Do You Need a Wet Saw
Joe, I need to know how to cut porcelain tile, should I use a wet saw? This is a question I am asked all the time. A wet saw is probably the most expensive tool that you can buy, at least one of the most expensive! The only other alternative is a tile cutter. These are also expensive and the price can add up quick!
I’m really not talking about a tile cutter that you can buy at a home improvement store. I’m talking about a good, high quality tile cutter. Although, Home Depot has finally stepped up their game and got rid of most of their junk cutters.
They now have Rubi tile cutters. These are a really good Brand of cutters. That’s the Brand I use. The price tag they have on them, well they are really good too. I would say they have done a good thing for the DIY’er looking to buy a tile cutter.
Don’t Buy a Tile Cutter, at least not yet
I love my tile cutter and it is what I use the most. But if you ask me how to cut porcelain tile I’m going to say use a wet saw.
There are a few reasons for this-
- A wet saw is easier to learn how to use
- You can cut any tile with the same blade
- A wet saw can be rented(ok, a tile can be rented too)
- NO DUST!
- cleaner cuts
- Less chipped and broken tiles while cutting
If you are installing ceramic tile, porcelain, glass or stone, you can use a wet saw without ever changing the blade. A tile cutter has many different types of cutting wheels. I have them all, because you never know which one is going to work. Sometimes none of them work!
That’s when I pull out my wet saw. The cutting wheels can be expensive. If you rent a tile cutter, it probably has a cutting wheel that should have been thrown away last year.
So I should use a wet saw
I believe that I need to point you in the right direction on how to cut porcelain tile or any tile. I would say a wet saw is the best tool for you to use. I do like my tile cutter because it’s faster, I can use it anywhere and it’s just more convenient.
But we are talking about the most user friendly cutting tool, so I choose a wet saw! I do want to say though, that not all wet saws are created equal. I have used some junk wet saws and it would be hard for me to tell you if the wet saw you are renting is worth renting or not.
I just want to say that if you have a big project that you are working on, you might want to consider buying a wet saw. The money you spend on renting might be close to what you would pay for one. Here is a link to a saw I think would be a great saw.
Wet Saw (click here)
I know it’s expensive! I’m really not telling you to buy it, if it doesn’t make sense. If you have a custom shower to install, chances are that it would be a minimum of $2000.00 just for installation. Let me be clear, I do not make any money from this link I am sharing. I have a Dewalt tile saw that costed me over a $1000.00. I really wanted to be able to recommend a saw that was more reasonable in price.
So I went to Home Depot and bought the saw that you see in the link above. I wanted to test it before I recommended it to you. I have used it for over a year now and it’s really a good saw!
What if you did buy it? You could sell it when you are done with it on Craigslist or Ebay. I’m sure you could get your money back. Okay enough on that let me show you why I like this saw.
You Can Make Multiple Types of Cuts with a Wet Saw
When you are wondering how to cut porcelain tile or any tile, what type of cuts are you thinking of?
- Straight cuts
- L cuts
- Outlets
- Diagonal cuts
- Circles
- All of the above
You can cut all of these types of cuts on a wet saw. It has to be able to plunge cut though. Take a look at this video and I’ll show you what I mean.
The wet saw is really the key when asking how to cut porcelain tile. I really do think a wet saw will save you a lot of frustration when installing ceramic tile, porcelain, glass and natural stones.
I hope this helps you with your installation. Any comments below would really help me out, so please leave one.
I also have another post that I wrote about how to cut porcelain tile. I show three more cutting methods. Here is a link to it (Click Here).
Thanks,
Joe Letendre
Faith is not believing that God can, it is knowing that God will