Tool advice for cutting tiles in situ...

[Bugwug]

Hi Oracles

What tool would be best for trimming tiles around a pattress box? The tiles are porcelain and on the wall, unfortunately my new power socket facias are protruding on one edge and so wont screw on properly over the hole in the tile.

i have been thinking angle grinders or a dremel but wanted your advice before i bought anything. Angle grinder looks a bit big but a dremel is unlikely to be used ever again so not very practical.

thank you

 

[Mikefromlondon]

Power socket facias are normally mounted over the tiles so your cut out in your tile should have been no bigger than the patteress box, it seems that you made a cut out as big as the outer edge of the socket, that would look quite untidy as it would be pretty hard to get perfect cut outs in tiles to clear the socket facia., but you may be able to get some plastic surround (border) to make it look tidier,
as for making it slightly bigger, dremel tool would work ok, angle grinder with diamond wheel would also do the job, but it may not give perfect corners.

 

[Bugwug]

Hi,

The fascia covers the hole, the problem isnt that the hole is too big but its slightly smaller than the patress behind it. This means that my new fascias cant screw in properly as there is a molded piece at the bottom of the face plate that buffs up against the tile beneath. Ideally i need to remove about 5mm of tile off the bottom.

I dont have either an angle grinder or dremel at the moment but will buy whatever is most practical, i think i'm more likely to use an angle grinder in future than a very specific dremmel tool but yesterday i noticed there are some other rotary tools that will do sanding and sawing too so that might be a better overal tool.

I wondered what you pro's would do/use if you were in this situation.

Ta

 

[Mikefromlondon]

Oh OK, so you need to shave off about 5 mm from the bottom edge, a grinder would have been quick and ideal, since you do not have it, a dremel tool would do it but take a lot longer, and probably cost nearly as much as a cheap grinder, you may try and score the tile deep enough (Using a diamond tipped cutter or wheel) and get a flat bladed screwdriver or a sharp chisel and lightly hammer it away section by section, and hope for the best that your tile does not snap elsewhere.

You may be able to remove the diamond wheel from your tile cutter and try and use this to score, but it won't be easy I know as you really need to press in firmly to score in a straight line and moving the wheel steadily without stopping until you reach the length you wanted to shave off. You will also need a straight edge to guide the diamond wheel and also make sure you do not overshoot.

 

[foxhole]

You could use a tile cutting bit or grinding bit in a drill if you are careful. Have used a roto-zip tool to cut in situ before.

 

[foxhole]

There are also jigsaw tile blades and multi tool tile blades if you have those power tools.

 

[Bugwug]

Roto-zip?! Hmmm that name sounds familiar...

I dont mind buying a tool if needbe, I probably lean towards an angle grinder as I intended to buy one sometime anyway but i want to ensure what i buy this month will do the job for me. The discs look a bit too big which is why i was hesitant

Im a bit put off the Dremel as i dont know what else i would use it for.

I have looked at a Bosch multitool too as it sands and saws so that would have some practical benefit in future.

Thank you

 

[Bugwug]

There are also jigsaw tile blades

Oh...is there? I never knew that and yes, a have a jig saw but assumed porcelain was too hard...

 

[foxhole]

Or just a hand file (for tiles) .Slow but sure.

 

[Bugwug]

I have a tungsten handsaw but useless with porcelain

 

[Ian H]

Can't you just drill a hole over where you need to put the screw through?

 

[vinn]

Why dont you save yourself a bit of trouble - you could possibly crack the tile - & post a photo?

FWIW: in my limited experience, surface mounted boxes are typically referred to as pattresses, and back boxes are flush, faceplates are used on both.

Its often best practice to pull odd tiles, and cut them once they are off the wall