# Bathroom tile replacement question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 17, 2013, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathroom-tile-replacement-question/655971 "2013-04-17T19:55:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathroom-tile-replacement-question/655971/1 "2013-04-17T19:55:09Z")
Due to a minor mishap, a couple of tiles have shattered and come off the bathroom wall. I got the area relatively clean, removed the grout, and the tile size appears to be 6"x8". I went to Home Depot, got my replacement tiles, adhesive, grout, spacers, etc. I’ve never done tiling before. Problem is, I can’t fit the tile into the space. It looks to me like it needs about 1/4 inch shaved off the bottom (it’s two tiles directly adjacent to the tub). What’s the best and least expensive way of going about this? Will one of those handheld tile cutters where you score the tile using a square work fine, or is a 1/4 or so trim off the edge too narrow? Just wondering before I go back to Home Depot and spend the the ten bucks on the handheld jobbie. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathroom-tile-replacement-question/655971/2 "2013-04-17T20:20:53Z")
The easiest thing to do is take it to a tile shop and ask them to cut it on a wet saw. The Home Depot may have one and do it for free or next to nothing. Other tile shops will charge you more if you bought the tile elsewhere. If you go buy another tile from another store they may cut it for free. The simple tile cutters and scoring techniques can be done, but you only have one tile and it might break or crack in some unexpected way. It’s probably not worth the trouble, but if you can’t find any other way to do it, mark the tile and send it to me, I have a wet saw. I can’t imagine you wouldn’t be able to find a simpler solution than that. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathroom-tile-replacement-question/655971/3 "2013-04-17T20:29:16Z")
Also, if you’re going to buy an inexpensive tool, look for a grit saw blade that can be mounted in a hacksaw. That will easily cut tile and all sorts of other materials so it will have some future use. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathroom-tile-replacement-question/655971/4 "2013-04-17T20:29:32Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > The easiest thing to do is take it to a tile shop and ask them to cut it on a wet saw. The Home Depot may have one and do it for free or next to nothing. Other tile shops will charge you more if you bought the tile elsewhere. If you go buy another tile from another store they may cut it for free. The simple tile cutters and scoring techniques can be done, but you only have one tile and it might break or crack in some unexpected way. It’s probably not worth the trouble, but if you can’t find any other way to do it, mark the tile and send it to me, I have a wet saw. I can’t imagine you wouldn’t be able to find a simpler solution than that. 🙂 Yeah, this is 99 cent tile so I could do through a few of them without feeling hurt in the pocketbook. If it’s possible to do it with the scoring method, I’ll try. The guy at Home Depot didn’t mention anything about them cutting tile for me and actually led me to the $10 tile cutter, so I don’t know if he was just being lazy or if they simply didn’t have it at that Home Depot. And I’m not entirely sure it’s 1/4 inch. Might be closer to 3/8ths. It’s actually not going to be noticeable if it’s cut too thin, as the caulk between the tub and tile should cover it. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathroom-tile-replacement-question/655971/5 "2013-04-17T21:46:06Z")
You are unlikely to be able to take a small amount like a quarter of an inch off using a tile scribe, as you need to be able to get decent leverage to snap the tile along the score line. A wet saw is the way to go, really. Bear in mind I am by no means an expert tiler, but I did tile my kitchen splashback and used a wet saw for that. (The tiles were really thick and only 4in square, so I couldn’t break them by scoring anyway!) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathroom-tile-replacement-question/655971/6 "2013-04-17T22:09:08Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > You are unlikely to be able to take a small amount like a quarter of an inch off using a tile scribe, as you need to be able to get decent leverage to snap the tile along the score line. This was what I was worried about. I was wondering if there was some other obvious method like, I don’t know, sanding or something that I didn’t consider that might work. I’m wondering if it’s worth just trying a tungsten carbide blade and sawing it down. I mean, it’s only a buck if it doesn’t work out. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathroom-tile-replacement-question/655971/7 "2013-04-17T22:28:01Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > This was what I was worried about. I was wondering if there was some other obvious method like, I don’t know, sanding or something that I didn’t consider that might work. I’m wondering if it’s worth just trying a tungsten carbide blade and sawing it down. I mean, it’s only a buck if it doesn’t work out. You need a nibbling tool. It breaks off a little bit at a time. Scoring first makes it work better. You can do the same thing with a pair of pliers. With vice grip pliers you can just crush little bits of tile at a time if you have those. Scoring always helps since it gives a little fracture line for the tile to break on. A glass cutter will work for scoring, or any hardened steel object with a point. