A lot of DIY's home owners become frustrated by measuring and re-measuring these tiles only to make the cut and then realize they forgot to subtract the tile spacing from the tile or adding the spacing instead of subtracting it. Wasting a tile and starting over can be a very frustrating and costly mistake here is a simple way to have you tile come out right the first time.

Cutting a border tile can be done quite effectively by following these steps.

1. Lay a new tile directly over your last tile before the border tile
2. Place a ½" or ¾" spacer board against the wall (the spacer is usually twice your normal tile spacing)
3. Take a full tile and line it up with the new tile with one edge tight against the spacer and the edges lined up with the new tile.
4. Now draw a line along the edge of the top tile onto the new tile this will be your cutting line.
5. Cut the tile using a glass cutter by pacing a square or straight edge lined up with the line you drew on the tile, draw the glass cutter along the straight edge one time using firm steady pressure scribing the tile.
6. Place the tile on a raised flat surface with the scribed line lining up with the edge of the flat surface (make sure the piece you want to use is laying on the flat surface and the waste piece is hanging over the edge)
7. Holding down on this piece use a quick firm downward thrust on the portion hanging over the edge of the work surface to snap it off.
8. You now have a border tile that will fit perfectly.

Now just keep repeating this until all your border tiles are cut. If you should have a tile which requires an irregular shape cut off the biggest portion you can using this method and then you can use tile nipping pliers to finish the cut.

This little short cut will save you time and money and I hope that it makes your job just a little easier for you to complete. I know you will be proud of the fact that you have completed yet another home improvement project by yourself as well you should be!