How to Cut 24-by-24 Tile at an Arch on a Round Patio Table

Glue down your center tiles first. The tiles in the middle of your table will not need cutting. Keep adding whole tiles until you approach the edge of the table. Glue them down. These will serve as guides for placing your edge tiles.

Lay a tile so that it overhangs the table edge. This tile must be in the exact position where you want to lay it. Look underneath the tile and you will see that the edge of the patio table intersects the tile in an arch. Use the edge of the table as a guide and mark the underside of the tile along the arch. This will be your cutting line.

Remove your tile from the table. Turn it over. Use a straightedge and a marker to draw straight lines from the edge of the tile to the arch you have drawn. Make these lines in the portion of the tile you intend to discard. Place the lines approximately one-quarter inch apart. They should touch the arch line.

Place the tile in a tile cutter. This hand-operated machine has a scoring wheel. Exert downward pressure on the handle of the machine as you run the scoring wheel along the lines you have marked. Stop at the arch you have drawn. This will not cut the tile all the way through. It will cut part-way into the tile.

Snip the excess tile away with tile nippers. Nippers look like pliers with sharp ends. Snip the fingers of the tile away that you have scored. Start at the end of the line farthest away from the arch you have drawn.Take off smaller portions as you approach the arch line. Make very small cuts along the arch line when you get to it.The unwanted tile will break away, leaving the curved arch.

Glue the tile in place on the patio table. Repeat the process for each tile until you have completed the table.