Making up skirting tile - Tile Advice

[Steve6690]

Morning all,
I've finished tiling my whole downstairs in 600 x 600 glazed white porcelain and my other half is over the moon - me less so, but that's a different story . I removed skirting and architraves before tiling thankfully, because she now wants a white skirting tile in the kitchen with a brushed aluminium trim across the top (and possibly the bottom too), plus all the plinths tiled the same. There is no matching skirting tile for the tiles I've used so I'd have to make them up from full tiles. I have a decent wetsaw (ND-200) and blade and polishing pads and think I can get a decent finish. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[acaciaguy]

Have you tiled a floor and wall before in same room?

 

[Steve6690]

No, not both in the same room.

 

[acaciaguy]

Think of it as the same thing. Cut your tile to the height you want. With a dry or wet cutter. What are the tiles? Trim the top. Don’t trim the bottom. Silicone. Is floor level? You might to put a datum up on wall to get the shirting dead level

 

[acaciaguy]

White porc So use a dry cutter if you can but any cut edge will be siliconed. So don’t worry if wet.

 

[Steve6690]

Thanks for the advice. The tiles are 600 x 600 9mm thick white glazed porcelain. I'm comfortable with the tiling aspect, but it was the finishing of the tiles I was primarily worried out. Is it possible to get a really nice finish or is it something a tiler would avoid doing ?. Also, would you follow the grout lines from the floor into the skirting normally ?

 

[acaciaguy]

When you cut the tile the cut edge will be the one to the floor. So the actually finish of the edge isn’t of great important as you will put a silicone joint between floor and wall / skirting tile. Just ensure cut is good enough to look good.

 

[acaciaguy]

The factory finished edge will then be the one that is edged to trim.

 

[Steve6690]

Great stuff. I can polish up the cut edges with a diamond polishing pad. So you wouldn't have a cut edge top and bottom ?

 

[acaciaguy]

what is the height Of the skirting?

Ie. How many tiles from one full tile

 

[Steve6690]

100mm so I'd get 6 per tile

 

[acaciaguy]

Ok. So cut and then polish edge to get the finish you want.

 

[acaciaguy]

Just make sure floor is dead level or scribe in to make top line level.

 

[Spare Tool]

Skirting tiles are generally 150mm, set your scribe cutter or wet saw guide at exactly quarter of a tile and use all 4 pieces, quick rub with a diamond pad across the top and fix lined up with floor, use red wedges at bottom to keep alligned then slip trim in, mitre external corners butt up internal and mitre all corners of trim.. As above silicone joint from skirt to floor..

 

[Steve6690]

Thanks very much.