1st time with porcelain

[dhsanta65]

Hi all , got a 2.5m2 bathroom floor to put down next week.

Tiles are 400 x 400 black B & Q porcelain, customer wants me cut round toilet is this possible with porcelain & if so can I use nibblers on a hard material as this ??
I would also like some guidance on the best way to go about sealing the tiles.
This is my 1st time using porcelain, so any help would be appreciated .
Cheers Ian

[grumpygrouter]

Hello mate, much has been written in the forums about balck B&Q porcelain so you maybe want to do a search to read up on it.

As to your question, to cut porcelain with nippers can be done, but you will need to take your time and you WILL end up with blisters. i have just invested in the £20 angle grinder currently on offer at CTD and it was an absolute time saver for me. I have just had to cut around a toilet with porcelain tiles and this grinder saved me hours of work.

As for sealing the tiles, with these particular tiles I would strongly recommend that you seal them prior to doing any work. This will give you the best chance of keeping them clean. I use Lithofin FZ Impregnator for porcelain. Follow instructions carefully!

What manual cutter are you using?

[JIMBOB187]

I could not be without an angle grinder now, fantastic.

[doug boardley]

Far better if toilet would sit on top of tiles, but if this is not an option try and work your tiles so that the toilet looks as though its on four tiles, this means angle grinding/nibbling four tiles but it will be easier to fit them in

[365drills]

Dont forget your drill bits !



Ideal for B&Q black granite porcelain ! - Perfect holes

[Gooner]

Is it really necessary to seal polished porcelain in a bathroom?

In a kitchen/meals area I would think yes. But in a bathroom?

[beanz]

You need to seal them, or they'll get covered in grout/adhesive stains.

[365drills]

Getting the grout off black is a nightmare! Takes ages. I used the beige grout inside black porcelain (rather than black on black) to highlight the tiles and I am glad I sealed them because grout is a bugger if its allowed to dry off and set. Especially on a riven type of tile with little nooks everywhere. Ended up making double sure with a nail brush!



Scrub Scrub Scrub!

PS: IF YOU CAN get the toilet up and lay the tiles thats the much smarter bet! Save you loads of time in tile cutting. But its up to you and the customer!

[Dave]

sealing also makes general maintenence easier..like cleaning etc..

[dhsanta65]

Hello mate, much has been written in the forums about balck B&Q porcelain so you maybe want to do a search to read up on it.

As to your question, to cut porcelain with nippers can be done, but you will need to take your time and you WILL end up with blisters. i have just invested in the £20 angle grinder currently on offer at CTD and it was an absolute time saver for me. I have just had to cut around a toilet with porcelain tiles and this grinder saved me hours of work.

As for sealing the tiles, with these particular tiles I would strongly recommend that you seal them prior to doing any work. This will give you the best chance of keeping them clean. I use Lithofin FZ Impregnator for porcelain. Follow instructions carefully!

What manual cutter are you using?

I am using a Sigma 3b for the dry cuts !
How easy is it to cut a curved line with a angle grider ??

[JIMBOB187]

That depends on how accomplished you are with an angle grinder, if you had asked me in January I would have said, "EH", but now I would say grab your lino, make a template, either pre score with your cutting wheel from your rubi and finger cut or take a deeop breath an launch a full on grinder assault onto the tile, softly, softly...

[Dave]

That depends on how accomplished you are with an angle grinder, if you had asked me in January I would have said, "EH", but now I would say grab your lino, make a template, either pre score with your cutting wheel from your rubi and finger cut or take a deeop breath an launch a full on grinder assault onto the tile, softly, softly...

Does that not hurt...

[dhsanta65]

Another quick question !
What grout line width do you think looks best with porcelain , 2,3, 4, or 5mm

[Dave]

Depends really.....tile size and type.....

[365drills]

And as I've said in many a post on here.

BE ULTRA CAREFUL WITH YOUR SAFETY WHEN USING ANGLE GRINDERS TO CUT TILES.

THEY KICK LIKE MULES AND HAVE NO WATER FEED

[doug boardley]

er.....what's finger cut? seriously

[doug boardley]

Another quick question !
What grout line width do you think looks best with porcelain , 2,3, 4, or 5mm

check for size discrepancies, if there are some better to widen joints to disguise them