How to Cut Tile without a Tile Saw

How to Cut Tile Without a Wet Saw

3/6/2024

text by Vicki Sign up here to join our weekly email newsletter!

When we first discovered a few of the tiles on the front outdoor steps were loose, but only one was broken, we thought we'd only have to cut one new tile.

Because of this we did not want to invest in a wet saw that we would probably never use again. We set out to find an alternative way to cut tile.

Tools:

RIDGID 5.5 in. Multi-Flooring Diamond Blade (Home Depot)
RYOBI Cordless 5 1/2 in. Circular Saw (Home Depot)
Foam Board Insulation (Home Depot)
Makita 55 in. Plunge Saw Guide Rail (Home Depot)
DEWALT 7.8 in. Tracksaw Track Clamps Set (2-Pack) (Home Depot)
RYOBI Cordless 6 Gal. Wet Dry Vacuum Kit (Home Depot)
Xena Steel-toe Boots (Xena Workwear)

This is what the front door step looked like after thee loose tiles were removed.

After noticing that a couple tiles were loose, we discovered even more were a problem.

Here are the front steps with all the mortar removed from the concrete.

We determined that most ALL of the tiles on the first and second steps were loose. Here's the steps after the tiles were removed and the mortar had been removed. We used a Bosch rotary hammer drill with chisel to remove the mortar.

We used a 5 1/2 inch circular saw fitting with a diamond flooring blade to cut and used a Makita track rail as a straight edge to help cut a straight line.

We used a 5 1/2 inch circular saw fitted with a diamond flooring blade to cut and used a Makita track rail as a straight edge.

Marking the tiles to be cut with a grease pencil.

We used the old tiles as a template for the new ones that needed to be cut. Thankfully, we had about two dozen tiles left over from when these steps were newly tiled.

We placed the tiles top of a piece of insulation foam to protect our work surface. We are using a Ryobi 5 1/2 inch circular saw.

We placed the tiles top of a piece of insulation foam to protect our work surface. The rail was secured in place to act as a straight edge.

Collecting the tile dust with a Makita wet/dry vac.

To help control the dust, I followed along with a wet/dry vac to capture as much as I could. We are both wearing respiratory masks to protect against breathing in the dust.

How to cut large format tile without a wet saw.

This method worked very well and resulted in a nice smooth, straight cut.

The method even worked well for cutting the very narrow replacement tile pieces we needed.

This is the display in the tile department at our Home Depot where we found the cutting blade we used. We used the far right one at $35.

We used a Ryobi circular saw to to cut the tile.

Be aware that the dust produced from cutting tile can damage your circular saw. For that reason we decided not to use our more expensive saws and will save this one for future tile cutting projects. Also, use a vacuum to clean as something like canned air does have the potential to direct the dust further into the tool.

Going into this project, I thought the most intimidating part would be cutting the tile. Steph did a great job researching our options and landed on the perfect one.

The only additional expense for cutting the tile was a $35 blade. That's a great savings over having to buy a specialized tool just for cutting.

Steph actually made cutting tile look super easy. I was really impressed when she expertly cut the very narrow pieces we needed to finish the job.

Please note: This is not a sponsored post.

We are not professionals, and we don't claim to be. This is what we found worked for our project. Yours may need a little different approach. Safety first!

Affiliate links are being used on this page. Purchasing via these links help support MDP.