Tile Stone & Glass
Beautify Your Floors With Tile
Tools for Tiling
Here’s a short-list of tools you’ll need for your tiling project:
Electric Tile Saw – resembles a small table saw but the blade is diamond-tipped and the saw is a "wet" saw. Water is needed to cool the blade when cutting a hard material such as ceramic, marble or slate. Otherwise either the blade or material would shatter from the heat generated by cutting.
Tile Cutter – this tool quickly cuts accurate, straight lines. A first pass scores a line, then the lever is pressed down to snap the tile in two.
Nippers – to nibble out curved cuts, a small piece at a time. Smooth rough edges with 80-grit carbide sandpaper.
Notched Trowel – The serrated edges on the notched trowel let you spread adhesive to just the right thickness. A notched spreader gets into tight corners and is a must-have for any tile installation project.
Rubber Float – helps grouting and allows you to force grout into the spaces between the tiles without damaging them.
Leveling Board – you can make this made from a length of 2' x 4' covered with carpet or some other padding material. Use this device by placing it over several tiles and gently tapping the board with a rubber hammer to level the tiles in the adhesive.
Layout Tool – you can make this yourself as well. A layout tool is made by laying out marks on a stick or board to indicate tile spacing. The layout tool is used during the layout phase of a project to obtain the correct placement of tile.