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathroom-tile-replacement-question/655971/8 "2013-04-17T22:31:26Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > You need a nibbling tool. It breaks off a little bit at a time. Scoring first makes it work better. You can do the same thing with a pair of pliers. With vice grip pliers you can just crush little bits of tile at a time if you have those. Scoring always helps since it gives a little fracture line for the tile to break on. A glass cutter will work for scoring, or any hardened steel object with a point. I do have vice grip pliers. So I want to score it and then I just crush it with the pliers as opposed to trying to snap it off? I’m trying to imagine what I need to do here. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathroom-tile-replacement-question/655971/9 "2013-04-17T22:35:30Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I do have vice grip pliers. So I want to score it and then I just crush it with the pliers as opposed to trying to snap it off? I’m trying to imagine what I need to do here. You just have to see what works on the tile. Try snapping first. If that doesn’t go well tighten up the pliers a little and when you lock them closed it should crush the tile. Don’t try to take off more than 1/4" at a time, in either direction. Wall tiles are usually pretty light so it should break or crush easily. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathroom-tile-replacement-question/655971/10 "2013-04-17T22:37:26Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > You just have to see what works on the tile. Try snapping first. If that doesn’t go well tighten up the pliers a little and when you lock them closed it should crush the tile. Don’t try to take off more than 1/4" at a time, in either direction. Wall tiles are usually pretty light so it should break or crush easily. I’ll just buy a stack of six of them and see what happens. I think this will do. I’ll also pick up a carbide tungsten hacksaw blade. One of these solutions will work eventually, right? I only ruined two tiles so far. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathroom-tile-replacement-question/655971/11 "2013-04-17T22:48:10Z")
Oh, and really stupid newbie question: Should I be scoring them on the finished or unfinished end? I’m guessing the former, as my experiments with the latter didn’t work out. (If you’re wondering why I did it on the unfinished end, it’s because it was easier to get a score line on them using the tools I had, basically, a utility knife. Of course, scoring that side and trying to break it just led to a mess on the finished side. And I’m guessing a utility knife won’t cut it for scoring, and I need a glass cutting knife or similar.) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathroom-tile-replacement-question/655971/12 "2013-04-17T22:55:33Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’ll just buy a stack of six of them and see what happens. I think this will do. I’ll also pick up a carbide tungsten hacksaw blade. One of these solutions will work eventually, right? I only ruined two tiles so far. 😉 You score on the glazed side since that’s actually stronger than the clay underneath, and that’s where a clean cut is most needed. I’d just get the blade and use that, it will cut neatly an cleanly. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathroom-tile-replacement-question/655971/13 "2013-04-17T22:59:35Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > You score on the glazed side since that’s actually stronger than the clay underneath, and that’s where a clean cut is most needed. I’d just get the blade and use that, it will cut neatly an cleanly. That makes sense, and that’s what I realized after doing it the wrong way around. :smack: Gonna head out now and grab a few more tiles. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathroom-tile-replacement-question/655971/14 "2013-04-18T14:44:28Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > You need a nibbling tool. It breaks off a little bit at a time. Scoring first makes it work better. You can do the same thing with a pair of pliers. With vice grip pliers you can just crush little bits of tile at a time if you have those. Scoring always helps since it gives a little fracture line for the tile to break on. A glass cutter will work for scoring, or any hardened steel object with a point. Ah yes, nibblers, I’d forgotten about them. I saw the guy who did the floor using them to do the fiddly shapes around doorways etc. Sound advice. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bathroom-tile-replacement-question/655971/15 "2013-04-18T14:59:36Z")
firmly holding the tile flat on the edge of a hard surface with the nibbable area slightly over the edge makes it easier.