Cutting tiles in situ.

[TicklyT]

Makes a change from the best way of sticking tiles to wall - has anyone got any ideas if it's possible to cut a row of already fixed tiles in half?

SWMBO wants a bath in what was a wet room. It's already tiled floor to ceiling with 330 X 250 tiles.

Sodds law - The bath height comes roughly half way up a row of tiles, and there's no matching spare tiles available

I can probably recover some tiles from the bottom row by cutting along grout lines and removing tile, plasterboard and all, and cleaning them up at my leisure (the bottom row has got to come out any way, to get to the concealed plumbing!)

Do you think cutting a straight line through the row above with, say, an angle grinder, is possible or practical? or is trying more likely to trim my thumbs than the tiles?

Can anyone suggest any other techniques that may be more successful?

 

[Chukka63]

disc cutter,but you will have to be careful as it will try and skip over the surface.

 

[jctilingservices]

i may not be following your question properly mate, but if i am, why cut tiles around bath ?, why not just fit the bath to the walls, therefore the tiles match all the way around without cutting and risking damaging other tiles. Sorry if i read your question wrongly

 

[TicklyT]

The corner of the room the tub is going into is far from square.

In an ideal world, the bath would have gone in before the tiles so I could easily lose the run-out.

I've got to open up the wall to get to the plumbing, and I'm looking for every last millimetre of space in a small bathroom.

As I see it, just butting the bathtub up to the tiles is gong to leave an awkward edge to seal, because of the run-out, and quite a generous radius on the edges of the tub.

 

[Chukka63]

not sure if there is a specialist blade that would fit a recipricating saw?

 

[lancenotalot]

It is possible with a decent diamond blade in a small grinder,I've done it myself.Just take you time and you should be fine.Try a few practice cuts below the line you after.

 

[Chukka63]

i was thinking about getting into the corner

 

[Thermo]

get someone to hold up a sacrificial straight edge in position as well. slowley slowely catchey monkey is about the best way!

 

[TicklyT]

Thanks all - I'm now considering a 4.5" diamond blade in my little angle grinder, fixing a 4X2 or two on trestles against the wall as a straight edge, almost a bench, and fixing a sole plate under the grinder disc guard to rest on the timbers, and as a depth stop.

I'm not too worried about getting tight into the corners if I can salvage some tiles from lower down to redo them.

 

[Burnerman]

Don't know if you've tried those relatively new slitting discs (1mm) for angle grinders.....easy to control, no heat build up - I use them loads now.
John

 

[Chukka63]

i used them the other week.amazing they dont just shatter.they cut through a 30mm steel plate with ease

 

[Burnerman]

i used them the other week.amazing they dont just shatter.they cut through a 30mm steel plate with ease

Hell.....you building ships, mate?
John

 

[Chukka63]

was instead of a brick/concrete padstone in a loft conversion

 

[pnburdon]

exakt saw?

 

[jctilingservices]

exakt saw?

will do the trick perfectly mate, although i cannot say how long it will last. The green 1 is a DIY saw, mine is the purple one, for professional use