How to cut these floor tiles without any special tools?

[DIYNotIan]

Hi all

I've just picked up some old floor tiles and need to cut them down to smaller sizes. They are going to be used in the garden beneath squashes, to keep them off the wet soil, so the cut does not need to be perfect in any way whatsoever. I just need to make them smaller.

I thought I might be able to score them and then break them. I just tried that and it just broke into lots of pieces. Perhaps they cannot be cut like that? Or - FAR MORE LIKELY - I am too novice to have done it properly!

So I wondered if anyone could please explain whether it can be done and if so how?

Many thanks

Max

 

[DIYNotIan]

Oops! Just realised I didn't add photos!

 

[Doggit]

If you've got an angle grinder, then you could use a diamond cutting blade. You need to take the guard off, and use goggles, but you can then place a piece of wood along the line to be cut, and then run the angle grinder along the edge of the wood.

 

[DaveHerns]

Don't take the guard off. You may end up cutting more than tiles.

 

[foxhole]

Travertine , have to be cut as they are honeycomb construction which is too fragile to break, as mentioned above , cut easily with a grinder.

 

[Doggit]

Don't take the guard off. You may end up cutting more than tiles.

You're possibly right on reflection Dave, as those tiles are thin. I'm cutting paving slabs at the minute, and have to have the guard off to get through them. It's easier to see what you're doing at times without it, but maybe it wasn't such good advice.

 

[flameport]

If you need to take the guard off to make the cut, you need a bigger grinder.

For those tiles, one of these cheap efforts will do: https://www.toolstation.com/shop/p10565

 

[Doggit]

Did my back in, so had to use the 4.5" one.

 

[foxhole]

Just mark with pencil line and cut with 4" grinder, nothing special required.