A Wet Tile Saw - The Right Tool For The Job

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If you are like me and like to do your own home improvement, you know the importance of having the right tool for the right job.  No where is that old adage more true than when it comes time to cut a piece of wall or floor tile.  Sometimes, you can get by with substituting, say a pair of pliers where a box end wrench would be best, but there is nothing that will produce the clean cut on a piece of tile like a wet tile saw.

Oh sure, if you have just a few cuts to make, you could get by with a manual tile cutter.  A manual tile cutter pulls a cutting wheel across the piece of tile and scores a straight line on the tile.  The handle is then pulled down causing the plunger to press at the scored line and snap the tile.  Also, these manual units do not work as well on harder tiles such as porcelain.

A wet tile saw is an electric, motorized saw that sits atop a reservoir of water.  The water is pumped through tubing that directs the water flow across a diamond blade in order to keep the blade cool.  The diamond blade actually grinds the through the tile rather than actually slicing through like a regular circular saw blade.  The grinding produces heat which will dull the diamond blade very quickly if not cooled.  Thus, the reason for pumping water across the blade.

Wet tile saws come in various blade sizes, the most common of which is 7-inches.  However, this size has some limitations when it comes to cutting on the diagonal.  If your tile is over 10 x 10 inches, you will need a 10-inch blade to make diagonal cuts or even a professional grade saw that provides a glide for the blade to be pulled across the tile as opposed to the tile being pushed into the blade on the smaller models. 

The average homeowner doing tile projects around the house should be able to purchase a wet tile saw in the $150 to $300 range.  Saws in this price range produce very fine results when they are equipped with a high quality saw blade designed for the tile being cut.  Regardless of what saw you choose, I cannot stress enough the importance of purchasing the highest quality saw blades available.  Quality blades produce quality cuts with less effort, last much longer, and pay for themselves by making less broken tiles.

Again, in some cases, you can substitute a tool to get a job done and produce adequate results.  Believe me, this is not one of those cases.  If a tiling project is in your near future, purchase a wet tile and you will complete that project with much less aggravation.