Preferred blade for porcelain tile?

[evercl92]

Project for this winter is to tear up and redo one of our bathrooms, including a 6' x 3' door-less walk-in shower.

Anyhow, we managed to get the porcelain tile in the link below at a decent price as lowes was doing their inventory clearance.

I've not done tile work previously, but I would consider myself an above-average DIY'er and think that I'll be plenty capable of doing this myself.

I had planned on getting a QEP 7in table top wet saw for this project. I realistically will probably re-tile a second bathroom within the next year. I say that as I don't think I need a $400 tile saw.

I assume that tile work is like wood work, where better blades make a huge difference in the finished project / wasted product / etc.

So what blade do you recommend for this?

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Style-Sele...-x-36-in-Actual-35-96-in-x-5-79-in/1000276579

 

[redneckcharlie]

I use Alpha 10’s porcelain blade. Depending on where you buy them there generally 100$+. I pay 85$ a blade but use alot of material and supplies so my pricing is pretty good. I would not try cutting a 36” tile with a 7” saw. You’ll be ok for a cross cut but a length cut will be sporty. A great blade will not make up for a lack of power in the saw. Porcelain will quickly show a saws shortcomings. If your cuts are going to be under trim then it wont matter, and in that case Id just use a hand grinder if your wanting to save money. Porcelain will glaze cheap blades really quickly and render them pretty much useless. One other thing, a 36” tile is very difficult to install correctly even for many pro’s let alone a diy person. Do yourself a favor and go down to a 24”. Its much more manageable and you can get thr same style and look your after with what you posted from Lowes.

 

[pgray007]

I got the Harbor Freight tile saw with the sliding table for something like $300, and a DeWalt diamond blade for something like $60. Cut a good 500 sq ft of 3/4” porcelain for flooring my garage and tiling the bathroom floor and shower stall. Sold the saw for $250 after. Blade was probably on its last legs after but it cut the tile very cleanly.

Only tip I’d offer with the HF saw is that the water pump is apparently garbage, however I’d just put it in a 5 gallon bucket of fresh water so it wasn’t sucking water from the catch pan and it worked like a champ.


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[evercl92]

So, my lack of experience talking here: why would a rip cut not turn out straight if theres a guide and i dont force the cut?
Why is 36" tile harder to install?

No sure why HF didnt occur to me, ill look into that.

 

[pgray007]

So, my lack of experience talking here: why would a rip cut not turn out straight if theres a guide and i dont force the cut?
Why is 36" tile harder to install?

No sure why HF didnt occur to me, ill look into that.

I’m no pro, but tile is a strange beast since it’s potentially neither perfectly square nor perfectly flat, and unlike wood you can’t really shim or force it. With larger tile, this effect is magnified since you literally have less “wiggle room” than smaller tiles, and much more potential for a “bowed” tile to stick up proud or under its neighbors (look up the dreaded “lippage”).

I used 12x24 rectified edge tile (rectified supposedly makes it more square) and it was still sometimes challenging to line everything up perfectly but going slow everything came out great.

I started going the “get the cheapest I could find” route since I was tiling a garage floor, but I bumped up my pricing a little to get a higher quality tile and couldn’t be happier. I’d check out Build Direct for a good compromise on price/quality (plus they have a ton more options).

I’d also suggest looking at the various Laticrete and Schulter videos on YouTube. Even if you don’t use their products they were well-produced and informative and for me from zero to some compliments on my install from several tradesmen.


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[evercl92]

I managed to get a ridgid 8in tile saw (model link below) gently used, for a $150.

I'll assume this will be sufficient for the tile?

https://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-8-in-Tile-Saw-with-Stand-R4040S/203837585

Thoughts on this blade?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XXRC2GS/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[PelicanPines]

Project for this winter is to tear up and redo one of our bathrooms, including a 6' x 3' door-less walk-in shower.

Anyhow, we managed to get the porcelain tile in the link below at a decent price as lowes was doing their inventory clearance.

I've not done tile work previously, but I would consider myself an above-average DIY'er and think that I'll be plenty capable of doing this myself.

I had planned on getting a QEP 7in table top wet saw for this project. I realistically will probably re-tile a second bathroom within the next year. I say that as I don't think I need a $400 tile saw.

I assume that tile work is like wood work, where better blades make a huge difference in the finished project / wasted product / etc.

So what blade do you recommend for this?

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Style-Sele...-x-36-in-Actual-35-96-in-x-5-79-in/1000276579

That tile was the exact tile I used in my last TWO tile jobs. It's hard tile... was easy to cut along the shorts side with a good quality diamond blade, I use Dewalts, 7" and 4 1/2".

I had to rip about 10 tiles... that was a pain and slow... used plenty of water... don't even think about ripping dry... wear a mask no matter what you do.

 

[James-W]

Any diamond blade that fits your saw should work. As has been mentioned, water is essential. We are putting tile in the bathrooms of the house I am helping a friend build. We are using an inexpensive tile cutting saw and it works pretty good. It isn't real fast but it gets the job done.