How to Break Tile

Tile nippers are a handy tool for breaking tile.

When you choose to create a mosaic tile piece, you must have the right pieces of tile to create your masterpiece. While there are various ways to break tile, some are more efficient and effective than others depending on the type of tile you want to break.

Things You'll Need

• Safety glasses
• Heavy cotton or leather gloves
• 2 soft towels
• Tile nippers, mosaic glass cutter or hammer
• Mosaic tiles
• Plastic bag (optional)
• Flat, hard surface (optional)

Instructions

Using Tile Nippers or a Mosaic Glass Cutter

1. Put on a pair of safety glasses and a pair of heavy cotton or leather gloves to protect your hands from the pieces of broken tile. Place two soft towels on your work surface to provide a cushioned surface for the tile pieces to drop after you cut them.

2. Stand over the cushioned work surface. Hold the tile nippers or mosaic glass cutter in one hand by gripping the end of the handles. Hold the piece of mosaic tile in your other hand. (The nippers and glass cutter work in the same basic way, but the nippers have a tong-like cutter and the glass cutter has sharp-edged wheels. When using either tool, you position it and squeeze the handles to cut the tile.)

3. Place the area of the tile you want to cut in between the teeth of the tile nipper or the cutting wheels of the glass cutter. Squeeze the handles of the nippers or cutter quickly to break the tile. The piece of tile should fall onto the towels.

4. Repeat Step 3 as many times as necessary to divide the tile into pieces for your mosaic art project. If you are working with pieces of 3/4-inch-by-3/4-inch tile, you should be able to get approximately four pieces out of each tile.

Using a Hammer

1. Put the piece of tile in a sealed plastic bag and place the bag on a solid, flat work surface that can absorb the impact of hammer blows.

2. Lightly tap the head of the hammer on the center of the tile to break it. Tap a bit harder if your first effort did not break the tile. Avoid pounding the tile, as using this kind of effort will shatter the tile into small pieces that will be difficult--if not impossible--for you to use.

3. Remove the pieces of tile from the plastic bag. Repeat Steps 1 and 2 as needed with remaining tiles.

Tips & Warnings

• A hammer is best used on stone tiles.

• Squeeze the tile cutter tool quickly to get a clean cut.

• Always wear eye protection and gloves to avoid having a broken piece of tile hit your skin or eyes.

• Avoid using mosaic glass cutters on ceramic or stone tile. To do so can damage the wheel blades of the tool.

References

• Crafter's Touch: Breaking Tile for Mosiacs
• Mosaic Art Supply: Cutting Mosaic Tile