perfect cut...no. A wet saw will 'get the job done' or you could try a dremel roto tool... but be careful, you could break tile. Lifting the fixtures will give you the best look with the least amont of headache, and extra grout.
no ..best thing you can do is cut out a paper template of the area you want to tile .when you have cut one out accurately ..lay on top of tiles you have laid out on the floor with the normal spacings in be tween and then mark the tiles and cut them with tile pincers to fit
The tool Quorn mentions is called a 'profile guage'
They would normally be scored with a tile scribe, and shaped using tile nippers/pliers, and finished with a half-round tile file.The tool that gives the perfect cut is called a Tiler ! It really is better to tile UNDER basins and toilet bowls.
you will be better off pulling the toilet and peditsal and going under them.you may need to raise the sink though so the pedistal fits.and also you may need to get longer water supply lines
A profile tool will give you the pattern around the objects, but it doesn't cut. The perfect cut is difficult with all the tools, but cutting close with a wet saw and trimming with a drimmel or similar tool outfitted with a ceramic cutting bit will give you a very nice fit. You can also us a "scoring tool". The website attached shows you how to use it the scoring tool. I've done a lot of floors and have done what you're attempting, but I will admit that it would be better to lift the pedestal and the toilet. If you don't and you need to repair or replace later, your tile job will suffer. That's happened to me too. The toilet bevels out at the bottom and is very difficult to remove without ruining the floor and just as difficult to replace. If you still want to tile around them, use a tub and tile caulk instead of grout for those areas so you can get the fixtures out later if you need to. Good luck. http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/ba_remodel...
I know you're looking for an easy solution, but the proper way is to remove the fixtures and tile underneath them. As some other people have suggested, you can get a "profiling tool" to trace around the fixtures, but there is nothing I know of that will give you a perfect cut along a curve.
After installing thousands of sq. ft of tile and trying to understand your issue with the toilet and pedestal sink, are you saying that the pedastal and the toilet actually attach at the wall in the basin area? Or any part of the toilet? The toilet definitely shouldn't. Below I offer an option for the sink. Even if thye sink basin is partly supported against the wall by a bracket, that should have been worked into tiling the entire wall first. What you might be suggesting is that you'd never be able to replace the sink, without leaving bare wall.
The correct way would have been to disconnect the plumbing and the two pieces, remove them, tile under them and replace. If neither are actually part of the tiled wall then disconnecting the plumbing at the faucets and toilet intake under the tank won't affect the wall tile at all.
Whether or not I get thumbs down isn't a matter of importance for me. I've been doing this longer than your bathroom has existed.
A WET SAW is not designed for radius cuts, nor are there any tools that will promise that tile will not CHIP,,,or worse,,,Break, in radius cutting. Tile is essentially Glass!.
I suggest you can connect with a reputable, long time tile contractor for advise at the very least. Consider the options however. Is the wall tile an open stock item that might still be available? If so, take the sink and toilet out and if any damage occurs replace the wall tiles damaged.
Steven Wolf
Unless you want to hire an expert tiler, take the toilet out, its easy, you can then make your own cuts to go under it. Same with the pedestal sink. Otherwise, you will have ragged edges of tiles, which last last decades.
Can't advise when you have you heart set on doing the job half-assed. BTW, next week your kid will drop a jar of Noxema into the toilet causing you to replace it. Now what? Wish you tiled under the toilet?
They make a little diamond bit for a dremmel tool. That should do the trick for you.
Your putting all this work in and then you are going to do something halfassed. The amount of time you would spend trying to get an OK cut you could have taken the toilet off.
Just do it the right way and remove the fixtures. What if you ever want to change the toilet or sink you are stuck.
oh man, just pull the fixtures. it is so much easier and will look so much better! even if you have to replace flange for toilet; and while youre in there go ahead and replace all plumbing valves/shut offs to sink/toilet as well. maybe i dont see the real problem, but um, thats what i always do, (most of the time).
I have had a lot of experience doing bathroom floors and found that the best tool to use is an electric angle grinder with a thin cutting blade.
You could make a paper template and use a Rubi manual tile cutter. You place a tile upside down on the cutter with the one to be cut on top, the right way up. Move the tiles as you hold the scoring blade down. Remove lower tile and place under the snapper part.
Works all the time if you don't want to remove the toilet or sink.
I use to use the wet saw but found the Rubi idea helpful.
Ive done this several times, against my better judgement, with great results. You will need a pair of tile nippers to make all cuts that are not straight. You will also need a rotary tool such as a dremel with a stone grinding bit on it to grind any rounded or irregularly shaped cuts you will need to make. After making rough cut with the tile nippers you will want to use rotary tool to smooth and shape the cuts to your specific need. You will need to fit the tile several times to its location so you can fine tune its edges. It is a bit time consuming and tedious but with a little patience it will look great when done.
mark the tile (a paper template is sometimes handy) use a small angle grinder to follow the curve and score a spiders web shape on the area to be cut away.Break off piece by piece to the shape required
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